15K Valves: How bad were they?

[C1xRider]

I am pretty mechanically inclined IMHO......and I will not be doing this myself. Of course I will wait until I have around 20k on mine,  I'm not having it done at 15k.

I was looking through the Periodic Maintenance section of the 2010 FSM (page 2-3), and noticed that the 15,000 mile valve clearance inspection interval is only for US and CA bikes.  All other countries get a 26,000 mile interval.

I bet this 15K number is purely dictated by emissions (keeping the engine tuned for lowest emissions), and not really required for mechanical reasons.  I'm sure other countries don't have different valves, seats, cams, shims, or heads than the US and CA motors.  Why else would they do this?

[CrashKLRtoConnie]

I was looking through the Periodic Maintenance section of the 2010 FSM (page 2-3), and noticed that the 15,000 mile valve clearance inspection interval is only for US and CA bikes.  All other countries get a 26,000 mile interval.

I bet this 15K number is purely dictated by emissions (keeping the engine tuned for lowest emissions), and not really required for mechanical reasons.  I'm sure other countries don't have different valves, seats, cams, shims, or heads than the US and CA motors.  Why else would they do this?

hmmmm

Miles vs kilometers?  26,000 km = 15,155 miles?

[Viking]

hmmmm

Miles vs kilometers?  26,000 km = 15,155 miles?

Good guess, but nope.
My manual indicates first valve adjustment at 42,000 km, or 26,000 miles.
For US and CA, it's listed at 24,000 km, or 15,000 miles.

I would think C1x is probably correct.
All of my other vehicles require more frequent maintenance because Canada is considered as extreme condition.
This is the first time I've encountered the reverse.

[jonathan]

Good guess, but nope.
My manual indicates first valve adjustment at 42,000 km, or 26,000 miles.
For US and CA, it's listed at 24,000 km, or 15,000 miles.

I would think C1x is probably correct.
All of my other vehicles require more frequent maintenance because Canada is considered as extreme condition.
This is the first time I've encountered the reverse.

I don't think that Kawasaki considers Canada as extreme. I think that for the purposes of maintenance/training/spares they just treat US and Canada as the "North American Market" and so we get lumped in with our neighbours to the south. Which makes sense from an economic point of view when you consider the size of the the Canadian market when compared to the US market.

[dolomoto]

I checked mine at around 36,000 miles. All were in spec...a few were just barely though...on the tight side. I bought about a dozen shims and swapped the rest around. Set all to the loose end. I plan on checking again at about 60,000...if they haven't moved much I may never do another check.


It wasn't too bad...I had the DVD's and Cognosticators help.

[RIP50AK]

Does the clearence tend to tighten or loosen up with use?

[lather]

Well, with all my valves set close to middle range at 20,000 miles and now at 55,000 all 8 EX valves at .006 or .007 I will have to plan on checking again at about 80,000. I also have to consider why all the EX valves have tightened up significantly while the IN valves have not moved.
Any ideas?

[C1xRider]

Does the clearence tend to tighten or loosen up with use?

As I understand it, the clearance tightens due to the valve seats wearing, and the valves slowly sinking into the head when closed.

I suppose the first check is more to make sure nothing really bad has happened, and that the factory didn't screw it up badly when they put it together.

[C1xRider]

Well, with all my valves set close to middle range at 20,000 miles and now at 55,000 all 8 EX valves at .006 or .007 I will have to plan on checking again at about 80,000. I also have to consider why all the EX valves have tightened up significantly while the IN valves have not moved.
Any ideas?

The exhaust will be subjected to more heat stress, while the intake will be cooled by the incoming air/fuel mix.  If I had to guess, I would say it's running a little hot, unless this is normal for the C14 engine.

[Jeremy Mitchell]

I bought my C14 with 19,000 miles on it and was told that the valves were checked at 15,000.  I checked my valves at 25,000 and all were towards the middle of spec, so I didn't touch anything.  I am at 32,000 now and am not even thinking about touching the valves again until 50,000.

[Viking]

I don't think that Kawasaki considers Canada as extreme. I think that for the purposes of maintenance/training/spares they just treat US and Canada as the "North American Market" and so we get lumped in with our neighbours to the south. Which makes sense from an economic point of view when you consider the size of the the Canadian market when compared to the US market.

I think we're saying the same thing.
Kawasaki is the first Japanese manufacturer I've encountered that does not lump all of Canada into the "extreme use" category.
Honda does lump us into the extreme category. 
All of my periodic maintenance items are much shorter than the "normal use" category with Honda.

