[JCDoherty]

Like the title says just how bad is the valve adjustment for someone who has never done it and would have to do it in the driveway as I don't have a garage. I've watched several videos on the actual shimming and it doesn't look bad but I've read it can take from 2-6 hours of work to get to the valves. Is this doable by a novice?
Thanks for any insights or shortcuts
Jim

 

[Easy Rider]

IF......my only choices were:
Don't mess with the valves.
OR Have a "novice" try to adjust them.
I would strongly recommend the "not mess with it" option.

Especially if it runs good and doesn't have a lot of miles on it.
Say 20K or less.

 

[JCDoherty]

I just got it and when I rode it home there was a lot and I mean a lot of heat coming off the engine and exhaust, it has 9800 miles on it. I was just worried about melting something since I have read the valves should be checked every 6000 miles.

 

[Easy Rider]

I just got it and when I rode it home there was a lot and I mean a lot of heat coming off the engine and exhaust,

Sure. The weather has been HOT most everywhere this summer.

Is it a stock exhaust ?
Was the fan running ?
Have you checked the coolant level and the radiator for blockage.......and the oil level ??
Did you notice that mostly when stopped in traffic ??

I seriously doubt that valve adjustment has anything to do with your heat observation.

 

[Aussie Steve]

WHS^ valve adjustment wont make any difference to the heat output. Shims are easy to do but you do need to rmove a lot of bits....most bikes these days with shims need to have the camshafts removed which means you need a torque wrench to retigten the bearing caps...not a novice job. Like Er says get it done If it needs it esp since you dont have garage.