Cam Service - was it done?

So - I just bought my '99 VFR about two months ago. Struggles with a start (usually two cranks), but I think I figured it out with a battery problem - will know tonight. However, it got me thinking, and the previous owner (#2) didn't know whether the cams had been serviced. From what I understand is that you do it at 20k miles. Any way to check without having to take it in, or should I just pay up for the service?

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Valve shims, I think you mean?  The cams do have to be removed if any shims need replacement, but talking about servicing the cams might cause some furrowed brows...

Ciao,

JZH Valve shims, I think you mean?  The cams do have to be removed if any shims need replacement, but talking about servicing the cams might cause some furrowed brows...
 
Ciao,

If the previous owner doesn't recall checking them then likely it wasn't done. Some people don't bother checking at the suggested intervals at all and have racked up a lot of miles.

I checked mine every 25K km until 100K km without needing an adjustment. But the valve clearances were trending tighter. So at my next check at 166K km I had to adjust 5 (or 6) valves. It's not that hard on the pre-VTEC engines, just time consuming. 

Chances are they'll be fine but at least it gives you a chance to know your bike better and gives you some peace of mind. I did mine as part of a larger service - oil, filter, plugs, coolant, brake fluid.

I bought a '99 this past December.  It was in really good condition but the original owner never did any of the more difficult bits of ongoing maintenance, to include things like checking/adjusting the valve shims.  The bike had just short of 20k miles and just like yours it was a bit hard to start.  Checking the valve clearances showed it needed a lot of new shim sizes.  After correcting all the shims to get the gaps in specification (actually a fun job in my opinion) and synchronizing the starter valves it starts up right on the first press of the button.

9 hours ago, GreginDenver

I bought a '99 this past December.  It was in really good condition but the original owner never did any of the more difficult bits of ongoing maintenance, to include things like checking/adjusting the valve shims.  The bike had just short of 20k miles and just like yours it was a bit hard to start.  Checking the valve clearances showed it needed a lot of new shim sizes.  After correcting all the shims to get the gaps in specification (actually a fun job in my opinion) and synchronizing the starter valves it starts up right on the first press of the button.

Greg, can you share which synchronizer you used?

I use the Morgan Carbtune.  The unit itself has "Carbtune Pro" printed on the plastic case.

If you want to borrow it that would be fine (just noticed you're located up in Longmont).

GreginDenver, 6/11/2017 at 9:45 AM

I bought a '99 this past December.  It was in really good condition but the original owner never did any of the more difficult bits of ongoing maintenance, to include things like checking/adjusting the valve shims.  The bike had just short of 20k miles and just like yours it was a bit hard to start.  Checking the valve clearances showed it needed a lot of new shim sizes.  After correcting all the shims to get the gaps in specification (actually a fun job in my opinion) and synchronizing the starter valves it starts up right on the first press of the button.

Dude - totally my story. The "regular maintenance" was done (the guy even had all the service records when he owned it for 7 years), but I couldn't find anything more than oil changes, a chain replacement, and battery replacement. I'm definitely find out quite a few things as I dig deeper into the bike. He did give me the Clymer Shop Manual, so I'm sure there's a section in there about adjusting the shims that I'll have to research. I'm much the same way - I like knowing my vehicles inside and out on a more personal level. Any special tools I (we) should know about for tuning the shims?

Thanks for the feedback from everyone, and Greg for the note on the synchronizer.

I'm very thorough when I work on a motorcycle or car, here's what my 5th Gen looked like when I did the valves.

[image: IMG_20170120_135936_zpsn0nur3qv.jpg]

[image: IMG_20170120_135838_zpsee0n1tha.jpg]

So access to the cylinder heads wasn't a problem.  The "special tools" I used?  I used both of my torque wrenches (a normal one and a smaller one for tighter spaces), I used a black "Sharpie" marker pen to put marks on the cam gears to I'd know if they were reassembled/aligned properly after changing the shims,  I used a electronic micrometer purchased at Harbor Freight (machinists always insist on hand-measuring things like valve shims, what they mean is that even if a valve shim has a size marked on it you should confirm the actual gnat's-ass measurement of the shim), I also used a camera to carefully take pictures of the cylinder head parts before I disassembled them, so I would have a reference to look at during reassembly. 

I replaced all of the rubber bits, didn't re-use any of the 18 year old O-rings or seals.

Here's my results: All of my Exhaust Valves where perfectly within factory specification.

All of the Intake Valves required adjustment, 3 were "out of tolerance", 4 were very close to "out of tolerance", and 1 was okay-ish but I still adjusted it.

[image: DSCF1296_zpsdxq8qkxc.jpg]

[image: DSCF1309_zpsijymfs3n.jpg]

[image: DSCF1295_zpsycjzw2tl.jpg]

[image: DSCF1308_zpsihlceouw.jpg]

I used shims purchased at the parts counter of my local Honda Dealership.  To be honest I don't know if they're actual Honda parts or Honda-certified or even Honda-approved.  When I used the digital electronic Micrometer to check the sized of the shims I found that they aren't exactly the measurement that's printed on them (although they are consistent, i.e. all of the "182" size shims measured out the same on the Micrometer, as did all of the other size shims regardless of whether they were original to the bike or the ones I purchased here in Denver.  Just as an example the "182" shims all measured out to exactly 1827 on the Micrometer, so they are really more of a "183" shim than a "182" shim).