FIXONICBefore you begin
Check underneath the Introduction for any potential Important notes! Do not skip these before starting the guide, please. Valve Inspection and Adjustments can be a daunting task if it is your first time, even with the manual with you. My attempt at it initially took me months of waiting for parts, not knowing what to do exactly, and not doing it properly. After having to do this process a few times it will probably take me two to three hours if I work on this in one go. Don't worry though, in this guide I will take you through this process step-by-step. Your first time will not necessarily have to take 8 hours but do expect to work on it the whole day assuming you have all the tools ready. If you are lucky you will only need to do the inspection which will only take about half an hour to an hour max. You will unfortunately have to do a bit more if you need to do some adjustments as well. I would recommend doing this inside, When I initially did this I did not have a garage and had to work outside in the sun. If this is you buy something to put over your motorcycle if you are not done within that same day. This is to avoid any debris getting into your valve intakes. To justify the cost to the wife, explain that pretty much all the tools you are going to need can be used for any purpose besides the bike, it's not an exclusive one-time tool. So don't feel bad for spending the money to buy the tools. I've listed out the individual tools you will need but you can probably get a better deal buying the tools in a "package" instead of buying an individual socket. The choice is yours in that department. Walmart sells tool kits for thirty bucks which will have a good amount of sockets, wrenches, drive ratches, and probably some Allen keys. Now why do you need to do adjustments in the first place? After some time the shims can expand which will close the amount of tolerated distance for the valves. This can lead to overheating, power loss, pre-ignition, or burnt valves. As I said before this can be a daunting task to start, but in all honesty, there isn't much to it. It just takes a lot of time and patience. Hopefully, with this guide, this will be all you need instead of having to scour through forum posts, youtube videos and having to read the manual a few times. (You will definitely still need the manual though, lucky for you I will include the pages needed.) If you have any questions feel free to ask them. I won't be able to answer every single one but I will certainly try my best! Note: I skipped over the front Cylinder but will be doing so soon so stay tuned if that is something you need as well. Note 2: You can skip parts 10-17 if you won't need to adjust your front valves as the tensioner will be almost impossible to access without doing so.
