Ok I have a 2007 Honda CRF 250 R.. I have about 15 hours on the bike total. When should I take it in to have the valves adjusted. The manual seems to be very vague about some of the maintance procedures. I want to stay on top of the services on the bike but if I go by the book I would be changing out the piston and rings every 15 hours. Do they mean 15 hours of race time??..... I mostly trail ride with the bike and take it relativity easy.. Any help would be great. Thanks....................Red
Valve Adjustment
- Thread starter Red 250
- Start date
nikki
Moto Junkie
- Apr 21, 2000
- 5,802
- 1
You can check the valve clearances yourself. It is a pretty easy job, and takes about an hour from start to finish (as long as you have the right tools). If your valves are still in spec with the manual, then there is no need to adjust/reshim them. We have checked the clearances on all of our four-strokes every 10-20 hours, or if the bikes ever get hard to start. We've currently own an '06 CRF 250 and 450, and have previously owned an '02, '04, and '05 CRF 450, and an '03 YZ 250F. Luckily we have never had to reshim, but if you do have to, it's pretty easy to do yourself. If you have to reshim often, then you should replace your valves/springs, which gets a little more difficult.
As for piston/rings, we usually do rings every 20-30 hours, and a piston every other ring change. We've also replaced the timing chain as general maintenance after 2-3 seasons.
As for piston/rings, we usually do rings every 20-30 hours, and a piston every other ring change. We've also replaced the timing chain as general maintenance after 2-3 seasons.
They should be chacked frequently. Like Nikki said, learn to check them yourself. If they are out of spec, it may be better to take it to a qualified service tech. I ran my piston about 60 hrs and it was definately due. The valves needed thier first shimming at that time, but where just under spec. Some peolpe who don't check them often will run them till they zero out and that's when you cause major damage. I also mostly trail ride, and change the oil every other ride or about 6-8 hours and clean the filter every ride if it's dusty, every other if it's damp out.
- Thread starter
- #4
Great.... thanks for the replys.. I thought about doing the job myself but was a bit afraid of messing something up in the process. I will give it a shot I guess. I have all the tools so maybe this weekend ....... Thanks again for the input
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- Thread starter
- #7
Cool.. Thanks. I have had the bike since late December "07"
I haven't been riding for the past 8 weeks due to an injury so I haven't been putting any time on her lately........ The bike so far starts right up no problem. If thats the indicator perhaps Ill let it go for a few more hours. Thanks again..................Red
I haven't been riding for the past 8 weeks due to an injury so I haven't been putting any time on her lately........ The bike so far starts right up no problem. If thats the indicator perhaps Ill let it go for a few more hours. Thanks again..................Red
Red 250 said:
That is NOT the indicator. :coocoo: If you wait till it's hard to start you have waited TOO LONG, and it will cost you in seriously reduced valve life. Check them now, it's time.
- Thread starter
- #9
OK so I am automatically crazy to take the advice of the people who posted here or did i take their advice incorrectly?? rostifer just posted that I would know when to adjust if the bike was hard to start correct?? So what am I to assume?? Who's advice should I take here?? I don't want to damage my bike but I don't want to do unnecessary work either. I may be taking your post wrong but insulting me for asking questions isn't exactly setting a great first impression. Don't get me wrong I want advice just not to be treated as if I was five cans short of a six pack....................Red
Red 250 said:
Assume anything you want.
When these engines are hard to start because the valve clearance has zeroed out, the valves are junk and need to be replaced, not adjusted. When it gets to the point of hard starting, the valve face is damaged beyond repair so adjusting them is a short term fix. The valve needs to be replaced at that point.
... but what do I know? ;)
- Thread starter
- #12
I will assume that you want to pick a fight with me for no reason. But what do I know. I asked a simple question and I get attitude from you. If what you say is true fine but I am getting conflicting information. If this is the way new members asking questions are treated here maybe I need to go somewhere else. How you got mod status here is beyond me. But you got the power so be it. This is one part of riding that I despise. Most people will bend over backwards to help while some want to feel like they are above others in the sport. I never understood what made them feel so far superior to everyone else.
To everyone else who replied thanks for trying to help a Noob out.................Red
To everyone else who replied thanks for trying to help a Noob out.................Red
Red 250 said:
NOT ATTITUDE, just accurate information.
A wise man once told me to always take the time and effort to only give accurate information and advice to people. He also told me to have the good sense not to give a damn if they take it. It's advice that I follow to this day.
The information is free, do with it what you will. I'm done here.
Red 250 said:
Rich didn't say anything to you that even came close to attitude..
He's probably one of the smartest guys on here, I think I'd take his advice over the other dude that told you to not worry about it until the bike was hard to start.
Which advice sounded more logical?
If you do a little looking around here, and reading some of what Rich has to say, I'm sure you'll quickly come to realize that you are shooting yourself in the foot by getting on his bad side.
I assure you, that if you were to make friends with him, he'd be a great source of very useful and accurate information.
He's helped me a great deal. Hell, he gave me some great advice today, and probably saved me quite a bit of money.
