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Question about Valve Clearance and other Maintenance

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docb91b

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Howdy all,

Not sure if this has been hashed out before, but here we go...

I read in Cycle World that the Valve Clearance inspection at 8000 miles costs around 500 bucks!!!! Couple that with needing to buy new tires soon and a new chain... I am thinking about doing my own maintenance from now on.

Question...
How hard is it to check the valves? I hear you have to remove the radiator? How about other general servicing (like oil changes, replacing chains etc..)? I am a computer tech by trade and not afraid of tools. However, this is my first motorcycle and it is DCT.

I am thinking about doing all the servicing, except for tire changes (let them have that fun). Is a particular service manual suggested/recommended?

That article blew my mind.... they said 1 year report... 10,000 miles, 1000 dollars of maintenance!! I am new to motorcycles, but $1000 to 10,000 seems excessive!

As always, your help is appreciated.

D
 
No worries! Very easy job. Youtube search Valve Adjustment on Honda NC700X and you will find a great video. Most owners I believe have done their own on here. Get a Service Manual also to assist you on your way to doing all your own work. I have not spent anything in maintenance cost on my bike in a year except cost of oil, filter and tires. I change the tires myself too.
Good luck and lot's of helpful people on here to answer questions.
BTW - I teach Computer Tech so even we can do the work.
 
Thanks Big Thump. Which manual do you use?

When I said I was a tech, I thought everyone was going to reply... in that case, go to the dealer.. lol
 
There's no reason you can't learn to do the valve checks, or change the tires too, if you want. Your bike never needs to see a dealer again. Looks like you've found one of the valve adjust write ups on the forum. Also, buy the Honda service manual, and you should be all set.
 
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A motorcycle doesn't get much easier to work on than these 700's. I think most people interested in doing their own service work could do so.
 
Docb91b, you can most definitely do the valve clearance check/adjustment yourself, and most all other routine service & maintenance as well, if you want to! I have the Honda service manual, which I got from my dealer. It's generally easiest to order through Helm (helminc.com); most dealers will push you to that site. I agree with you that $1,000/10,000 miles is WAAAYYY too expensive. It's great proof that, at least in North America, motorcycles are pure luxury items. Happily, I think that the NCX is about the easiest bike currently in production, on an overall basis, to work on.

You don't really have to _remove_ the radiator, but it does have to be moved out of the way. Given that, IMO it is easiest and simplest overall to just remove it. Moving vs. removing is a difference of probably 5 minutes total, for me (others are probably faster than me). You will need a receptacle into which to catch the coolant as it drains. Remember, too, that the coolant is poison to you, your kids, and pets. The factory coolant _should_ have a bittering agent in it so that it is not sweet and tasty to the above, but I didn't taste it to verify. :) So, if you're like me and have helpers around, prepare accordingly.

You'll need some feeler gauges, which can be had for $5 - $25 from your auto parts store, or Amazon, or a whole bunch of other places. I like the bent ones best for this bike, but I've also bent some straight ones; whatever works for you. I bought a good set of S-K allen-head drivers (like sockets), and have found them to be invaluable for this bike and a couple other things I work on, too.

Since the coolant gets mostly drained when I check my valves, I just change it out (replace the drained stuff with new).

I change my own tires, too, though it's a bit difficult with absolutely no support or bead-breaking mechanism of any sort beyond a 5-gallon bucket. It's handy to have a helper. Dad helped me with mine, with the idea that I'd help him with his on his super-heavy VTX1800 cruiser. That bike's tires are _much_ tougher than ours.
 
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I've done the valves on lots of different bikes over the years, and the NC has one of the easiest valve adjustment procedures I've seen. Shim and bucket are much harder and many bikes like my old Versys and the V-Strom take half a day to get to. Even the new 2013 CB500 series is a pain, and they need it checked at 600 miles. This would be the perfect bike to learn on.
 
$500 sounds high. I would think a competent mechanic could do the valves in 1-1.5hrs. Took me longer but then I’m just a shade tree mechanic. We have seen on this forum that dealership prices vary greatly. I paid ~$45 for the first service (oil change, chain inspect/lube, general checks). Others have paid up to $200 so it pays to check around. BTW the DCT has 2 oil filters. The normal one on bottom and then one on the right side under a cover. I believe Oil changes are covered in the owner’s manual. The service manual has pretty good directions on doing the valves and there is an aftermarket service manual on ebay that is written more toward a first time user perspective.
 
Thanks you again for the help!!!! My manual arrives today.

Just curious, of those that have done the inspection themselves.. has anyone's valves been out of specs? 8000 still seems pretty young for valve changes.

D
 
Mine, as well as probably most other, needed some adjustment at 8000 miles. However, mine were not outside the spec limits. I just adjusted them to the middle/looser side of the spec range.
 
I did two at the same time and one had some out and the other (my wifes CTX) was pretty much in spec. My bike had 11k miles and my wifes CTX700 had 10k miles. Both ridden the same.
 
Like Greg, I've found mine to still be within spec, but they've generally tightened up between check intervals. Last weekend, for example, cylinder #2's exhaust valves were right at the very end of spec, on the tight side. This time around, I set them all to center of spec. For mine, they look to be moving roughly 0.001 - 0.002" during the course of an adjustment interval. One might hope the rate of change would decrease as the miles accumulate, but I don't know whether it will or not.
 
I checked mine at 10k and 20k. Both times the exhaust valves were on the tight end of spec so I set them back in the middle. Checked a friend's NC at ~12k miles and his were all dead-on middle of spec.

So, YMMV, but it's definitely worth taking the 1.5-2hrs to have a look and put your mind at ease.

trey
 
Many of you have heard me talk about the service/warranty package I purchase with my bike. It was to good to pass up so the dealer does all my maintenance. When it came time for my 8,000 mile service I had asked if I need to bring the bike the night prior. They normally don't like messing with the valves after you have ridden it for an hour. They said and I quote "No need to check the valves at your 8,000 service. We'll do it at the 12,000. There is no use. I've rarely seen anything out of spec at 8,000 miles". Based off many comments here and the commnets of the head maintence guy at the dealer I decided to wait until 12,000 miles. That won't be much longer.
 
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