Valve Adjustment Price Check?

[Will]

Valve Adjustment Price Check?

Can it be done without any special tools either? I found a website thats pretty comprehensive, that someone on this site linked me too, looking around on it to try to answer a few of my questions. I was just wondering what the going price on a Valve Adjustment is though. It's for a ex 250 2005

Thanks in advance!

[BlueLghtning]

Valve Adjustment Price Check?

Can it be done without any special tools either? I found a website thats pretty comprehensive, that someone on this site linked me too, looking around on it to try to answer a few of my questions. I was just wondering what the going price on a Valve Adjustment is though. It's for a ex 250 2005

Thanks in advance!

Pre 07 Ninja 250's have screw type adjusters which makes it easy to change them if they are out of range. The only special tool you need is a feeler gauge set in the right measurements.

I couldn't tell you what actual shops are getting, but part of the cost is just labor getting to the valves. Checking and adjusting really isn't that hard. With the parallel twin of the 250, they are in easy reach also once you get a few things out of the way like the tank.

Have you considered doing this yourself or is it way above your comfort level?

[Will]

I think that the ones that are not needing special tools I am going to do myself. Nowadays with the capabilites of online information sharing, it makes it much easier with pictures, guides and even videos. The only thing I think I can't do is the fixes that require special tools. When I was driving my car I always relied on either my friends knowledge of vehicles or mechanics. I think with my bike I really want to understand the mechanical aspects to go along with the feeling of exhilaration as you travel down the roads. I don't want to begin relying solely on Mechanics to do the work.

I think if all you need is a feeler gauge set, I would like to attempt this myself. But than again, if the valve adjustment is fairly cheap I wouldn't mind going to the mechanic the first time through, just for the sake of time (this is my finals week at school). Although I think, if I try to do the valve adjustment I can also change the spark plugs and at the same time post a couple of pictures of my chain and sprocket and engine (previous posts I posted made mention of possible problems these parts may have). If I have to stable my bike for a week than I guess that's what will have to be done.

I heard if a bike does need a valve adjustment and you keep riding it, it could potentially melt the covers. Either way this doesn't sound good, LOL. Any advice from my fellow GSB members? And thanks BlueLightening for the timely reply.

On a side note, even unscrewing the fairings seems outta my comfort level, but people don't grow stronger or more smarter staying in the comfort zone.

[BlueLghtning]

Will, I just had to go back and look over some of your past posts.

First lets start at the beginning. How many miles does your bike have on it now? How many when you bought it? Its a 2005 model so technically things should still be pretty decent depending on the mileage? How many miles a week are you putting on the bike?

Where do you stand on Tires, chain & sprockets? Have you even done those yet as you had past posts that those were looking bad? Why are you freaking out about the valves all of a sudden? Is it just internet hype or are you just want to know where you stand? Its good that you are concerned about your valves since I would be willing to bet that many Ninja 250 valves get neglected way too long, but if your bike is running "okay" chances are your valves aren't in immediate danger of making your engine go nuclear tomorrow.

Lorme had offered to just look at the bike or you. Did you ever take him up on that? Or I'm sure plenty more members would be willing to just look over your bike, take it for a ride and let you know what they think. It would help if that person is familiar with 250's. In every single one of your posts, you seem to be all over the place with your bike here about what you need to do and what you are going to do. If your tires and chain & sprockets are as bad as you said they were, you need to get those fixed first. Put some priority on things and let's start seeing you get some of these items taken car of.

I do agree that learning how to work on your own bike is one of the best things you can do, and with all the internet help forums, you can usually work your way through things, but jumping into the valves wouldn't be my first thing if you haven't even done anything close that yet. Maybe having someone help you the first time would be the best idea. The concept of checking valves is not hard, but it is something that you can screw up and make bad things happen down the road. Let's make sure you feel comfortable like doing the brakes, changing the air filter, changing the oil, stuff like that.

[Will]

Okay cool.

