Fair price for shim under bucket valve adjustment (all out/cams removed) | GTAMotorcycle.com

Fair price for shim under bucket valve adjustment (all out/cams removed)

Just had this done on a '08 ZZR600. All valves were way out... shop had a shim trade program, so I didn't pay for that. Anyway... cam's had to be removed etc... glad I didn't tackle this myself. Just wondering what is a fair price for this job? Kinda wondering if I got hosed.

This particular bike calls for valve checks every 12000KM. Picked it up with 14000KM knowing they were never done... older couple owned it... used for touring... well maintained otherwise. This motor has 12.8 compression & calls for premium fuel... previous owner used regular... could this have something to do with why they were so out? (mechanic said valves were dirty, but cams and everything else were perfect)

I've read that in Europe this same bike calls for 24000 valve check intervals... far cry from 12000 on this side of the pond... could this have something to do with north American fuels being different? Anything I can do to minimize the chances of the valves going out of whack so early? Love the bike... but those short valve adj intervals are a real buzz kill.
 
When I looked into getting mine checked, Honda told me about 3hrs labour to check and 5 if they need to be done.
 
I was charged 8.5hr... this included carb sync... clean/gap plugs... oil & filter... I asked for the coolant to be changed... somehow they forgot that. They also forgot to call me when the bike was ready. Still having a hard time with the bill! (hence me not making that known yet!) Whats the valve interval on your CRB F4i? Thats the bike I wanted... but I couldn't pass the deal on the zzr600.
 
For the work that was done on your bike, 8.5 hours seems reasonable. Depending on the shop rate, it can get expensive and hurt the wallet.

For any work that you don't want to tackle yourself I would recommend Ken McAdam. Goes by Kneedragger88 on this forum. Stand up guy, QUALITY work and offers a great rate.

So how much did they gouge your for?
 
Ive got the same bike and I'm doin the exact same thing right now but myself. My intake was all within spec buy my exhaust side was all out of whack, snow city didn't have all the shims i needed so they traded me what they had and ordered the rest. Only reason I didn't pay to have it done I that I can't ride alot cuz of a back issue I'm goin thru so I got tons of time to deal with it. Also ive heard that doing this is pretty involved which is why shops charge alot to do this job. My bike has 29900 and it had never been done so it gives me something to do? Do you happen to have a jet kit on your bike? I had ordered one but they sent me an 02 zx6r kit, which has different jets, I'm not sure if it will work, even though i know both bikes have the exact same engine.

Heres a link for a guy asking the same question and someone telling him that the labour for valve adjustments was like five bills. http://zzrbikes.com/showthread.php?t=80547
 
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Whats the valve interval on your CRB F4i? Thats the bike I wanted... but I couldn't pass the deal on the zzr600.

It says to inspect at 25,600kms (15,000miles) but at Honda he said they are rarely out or even need to be checked till around 40,000kms.
 
Ive got the same bike and I'm doin the exact same thing right now but myself. My intake was all within spec buy my exhaust side was all out of whack, snow city didn't have all the shims i needed so they traded me what they had and ordered the rest. Only reason I didn't pay to have it done I that I can't ride alot cuz of a back issue I'm goin thru so I got tons of time to deal with it. Also ive heard that doing this is pretty involved which is why shops charge alot to do this job. My bike has 29900 and it had never been done so it gives me something to do? Do you happen to have a jet kit on your bike? I had ordered one but they sent me an 02 zx6r kit, which has different jets, I'm not sure if it will work, even though i know both bikes have the exact same engine.

29900K is over twice the recommended interval... but I'm glad to hear no damage was done. I suspect (but don't know) that the first valve adjustment is the most critical due to break-in/seating etc... I'm hoping this is the case... because I don't see myself getting this done every 12000k.
I don't have a jet kit... the bike came with a hindle pipe and runs flawlessly. Are you sure the '02 ZX6R kit has different jets? It's my understanding that the 05-08 ZZR600 is the exact same bike with the exact same tune... so I'm sure it will work.

Anyway... the valve job/synthetic oil & filter/plug gap& clean/carb sync came to just under $1000 taxes in. It hurt... but I got the bike for a pretty decent price. Unless I put over 24000k on this bike... I don't see myself having this done again.

Heres a link for a guy asking the same question and someone telling him that the labour for valve adjustments was like five bills. http://zzrbikes.com/showthread.php?t=80547


29900K is over twice the recommended interval... but I'm glad to hear no damage was done. I suspect (but don't know) that the first valve adjustment is the most critical due to break-in/seating etc... I'm hoping this is the case... because I don't see myself getting this done every 12000k.
I don't have a jet kit... the bike came with a hindle pipe and runs flawlessly. Are you sure the '02 ZX6R kit has different jets? It's my understanding that the 05-08 ZZR600 is the exact same bike with the exact same tune... so I'm sure it will work.

Anyway... the valve job/synthetic oil & filter/plug gap& clean/carb sync came to just under $1000 taxes in. It hurt... but I got the bike for a pretty decent price. Unless I put over 24000k on this bike... I don't see myself having this done again.
 
ya, a G-note for everything sounds bang on with what they should have charged you. So no worries man, you got your moneys worth and your bike aint scattered all over the garage like mine, lol. I just did a new chain and sprockets, and a set of tires last week and started working on the jet kit / valve clearance. If your ever looking for mods and stuff you can do to your bike holler at me. I gots the service manual pdf if you need as well. Im just gonna stick with the setup I have. Ive read so many forums today and Ive satisfied myself that i can be sure that they are in fact the same bike, even some parts places list their parts together so idk how much more proof I can find, except putting the bike back together and starting that badboy. Im gonna videotape that startup cuz at least if the bike blows up, itll make for a crazy vid, lol! Zizzer for life :)
 
29900K is over twice the recommended interval... but I'm glad to hear no damage was done. I suspect (but don't know) that the first valve adjustment is the most critical due to break-in/seating etc... I'm hoping this is the case... because I don't see myself getting this done every 12000k.
I don't have a jet kit... the bike came with a hindle pipe and runs flawlessly. Are you sure the '02 ZX6R kit has different jets? It's my understanding that the 05-08 ZZR600 is the exact same bike with the exact same tune... so I'm sure it will work.