But, if you want to think that he's giving you attitude, that's your right.
- Thread starter
- #15
Its all about perception. Perhaps he is the nicest guy on the planet and knows more than anyone else about this subject. But then again perception is a funny thing. I never started to get on his bad side not that i really care if i do. Look at his first post concerning this subject. Rather than posting up a logical answer he had to make sure to add the crazy smiley in there just for fun. I perceived that as an insult . More or less telling me that he didn't take me seriously. Maybe just me but if you have information that is correct rather than trying to be the BMOC he may just post up with the info without adding the little stuff to make himself feel superior. Just me I guessIndyMX said:
Red 250 said:
That crazy smiley was meant for the guy that gave you the bad info..
Rich doesn't have to prove anything to anyone, you only have to read his history to know that he's got the knowledge and experience to back up what he's saying..
He won't ever sugar coat what he's got to say either.
We're adults here, we have thick enough skin to ride dirtbikes, we should have thick enough skin to take straight talk from a guy like Rich.
- Thread starter
- #17
I never asked for anyone to sugercoat anything. I never asked him to prove anything to me. I never said he didn't have the knowledge. I asked a simple question expected a correct answer.IndyMX said:
Yes we are adults here and I would hope that I would get treated like one with just a touch of respect for having made it through life as a dirt rider. I am done with this subject I will simply ask my local shop for help from now on. I don't need the hassle. Arguing over the internet serves no purpose...... Thanks
oldguy
Always Broken
- Dec 26, 1999
- 9,411
- 0
Look at it this way
At my age if I wait until it is hard (or I won't) start in the morning it is probably to late. If I do periodic health checkups I just may prolong how long I stay running.
As Rich said without any sarcasm directed to you periodic check ups will prolong how long your bike stays healthy. If you wish to throw away his advice because you are to thin skinned to take it -GOOD LUCK.
If you decide to leave because your feelings are hurt- oh well
At my age if I wait until it is hard (or I won't) start in the morning it is probably to late. If I do periodic health checkups I just may prolong how long I stay running.
As Rich said without any sarcasm directed to you periodic check ups will prolong how long your bike stays healthy. If you wish to throw away his advice because you are to thin skinned to take it -GOOD LUCK.
If you decide to leave because your feelings are hurt- oh well
Red 250 said:
rostifer gave you an incorrect answer, and Rich corrected it. Yet you are still pissed off at Rich for an incorrect perception on your part.
You're the new guy, so I'd expect you to give Rich the respect he deserves for being around here a very long time and not calling him out for disrespecting you and giving you attitude.
If this is the type of person that you are, I don't think many of us are going to lose much sleep with you not here.
Ol'89r
LIFETIME SPONSOR
- Jan 27, 2000
- 6,958
- 45
Easy there Red. :whoa:
Nobody was disrespecting you. The crazy smiley was meant for the guy that told you to run it until it won't start. That was bad information and deserved the crazy smiley. :coocoo: Everyone else gave you good advice.
Rich is a mod and he deals with these threads every day. Many threads spin out of control because someone will give bad advice. Here at DRN we don't let the bad advice go. The mod's stop it right away and correct it. Rich works on these bikes all day long and and spends his off time correcting bad posts. If he is a little short, (no pun intended Rich) :rotfl: ;) with his answers it is because he has to wade through the crap every day to weed out the bad posts. The mods don't get paid for this, they do it to give back to the industry. DRN is one of the only sites you can go to and actually get correct advice without listening to a bunch of kids arguing over who's right.
In answer to your question, if you wait until your valves close up enough to where the bike won't start, you have already done damage to your engine. The valves need a certain amount of clearance inorder for the oil to get in between the cam and buckets. If the required spec's are .006" clearance and you only have 003" clearance, the bike will start but when it warms up to operating temp the metal will expand from the heat and the .003" will close up to -0. When this happens the valves do not close all of the way and it will burn the valve and seat. Running the bike like this will result in the head of the valve breaking off of the stem and doing great damage to the engine. It also forces the oil out from between the cam and buckets resulting in destroying the cam and buckets from running without oil in between them. Basically metal on metal.
Learn to check them yourself. Like Nikki said, it's easy to check them and your manual explains it very well. It's a little more difficult to adjust them but if you keep checking them you will know when it is time to have them adjusted. You can also determine your own maintainance schedule and how often or how many hours to check them after you do it a few times. Buy an hour meter and start recording the hours on the engine. That is the only accurate way to keep track of the hours. If you are only trail riding you should be able to go longer than the recommended times in the manual since those are worst case, (pro racing) recommendations.
Hope that helped.
Nobody was disrespecting you. The crazy smiley was meant for the guy that told you to run it until it won't start. That was bad information and deserved the crazy smiley. :coocoo: Everyone else gave you good advice.
