Valve clearance question on a 450F

skos said:

This is my 1st 4-strock in a long time. I remember something about checking the Valve clearance as you don't want to be too loose because you will lose power.
How often do you guys check valve clearance? And any tricks for doing it?
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The problem with the newer fourstrokes is not loose valves but tight valves. When the valves tighten up, the bike will be hard to start when hot. Just go by the manual when you adjust your valves. I check mine every 6 trail rides or every two races. After checking them a few times you will get a feel for how much they move between checks. Then, you can establish your own schedule for checking them. Adding an hour meter to your bike will help you keep track of the actual time on the engine. There is no set schedule since everybody rides differently. It all depends on how hard you ride your bike.

You can buy a set of digital calipers at Harbor Freight that will switch from metric to inches at the press of a button. I find those handy for determining what shim you will need.

If you havn't done so in a while, you may want to check your piston and rings too. If the piston has too much time or too much clearance, it can break at the skirt and cause serious damage to your engine.

Good luck. :cool: