Gen 3 valve clearance checking after 32K miles

[Craig380]

Bike is just over 32K miles. I checked the clearances at 15K miles and all were within spec: all inlets at either 5 or 6 thou, and all exhausts at either 8 or 9 thou.

So would you:

A) Check the clearances again while the weather's crap?

B) Leave it on the basis that they were fine at the first check, and are unlikely to have changed, given that the bike gets oil & filter changes by the book and very rarely sees more than 8,000rpm on the clocks?

[garynortheast]

Mmm, probably the last person in the world who should be offering a view but I've made it to nearly 102,000 miles and never looked at the valve clearances.

[DJ123]

i really wouldn't bother. Unless you are someone who is regularly and consistently riding the bike in the upper end of the rev range, they should be fine. Unless there are running issues making you think there's an issue, i'd leave them be.

[Craig380]

Originally Posted by garynortheast

Mmm, probably the last person in the world who should be offering a view but I've made it to nearly 102,000 miles and never looked at the valve clearances.

I was going to add a note saying "Gary, I know which way you're going to vote" but I didn't want to prejudice the outcome

[garynortheast]

Originally Posted by Craig380

I was going to add a note saying "Gary, I know which way you're going to vote" but I didn't want to prejudice the outcome

[Ruffy]

Unless you really need the peace of mind, I'm in the 'lazy and trusting that they're unlikely to have significantly worn' camp.*

IMHO, as you suggest, keeping enough fresh oil for good lubrication is the best medicine. (Checking cam chain tension is the next consideration but you'd probably hear quite clearly if that was badly out.) SV motors seem to have good oil distribution systems - we're not dealing with an early Honda VF here, thankfully!

Of course it's anecdotal but I've only sporadically checked valve clearances on many cars and bikes I've had over the years. Never found a serious issue to do with valve clearances and I've run to some quite high mileages too. Like you, I am generally a 'lighter' user of the throttle but I'm not afraid to go close to the red line on some occasions.

* No liability accepted if you follow my approach!

[Seeker]

I'm in the 3rd (not listed) option - too lazy to do it myself but anxious enough that I'd pay someone else to do it.*

If I didn't get them checked I'd be fretting about them on every ride. "What's that noise?" or "Why is the engine so quiet?"

I'd prefer to be in: "they'll be fine, what could possibly go wrong?" camp.

*(Mine were checked at 29k by the dealer - all were in spec.)

[Bibio]

they will be fine. but for what it costs to get a dealer to do it or even down time for yourself its worth checking. from history on this and other SV sites the consensus is that the first check is good enough. i have never heard of an SV blowing up, dropping a valve or burning seats out due to valve clearances.