Rich is a mod and he deals with these threads every day. Many threads spin out of control because someone will give bad advice. Here at DRN we don't let the bad advice go. The mod's stop it right away and correct it. Rich works on these bikes all day long and and spends his off time correcting bad posts. If he is a little short, (no pun intended Rich) :rotfl: ;) with his answers it is because he has to wade through the crap every day to weed out the bad posts. The mods don't get paid for this, they do it to give back to the industry. DRN is one of the only sites you can go to and actually get correct advice without listening to a bunch of kids arguing over who's right.
In answer to your question, if you wait until your valves close up enough to where the bike won't start, you have already done damage to your engine. The valves need a certain amount of clearance inorder for the oil to get in between the cam and buckets. If the required spec's are .006" clearance and you only have 003" clearance, the bike will start but when it warms up to operating temp the metal will expand from the heat and the .003" will close up to -0. When this happens the valves do not close all of the way and it will burn the valve and seat. Running the bike like this will result in the head of the valve breaking off of the stem and doing great damage to the engine. It also forces the oil out from between the cam and buckets resulting in destroying the cam and buckets from running without oil in between them. Basically metal on metal.
Learn to check them yourself. Like Nikki said, it's easy to check them and your manual explains it very well. It's a little more difficult to adjust them but if you keep checking them you will know when it is time to have them adjusted. You can also determine your own maintainance schedule and how often or how many hours to check them after you do it a few times. Buy an hour meter and start recording the hours on the engine. That is the only accurate way to keep track of the hours. If you are only trail riding you should be able to go longer than the recommended times in the manual since those are worst case, (pro racing) recommendations.
Hope that helped.
- Thread starter
- #22
Ol'89r Thanks for the concise post. I am a Admin of a site dealing with the car I own so I know what it is to deal with misinformation. And people who don't want to behave. I meant no disrespect to anyone. I just asked for some info. Then this whole thing got out of hand with some other posts that seemed to be a bit on the edgy side .. I never said that the info I got from Rich Rohrich was wrong nor that I think he was talking out the wrong end. I just felt that the way in which the post went it made it appear as if he was (excuse the expression) pissing up my leg. Respect is earned in my book. I try as much as possible to earn others respect but I don't expect it from them unless I earn it in some way. I am new here and I haven't been actively involved in dirt bikes since the late 70's. I was however a service manager for Honda for a couple of years and for 2 years before that I worked for a local Yamaha dealership. I was sent to Yamaha in southern California for training. Things have changed a lot since I got out of the whole motorcycle thing and the bikes of today are completely different than they were back then. I have read the manual cover to cover. But I just wanted some advice to help me get the job done.
Your post helped me understand clearly what the dangers of waiting to long...
If I offended anyone I apologize............. Thanks ................Red
Your post helped me understand clearly what the dangers of waiting to long...
If I offended anyone I apologize............. Thanks ................Red
I guess my question to you is this:Red 250 said:
Three posts prior to the "you'll know it is a problem when you can't start your bike post" were informative, detailed, gave you numbers, encouragement and information. One poster basically told you could blow it off and then you changed your tune from "I'll do it this weekend" to "Maybe I'll wait a few more months".
Rich, while his usual brief self, jumped in to save you from yourself. You don't know Rich, nor his sense of humor, and sure the rest of us do, but actually that is immaterial to this. He very kindly jumped in to save you from focusing on the bad information, and furthermore told you you'd have some costly problems.
If you understand the problem of misinformation by being an owner of another forum it seems a simple thank you would have kept your leg from being pissed on.-I'd check the direction of the stream as it were, to find the guilty party- it sure wasn't Rich.
I honestly feel you owe him (and the three posters prior and three posters after) a very humble thank you for saving you from yourself. It was your choice to focus on the one post which justified your blowing the job off. You have only yourself to blame. Rich in his own little buddhist way merely said "hey, if you don't want to take my advice the consequences are yours, I'm not gonna get upset about it"...
red250 said:
I guess, being a mom who just hangs around this stuff and not particularly mechanical.... ...I find the last part of your statement of having been a service manager and sent to Yamaha for training incomprehensible in the context of all of this. My best friend is a service manager at an autodealership and a self taught tuner for Honda.... He would never ever ever take the "I can blow this off" advice with that kind of training. I know this isn't going to help for me to shame you, but you've read the riot act to the wrong person(s). The person you should be wagging your finger at is the one you see in the mirror each day.
Mods delete me if this is just too much, but, I'm completely flabbergasted on this one.
- Thread starter
- #25
fatcat216 said:
Wow firstly I didn't focus on the bad information. Or even know if it was negative info. Or incorrect I took what was posted as I always do with a grain of salt.
What I did focus on was the way in which the info was given to me I never once said that the info was incorrect. I am the first to tell you I am and have been out of the loop on the new technology of these bikes. Also my training was almost 30 years ago so I don't see why you would be surprised that I don't know everything there is to know about the newer models. I have said my piece on this subject. if you would like to continue to berate me by all means knock yourself out. I for one don't need you to tell me how to behave. I am probably older than you by several years so please don't treat me like I'm a child. I will take the advice that Ol'89r gave me and go from there.
