It's Easy To Forget..

[Amber Lamps]

I was just reading my service manual to decide if I want to do my own valve clearance adjustment or have the stealership do it. It's amazing when you actually look at it and realize how much maintenance you're supposed to do to these bikes. Bleeding the air from the cooling system,clutch adjustments, cable lube and adj,etc. I'm sure that 90% of bikes don't get 20% of this stuff done! BTW if anyone can tell me how,I'll send you a copy of the manual. I have it on my computer and on cd. I know from owning an '01 and an '03 GSXR that they aren't very different and you wouldn't be able to use all of the torque figures but some of the info should be helpful.

[Dnyce]

do it yourself unless its free or you dont know what you're doing.

if you dont know what you're doing-tell em you're gonna watch em when they do it. that way u can do it next time

[Mr Lefty]

do it yourself unless its free or you dont know what you're doing.

if you dont know what you're doing-tell em you're gonna watch em when they do it. that way u can do it next time
true... but in some cases you dont' have anywhere to do it... like say an apartment that doesn't allow working on vehicles... my place in california fined me $50 for change'n the oil in their parking lot. yeah I moved a week later

[Dnyce]

always get a place on the 1st floor-roll the bike in the apt, closer to the beer lol


good point tho...ive torn down a car engine in my apt parking garage, never had a prob, but i did a brake job on my friends bike at his apt-manager bitched like crazy. wasnt making noise, hadnt spilled any fluid yet, wasnt even a ritzy upscale place, and we werent visible, we were in the back, around a corner, in his designated parking spot. wtf?

also make sure you got the right tools 4the job-a ten min check up turns into 2hrs of rage simply because you dont have the right tool and you're tryin to rig something.
:dthumb:

[Gas Man]

Here's my POV on doing things yourself and I'm a person of always doing it myself on my bike.

1. nobody cares for your bike more than you
2. why pay somebody else to fuck up your bike when you can do it for free
3. a service manual, some mechanical skill, some tools, and time is all you need

[Amber Lamps]

Here's my POV on doing things yourself and I'm a person of always doing it myself on my bike.

1. nobody cares for your bike more than you
2. why pay somebody else to fuck up your bike when you can do it for free
3. a service manual, some mechanical skill, some tools, and time is all you need

I totally agree! My only misgiving is not having a proper place to do this kind of work and yea,I wish I would have gone first floor. Everyone else who owns a bike here keeps it in the house!!! Not to mention running the puppy up and down the stairs 7-10 times a day!

All I need is the feeler gage and a set of shims and I'm sure I could do it. I'll call and order the parts today! I'll need the o-rings,seals,shims,etc. Ofcourse that's the other "fear" that I'll miss something that the stealership normally does. Kinda like the guy who changes his own oil on his car but never lubes the chassis or checks the other fluids.

[marko138]

I totally agree! My only misgiving is not having a proper place to do this kind of work and yea,I wish I would have gone first floor. Everyone else who owns a bike here keeps it in the house!!! Not to mention running the puppy up and down the stairs 7-10 times a day!

All I need is the feeler gage and a set of shims and I'm sure I could do it. I'll call and order the parts today! I'll need the o-rings,seals,shims,etc. Ofcourse that's the other "fear" that I'll miss something that the stealership normally does. Kinda like the guy who changes his own oil on his car but never lubes the chassis or checks the other fluids.

No guarantee the dealer does that either.

[Captain Morgan]

true... but in some cases you dont' have anywhere to do it... like say an apartment that doesn't allow working on vehicles... my place in california fined me $50 for change'n the oil in their parking lot. yeah I moved a week later

I was in the dorms at the AF in Utah. Clutch master cylinder was shot on my truck. Wouldn't do anything at all, so I couldn't drive it. Manager bitched at me for changing it out in the parking lot. Luckily, the base auto shop was across the street, so I told him, "fine, but you have to help me push it over there." He did, so I finished it there. That's one thing I really miss about the Air Force, lifts for $2.50/hour or a bay for $1.50 an hour and every tool you'll ever need for free.
Although, prices are probably higher now.

[Mr Lefty]

actually they're not... not really... but there are a lot of bases that are doing away with them... don't know why... they're always PACKED when I go there... but yeah... fuck'n awesome benifit

[ceo012384]

This writeup isn't for your specific bike, but the method is exactly the same. It's a tricky job, but doable:

http://www.r6messagenet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14272%22%20target=%22_blank

And yes, personally, I'm with you and GM. I'll figure it out myself, and if I really get stuck, ask a buddy. No way I'm paying a dealership.