My problem is, I guess I am overly anxious about everything. It is my first bike and I don't want it falling apart on me. I think maybe I am hearing noises in the dark? It just sounds more ominous then it is, then I start overthinking things. I think I got spooked when I took it to the first basic service and they gave me a list of things that are going bad.

To answer your questions Blue Lightening :

Unfortunately I havent taken it to Lorne yet. I started training on my new job and with my finals approaching, it became really hectic. Things are starting to look better for next week, but with any new kitchen, the hours are long. I also didn't want to take it to Lorne b/c I didn't have any money. It's b/c the lack of money that I couldn't do the chain and sprockets and the tires. When I have a little more money saved up, I was going to take it to Lorne for him to look at and also at the time, ask him what I should fix first, the tires or the chain and sprockets.

BUT, to start at the beginning, my bike only has 13000 miles on it. I ride it everywhere so I am clocking at least 60 miles on it a day. Sometimes more. For a while there I took it up to Conyers area, which is 60 miles there and back.

The valve question was b/c of the most recent activities of my bike. When I over used the choke and than it began to act up with all the problems, I read another forum post that had similar symptoms. They mentioned two things, the spark plugs and the valve adjustment (Might of misread that or disconnected it somehow). Furthermore, going to the past : When I read over the service records to see where things fell with my bike, I read that the engine was disassembled and than reassembled with a missing screw. Than with the diagnostics saying that the chain was tight with spots, and the tires, engine sounding weird, etc. I just started imagining the worst case scenario.

But you are right. I think I was just freaking myself out. I know priorities would be 1) Chain or Sprocket, 2) Tires (not in that order). Than I guess I would try to do the spark plug myself, which from what I gather would be a good way to get my feet wet with some of the mechanics of the bike.

What do you think?

[wallypiper]

I heard if a bike does need a valve adjustment and you keep riding it, it could potentially melt the covers

I'm not sure what that means, but it's definitely some kind of internet joke somebody is tossing at you. As valves wear, they get "tight". Normally, when the engine is cold, there is a bit of clearance in the train of parts that connects the cam to the valve. As the parts get hot and expand, the clearance gets smaller. As the engine runs, the valves keep slamming into the seats. The valves and especially the seats wear from the impact. That uses up the clearance and eventually you have to adjust something to get it back. What you adjust varies depending on the design. Maybe shims, maybe screws, maybe nothing (hydraulic systems using oil pressure require no adjustment but are rare in motorcycle engines). Like Dan said, the concept is simple but the measurements are in thousandths of an inch and the correct range is small. On my SV, for example, the range for the intake valves is .004" to .008". So it's easy to get it wrong. It's important to understand that when the valves and seats wear the clearance DECREASES. So my SV would need adjusting if the clearance was LESS than .004". Assuming they were set correctly at some point, it would never be more than .008".

In the old days, before engines ran so fast and parts were engineered so close to their limits, mechanics did valve adjustments by ear. With the valve cover off, you can hear the cam parts hitting each other as the clearance gets used up. They knew what that should sound like. Too little clearance and there was no noise. Too much and the noise was too loud. It's always better to be loose (too much clearance) than tight because if you're too tight, the valves might not close at all.

Enough of that. There's a few animations out there of how different setups work. Google's your friend but be wary of forums. There's some jerks out there that will give you bad answers just for fun.

Tires, chain and sprocket are almost certainly more critical than the valves at this point.

[TLR67]

LOL.. Melting the covers would be the least of the worries.... Its the leaks in the Blinker Fluid that can cause the most damage...

[BlueLghtning]

Okay cool.

My problem is, I guess I am overly anxious about everything. It is my first bike and I don't want it falling apart on me. I think maybe I am hearing noises in the dark? It just sounds more ominous then it is, then I start overthinking things. I think I got spooked when I took it to the first basic service and they gave me a list of things that are going bad.

Okay, well I understand the stress of a new bike, but it sounds like you are letting the internet getting you freaked out a bit. As you become more in tune with your bike, you'll start to learn what are "normal" sounds and when something probably isn't correct!