The thing that seemed strange to me, and that I think C1x has a good theory, is that the US and CA (for California, yes?) requires shortened periodic maintenance for emissions requirements.
Usually the stricter requirements are for California, with the rest of the US in the normal category.

Anyways, I would probably go with the time frame suggested for the rest of the world.
Damn, just thought of something...I wonder if this could void my warranty if I lived in the US or CA?

[C1xRider]

In the FSM, "CA" is Canada, "CAL" is California.

I posted the same information on the COG forum, and Fred Harmon (COG Tech Editor) responded with this:

"I have spoken to Kawasaki about this, and they informed me that the valve train was designed to the longer European (24K mile) interval, but that the EPA testing criteria was done using the shorter interval to insure it passed the EPA regs."

So, read that how you like, but it tells me the valve inspection interval is every 24,000 miles (42,000KM), unless you're worried about how good of a job the factory did on the original assembly, or you're worried about possibly putting out a little more pollution than you might otherwise, or you're just anal and have nothing better to do than check your valves. 

[IRULE]

I am down with 24,000 miles...

However, if you don't follow the owner's manual on maintenance, Kawasaki don't have to honor their warranty!   

[Summit670]

Sept 2011 Cycle World lists 26,000 miles as the valve adjust on the Concours.  I'm guessing this is the latest model.

Misprint?

[C1xRider]

Sept 2011 Cycle World lists 26,000 miles as the valve adjust on the Concours.  I'm guessing this is the latest model.

Misprint?

Must be, or maybe they used their time machine to get advanced information for their Sept. magazine which they sell in July, and everyone else will hear about it next month.   


My bad, I was thinking the non-NA interval was 24,000 miles, and the misprint was from that.

To be clear, Kawasaki states the engine was designed for 26,000 mile / 42,000 KM adjustment intervals.  However, they also state they only tested for EPA compliance with 15,000 mile / 24,000 KM adjustment interval.

Therefore, if you live in North America, the FSM states 15,000 mile / 24,000 KM for the valve adjustment interval, while the rest of the world is listed as the actual 26,000 mile / 42,000 mile adjustment interval.

Hope this helps.

[B.D.F.]

Yes, the interval is 15K miles (or the equivalent distance in kilometers) for bikes sold in the US and Canada, 26K miles (or metric equivalent) for bikes sold everywhere else.

The reason for this appears to be EPA considerations but I have never seen that stated in any way by Kawasaki. If you know of any documentation, please point toward it as I have been looking for quite some time. Thanks.

Brian

Must be, or maybe they used their time machine to get advanced information for their Sept. magazine which they sell in July, and everyone else will hear about it next month.   


My bad, I was thinking the non-NA interval was 24,000 miles, and the misprint was from that.

To be clear, Kawasaki states the engine was designed for 26,000 mile / 42,000 KM adjustment intervals.  However, they also state they only tested for EPA compliance with 15,000 mile / 24,000 KM adjustment interval.

Therefore, if you live in North America, the FSM states 15,000 mile / 24,000 KM for the valve adjustment interval, while the rest of the world is listed as the actual 26,000 mile / 42,000 mile adjustment interval.

Hope this helps.

[C1xRider]

Yes, the interval is 15K miles (or the equivalent distance in kilometers) for bikes sold in the US and Canada, 26K miles (or metric equivalent) for bikes sold everywhere else.

The reason for this appears to be EPA considerations but I have never seen that stated in any way by Kawasaki. If you know of any documentation, please point toward it as I have been looking for quite some time. Thanks.

Brian

All I have is 'second hand' information, but I have full confidence in the source.  Here's his info: http://forum.cog-online.org/index.php/topic,27838.msg115586.html#msg115586.

[ZedHed]

Ain't doing mine until 26k miles --  I'll let you know how they are then.....

[C1xRider]

Ain't doing mine until 26k miles --  I'll let you know how they are then.....

I'll also be waiting until this winter, when the bike is down for the season.  Don't know what the mileage will be, but it will be less than 26K.  I'm at 16,500 now, so we'll see.

I suppose a good rule of thumb would be to do them between 15K and 26K (from new, or the last adjust), when it's convenient to have the bike down for a week or more.

[Zteve]

Is it possible that the 26,000 mile adjustment is for bikes with O2 sensors?