[No Worries]

Checking the valve clearance is easy and fun. Changing the valve clearance is more involved since the camshaft(s) has to come out. My old Suzuki uses a shim on top of the bucket. A special tool levers the bucket down and the shim is replaced with a thinner or thicker shim. My old Honda uses an adjustment screw on the valve rocker. The camshafts stay in place.

Most newer bikes have the shim under the bucket, on top of the valve. All the clearances are checked and written down, the crank is rotated and done several more times until all valves are checked. If any are too tight or too loose, the crank is set to TDC, the camshaft sprockets are loosened and the cams slid out. The buckets of the loose or tight valves are taken off, the shim sizes are read, or if they are wiped off, the shims are miked, and new shims are inserted to get the correct clearance. The cams are slid back in, checked to make sure the exhaust and intake aren't switched, are in the correct time, and you're done. You definitely need the manual for this.

[Amber Lamps]

Checking the valve clearance is easy and fun. Changing the valve clearance is more involved since the camshaft(s) has to come out. My old Suzuki uses a shim on top of the bucket. A special tool levers the bucket down and the shim is replaced with a thinner or thicker shim. My old Honda uses an adjustment screw on the valve rocker. The camshafts stay in place.

Most newer bikes have the shim under the bucket, on top of the valve. All the clearances are checked and written down, the crank is rotated and done several more times until all valves are checked. If any are too tight or too loose, the crank is set to TDC, the camshaft sprockets are loosened and the cams slid out. The buckets of the loose or tight valves are taken off, the shim sizes are read, or if they are wiped off, the shims are miked, and new shims are inserted to get the correct clearance. The cams are slid back in, checked to make sure the exhaust and intake aren't switched, are in the correct time, and you're done. You definitely need the manual for this.

yep it's alittle daunting to say the least! You're exactly right,btw,about checking being easy. Now I'm trying NOT to chicken out and do the shim job myself. A few other factors making me think twice about doing it; stimilus check=free $$$, shop will do the job for $200-300, I suspect I have a bad/broken spring-if so extended warranty will pay for whole job. OOOO desisions,desisions!!! Oh well,it'll wait until after Memorial Day!

[azoomm]

Here's my POV on doing things yourself and I'm a person of always doing it myself on my bike.

1. nobody cares for your bike more than you
2. why pay somebody else to fuck up your bike when you can do it for free
3. a service manual, some mechanical skill, some tools, and time is all you need

Fuck-an-aye

The only thing I haven't done on mine are valves and belts, they freak me out. I just ordered the DVD to walk me through these desmo scary valves.

I keep a check list in the garage for each of the bikes - what maintenance, when... that way I know what was done and when, and what should be done and when.

I would encourage anyone that has collected tools over the years to take an inventory from time to time. A friend of mine had their garage broken into and got cleaned out... it was only then, when they needed to replace things, they realized how expensive tools are.

[Gas Man]

actually they're not... not really... but there are a lot of bases that are doing away with them... don't know why... they're always PACKED when I go there... but yeah... fuck'n awesome benifit
That shop thing is the coolest!!

And Tiger... I would take the bike in under the warrenty and complaign about top end noise and the possible vlv problem. Then talk to the shop about diong the vlv adjustment while its there.

Only reason being the warrenty!

[Phenix_Rider]

That shop thing is the coolest!!

And Tiger... I would take the bike in under the warrenty and complaign about top end noise and the possible vlv problem. Then talk to the shop about diong the vlv adjustment while its there.

Only reason being the warrenty!

Hobby Shop FTW! It's great having access to a lift and air tools without buying them!

[Amber Lamps]

That shop thing is the coolest!!

And Tiger... I would take the bike in under the warrenty and complaign about top end noise and the possible vlv problem. Then talk to the shop about diong the vlv adjustment while its there.

Only reason being the warrenty!

Yea,that's what I think I'll do. I called the parts dept about the shims and found out they'll be about $100,then The valve cover gasket and o-rings,not to mention a metric feeler gage and any other tools I might need puts it at about half what they'll charge if I have them do it or zero if they can get Suzuki to pay for it. In this case,I think you're right.

[Dnyce]

yea-under warranty, make them do it. and watch

[Gas Man]

Excessive top end noise... make them do a leak down test to check the valve and the valve clearances. Then they will find the problems and have to at the very least adjust the valves.