To answer your questions Blue Lightening :

Unfortunately I havent taken it to Lorne yet. I started training on my new job and with my finals approaching, it became really hectic. Things are starting to look better for next week, but with any new kitchen, the hours are long. I also didn't want to take it to Lorne b/c I didn't have any money. It's b/c the lack of money that I couldn't do the chain and sprockets and the tires. When I have a little more money saved up, I was going to take it to Lorne for him to look at and also at the time, ask him what I should fix first, the tires or the chain and sprockets.


I understand about not having money, but Lorne offered just to look the bike over for you for nothing. It really sounds like you could benefit from anyone with some experience to at least look it over for you, especially since you are using this as your only transportation. If your chain is really bad, its going to eat through your sprockets costing you more money. If its just a chain right now, you could get by with just replacing it for a bit cheaper. Chains usually last about 12-18k depending on how well it was taken care of. Its very possible the chain definitely needs to be replaced Also, if your chain is getting "tight" enough to pull on the counter shaft sprocket, it can cause the seal there to be stressed and start to leak oil. (Costing even more money). It just depends on how bad it is, but its hard to explain that over the net or diagnose it over the net. Someone with some experience though could tell you pretty quick how bad your chain/sprockets are.



BUT, to start at the beginning, my bike only has 13000 miles on it. I ride it everywhere so I am clocking at least 60 miles on it a day. Sometimes more. For a while there I took it up to Conyers area, which is 60 miles there and back.

13k miles is decent mileage for a 250, but nothing crazy and its got many fun years left in it. Your tire posts about the tires looking like they were "dry rotted" seems strange because even stock tires from 2005 probably shouldn't be dry rotted (unless left outside all the time) and at 13k miles, the stock rear tire has probably been replaced? Now it is possible if your bike was torn down and rebuilt from a "parts bike" that other tires/parts were used and they aren't original. If your tires have tread, then that's good. Dry rotted tires present a risk in that the tires are pretty old and are starting to crack. They can come apart and usually by that point in their life, they are as hard as a rock and probably don't have near the grip they should have. Again, someone with some experience could tell you in about 10 seconds how bad off your tires are.

Neither tires or chains are things to ignore too long when the bike is your sole transportation.



The valve question was b/c of the most recent activities of my bike. When I over used the choke and than it began to act up with all the problems, I read another forum post that had similar symptoms. They mentioned two things, the spark plugs and the valve adjustment (Might of misread that or disconnected it somehow). Furthermore, going to the past : When I read over the service records to see where things fell with my bike, I read that the engine was disassembled and than reassembled with a missing screw. Than with the diagnostics saying that the chain was tight with spots, and the tires, engine sounding weird, etc. I just started imagining the worst case scenario.

I read some of that about your choke which didn't really make sense that it caused on going issues? of not running right? Usually leaving the choke on too long does nothing more then cause your bike to start to bog or not idle and is remedied as soon as you turn it off. Its usually not ongoing issues? Now Ninja 250's are pretty cold naturued beasts and don't run at their optimum until about 5-10 mins into the ride.



But you are right. I think I was just freaking myself out. I know priorities would be 1) Chain or Sprocket, 2) Tires (not in that order). Than I guess I would try to do the spark plug myself, which from what I gather would be a good way to get my feet wet with some of the mechanics of the bike.

What do you think?

Definitely get your tires and chain/sprockets looked at. Like I said, you might get by right now with just a chain. Your tires may be fine, they may be shot?

Spark plugs would be a good start. I had a 250 that ran like crap when I bought it because someone put the wrong plugs in it and it ran horribly. New plugs had it running like a champ. 250's are also very susceptible to overfilling the oil fill and blowing oil into the airbox which definitely doesn't help it run very good. If you ever crashed or layed your bike down, you probably got oil in your airbox and that will cause running issues. Take out the air filter and clean out the oil box. If your air filter is doused in oil, then you need a new one.

[Will]

You guys are great. Thanks for all the helpful advice and not making me feel like a dummy in the process. I appreciate it all. Thanks a million. I feel alot better after reading your posts and responses.

I will definitely take it to Lorne the next possible time for him to look at it.