mtngoat, You are partly correct. If the wear is taking place on the rocker arms and or cam, your lash will increase, being "noisier". If the wear is taking place on the face of the valve, as in a groove being pounded into the valve face by the hardened seat, your lash will become tighter, or less. The oem valves are known for being "soft". Both these scenarios are common to most air cooled 4 strokes. Honda seems to have had some quality issues with certain batches in recent years. On older, ill maintained motors, you see more of the actual cam/rocker wear. It is also caused by performance cams, and heavy valve springs.