On the last day of a 7 day, 3200 mile ride from Northern California to Idaho and back, the venerable '03 VFR with 51000 miles on the clock, had issues and of course, decided to have them in the middle of nowhere. It stopped charging and started making an intermittent "clacking" noise from the engine. Luckily by charging my battery bike to bike for 10 minutes and disconnecting the headlights I was able to make it the 300 miles back home.
Called the Dealer in Hollister California, even though they are 50 miles away from my home and there are 3 dealers within 15 miles, they were the only ones who could take my bike now, pick it up for free just in case the "clacking" was a potentially serious issue, and offered a discount.
Now I know there are always the questions about the valve check intervals should I or shouldn't I do it every 16000 miles? I know, I asked myself every 16000, but due to my financial situation, I was of the camp "leave it alone until next time". So, now I had a reason to do it since they were going into the engine anyway, plus the 51000 miles of hard twisties, I pulled the trigger and said do the valve check. To make a long story short, clacking sound= worn out cam chain tensioners, no charging= burnt stator, valves........... all in spec! Again, I am not saying waiting is better or even a good idea but this is my experience. Final bill including replacing leaking seal on side cover, $1524 out the door.
Called the Dealer in Hollister California, even though they are 50 miles away from my home and there are 3 dealers within 15 miles, they were the only ones who could take my bike now, pick it up for free just in case the "clacking" was a potentially serious issue, and offered a discount.
Now I know there are always the questions about the valve check intervals should I or shouldn't I do it every 16000 miles? I know, I asked myself every 16000, but due to my financial situation, I was of the camp "leave it alone until next time". So, now I had a reason to do it since they were going into the engine anyway, plus the 51000 miles of hard twisties, I pulled the trigger and said do the valve check. To make a long story short, clacking sound= worn out cam chain tensioners, no charging= burnt stator, valves........... all in spec! Again, I am not saying waiting is better or even a good idea but this is my experience. Final bill including replacing leaking seal on side cover, $1524 out the door.