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Valve Adjustment Video - Step by Step, DIY Guide

treybrad

treybrad

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My buddy Chris is an incredible film guy and fellow motorcycle nut. He filmed this video while I adjusted the valves on another friend's NC.

[video=youtube_share;oWUCFoz01tk]http://youtu.be/oWUCFoz01tk[/video]

Breaks down the valve adjustment step by step, including a tool list for those of you on the fence about taking on the challenge. I'm far from any kind of pro mechanic, all you need is a little inclination and the proper tools.

Questions, fire away! Hopefully this will help someone, somewhere.

trey
 
Nice vid; thanks! That was very similar to how it worked on my bike last week. Only difference is that on mine, you only turn the crank 270 degrees from cyl 1 to cyl 2, not 360. ;)
 
Very nice.

I think a bit of warning should be included concerning torque values when reassembling things. The valve cover bolts are very easy to snap off as they only need 7 lbs to tighten and that is very low. It's a regular thing in the ST1300 forum for someone to post they snapped one off or stripped the threads out of the head and they use the same 7 ft/lbs. Steel bolt, aluminum head, low torque value, :(

Along with those is the plastic camshaft cover with just 3 ft/lbs to tighten. With the engine in the frame you can't use a socket and torque wrench so Honda substitutes a clearance value.

Thank you for the video - I think showing how easy it is will encourage people to do their own work.
 
Last edited:
I am 1 month away from 8,000 miles. With the manual, your video, and a little luck, I think I can do this. Thanks!
 
It is a great video... thoughtful and well phototgraphed.

and... not a chance... there's no way I'd attempt that. I'd screw it up six ways to Sunday, and I know it.
 
Great video. That looks like an hour or two job depending on how frosty beverages are consumed in the process. Definitely beats checking valve lash on a Concours 14 since finding the exact right size valve shims can turn into a multi day ordeal.

Honda made some really good decisions with this bike.
 
Awesome video. Something that had me worried though is I noticed he tightened the nut down with the open ended side of the wrench, and did not seem to tighten it much. This can result in the nut backing off, causing a lifter to tick or worse.
 
Nice video, thanks for sharing.

The service manual says "Hold the adjusting screw and thighten the lock nut to the specified torque". The torque is 14 Nm. Well... I have no idea how to apply the torque to the lock nut with a "normal" torque wrench and hold the screw at the same time... Any idea?

This is a "normal" torque wrench for me:

Click-torque-wrench.jpg
 
MZ5 said:
Nice vid; thanks! That was very similar to how it worked on my bike last week. Only difference is that on mine, you only turn the crank 270 degrees from cyl 1 to cyl 2, not 360. ;)
Click to expand...

Err, oops. We were editing this at my friend's studio, and I didn't think to bring the service manual. I figured we'd screw up some detail like this.....

jdmitchell said:
Great video. That looks like an hour or two job depending on how frosty beverages are consumed in the process. Definitely beats checking valve lash on a Concours 14 since finding the exact right size valve shims can turn into a multi day ordeal.
Click to expand...

Took me about 3hr to do it to my own bike the first time, and it took us right at 3hr to do this bike, messing around with making sure we filmed it. It could definitely be done in 2hr once you know what you're doing.

I'm coming off a Bandit 1250, so I feel you on the Connie. That was a 5-6hr job if you knew what you were doing and they didn't need to be adjusted.... luckily I never had to pull the cams to swap a shim.

dduelin said:
I think a bit of warning should be included concerning torque values when reassembling things. The valve cover bolts are very easy to snap off as they only need 7 lbs to tighten and that is very low. It's a regular thing in the ST1300 forum for someone to post they snapped one off or stripped the threads out of the head and they use the same 7 ft/lbs. Steel bolt, aluminum head, low torque value, :(

Along with those is the plastic camshaft cover with just 3 ft/lbs to tighten. With the engine in the frame you can't use a socket and torque wrench so Honda substitutes a clearance value.
Click to expand...

Yep, agree 100%. I'm sure the values are in the book, and that's part of the reason I said the video wasn't a replacement for it. I'm the world's worst about using a torque wrench... knock on wood, I've done a lot of tinkering on my bikes and cars and had good luck paying attention to the torque required to remove a fastener, the material I'm screwing into, etc, and haven't made a catastrophic oopsie.... yet. I'll break it out for things like brake rotors, engine mounts, etc, but things like an oil drain plug, or valve cover bolts.... not so much. But, that could easily bite my in the rear one day, and it could certainly get a noobie.

Anyway, glad y'all like the video, hopefully it'll help someone. There are probably other errors in the details, but the general guide is good and should give people a solid understanding of what needs to be done.

trey
 
n30r3l0ad3d said:
Awesome video. Something that had me worried though is I noticed he tightened the nut down with the open ended side of the wrench, and did not seem to tighten it much. This can result in the nut backing off, causing a lifter to tick or worse.
Click to expand...

A lot of the shots were just to get a good video of it... I certainly snugged that down more than it looks in the video, but you're right, that's misleading....

trey
 
Very informative and well done video. I'll give it a 9.0...you woulda got a near perfect score if you had some hotties in there somewhere!!! :)
 
duk2n said:
The service manual says "Hold the adjusting screw and thighten the lock nut to the specified torque". The torque is 14 Nm. Well... I have no idea how to apply the torque to the lock nut with a "normal" torque wrench and hold the screw at the same time... Any idea?
Click to expand...

You can use a crowsfoot wrench or a torque adapter. You have to calculate the adjusted torque based on the change in leverage...

torque adapter.jpg

This is a "normal" torque wrench for me:
Click to expand...

It takes a range of torque wrenches for different torques. That one looks a bit "mighty" for the job. I use electronic (CDI) under about 30 N-m.

Great job, Trey!
 
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