Anyway... the valve job/synthetic oil & filter/plug gap& clean/carb sync came to just under $1000 taxes in. It hurt... but I got the bike for a pretty decent price. Unless I put over 24000k on this bike... I don't see myself having this done again.

If you have easy access to a garage think about investing in a shim kit and some feeler guages. If you already have sockets, a valve job really isn't that difficult especially on a ZZR600 where you have plenty of space between the cams and the frame/radiator for measuring clearances. It'll probably take you a good 10 hours the first time you do it but you get alot quicker the second time you do it.

I check my clearances after each season and always find a valve or two that needs to be shimmed.

Using better fuel and re-routing your crankcase vent to somewhere other than the airbox will help keep shims clearances within spec for longer too... especially on a carbed bike like the ZZR600.
 
I bought a shim kit online and found I only used 4 sizes for the 16 valves. at 12,000 k they were very tight on my R6. So tight that they one was ticking through the intake causing me to do the job early. I did it in two days, about 4 hours to tear it apart (thanks Yamaha!) and about 6 the next day. The worst part was the cam chain tensioner that wouldn't trip release as the manual stated. Hell of a job but hey $1,000 is alot of money, 1/7th the cost of the bike... The shim kit was $130 and I changed the plugs, oil and antifreeze while I was there.
 
I bought a shim kit online and found I only used 4 sizes for the 16 valves. at 12,000 k they were very tight on my R6. So tight that they one was ticking through the intake causing me to do the job early. I did it in two days, about 4 hours to tear it apart (thanks Yamaha!) and about 6 the next day. The worst part was the cam chain tensioner that wouldn't trip release as the manual stated. Hell of a job but hey $1,000 is alot of money, 1/7th the cost of the bike... The shim kit was $130 and I changed the plugs, oil and antifreeze while I was there.

That's kinda shocking your '07 R6 was out of adjustment so early. Correct me if I'm wrong... but I thought this model calls for 26,000 (mile) valve service intervals?! I'm not a Yamaha fan... but I was seriously considering one for my next bike because of lengthened valve service intervals.
 
I don't think any SS has a valve check/schim interval of 26,000mi, mabie km but that's a lot of mileage on a bike that revs to 16,000rpm (or close to). I think 20,000km is the norm.
 
That's kinda shocking your '07 R6 was out of adjustment so early. Correct me if I'm wrong... but I thought this model calls for 26,000 (mile) valve service intervals?! I'm not a Yamaha fan... but I was seriously considering one for my next bike because of lengthened valve service intervals.
I had my valves checked for the first time on my 08 R6 at 43,000km's. All of them were within spec, with two of them just barely!! Nuts :)

I don't think any SS has a valve check/schim interval of 26,000mi, mabie km but that's a lot of mileage on a bike that revs to 16,000rpm (or close to). I think 20,000km is the norm.
Any 06+ R6 gets to 16k RPM easy ;) (even though the gauge might say as much as 17250! it lies!)

-Jamie M.
 
Any 06+ R6 gets to 16k RPM easy ;) (even though the gauge might say as much as 17250! it lies!)

-Jamie M.

But what is the point of revving it way past the redline and the powerband?
 
But what is the point of revving it way past the redline and the powerband?
Pffft, with a little tweaking it makes usable power right to the redline (it limits you, so you can't really go past it, just the gauge pretends you do) ;)

I increased the limiter from 13,750 to 14,250 on my R1 and on the dyno it pulls hard right to redline (after I removed the throttle restrictions up top! See below...)

Do you think it's the bike's fault the powerband is where it is? R6 doesn't make any power until 11,000RPM!?? Not the engines fault! Nope, the tards at the factory put "rider safety" first and limit the throttle down low. To stop you from reaching 300 in a hurry (or over) on the R1, they back the throttle way off at high rpm too (the bike is limited from the factory to 298kph anyway)! Makes for a dyno chart that looks like a mountain, no power down low, small peak, dives big time at the end :( They do the same to the top end on the R6 as well.

Factory throttle restrictions for a 2007-2012 R1 (even worse on the crossplane):

R1_throttle_restrictions.png


Factory throttle restrictions for a 2008-2012 R6:

R6_throttle_restrictions.png


The new unrestricted map:

R6_unrestricted_throttle.png


Ahhhhhh, that feels better! A MONSTER down low, and makes insane power, right to the limiter, and no more stopping at 298 ;)

-Jamie M.
 
I don't think any SS has a valve check/schim interval of 26,000mi, mabie km but that's a lot of mileage on a bike that revs to 16,000rpm (or close to). I think 20,000km is the norm.

Must be a yamaha thing. My R1 also has 26K mile valve check intervals.
 
I Just rechecked the Factory manual it is 26,000 Miles, 42,000km valve adjustment. The only reason I looked at mine was one cylinder was ticking into the intake area. Got worse as the bike heated up. Must have been built on a Monday cause when I opened it up the speck cold on the intake was supposed to be 0.12 - 0.19 mm and I couldn't get a 0.10 feeler in a few intake valves. What can I say, the ticking went away and the bike is perfect now.
 

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