Valve Clearance.
 

I'll be attempting a valve clearance check in the next week or so. If adjustment is a special tool required? I notice the service manual calls for a special tool but am wondering if there's anything special about it?

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

Yes, It makes tightening down the lock nut easier while holding the set screw. I would also try and find an off-set 8 mm wrench. A good set of off-set feeler guages will make it go easier too.

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

You definitely want to have the valve tool, you can order it thru your local Suzuki dealer, mine cost about $5 (it took about a week to get here)and I couldn't find any other tool that would work in the tight clearance space you have to work in to do the valves. I'll also 2nd the recommendation for an 8mm off-set wrench, you might even find it handy to cut the handle in half just to give you more room to move it around, it doesn't take much torque to tighten and loosen the nut but you do have to get the wrench in a fairly tight place.

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

Thanks guys, that was very helpful. I was just in the local dealership and the parts guy had no idea what I was talking about. He mentioned getting an offset wrench but said he'd never actually done it himself.

So, if I understand correctly I need the following:
- offset 8 mm wrench: for tightening/loosing lock nut
- offset feeler guages: for checking clearance (can I just bend regular ones?)
- valve clearance adjustement tool: to adjust set screw. (from dealership)

Is that right?

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

Last one I tried to bend didn't bend straight and then broke.
They are usually quite brittle......due to being hardened so they won't "flatten out".

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

The part# for the tool is in a post in the maint. section of the forum. I'm with Easy, I broke my feeler guages 3 times trying to make the bend. I priced a set that went to .001 at my dealer and they were around 25.00. That's the rub, most of the guages at the auto parts stores don't go small enough for the GZ.

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

Just for curiosity - what's the average price a dealer charges to check and/or adjust valve clearances for the GZ 250?

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

In my area, a "complete" service cost me about $200.

That included oil, filter, valve check, chain check and (supposedly) all the other checks you are supposed to make every 3000 miles or so.

Some areas might be a little less; New England and California probably more.

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

I bought my feeler guages at Sears. They go down to .0015", didn't cost a whole lot, and I have had no trouble bending them to a shape to get at the GZ's valves. I even cut them down with tin snips to get in there more easily. Obviously the ones I modified are now special purpose tools for this job only.

I bought the special purpose valve adjustment tool. I paid a lot more than you guys did. Prices have gone up, or I got taken. Anyway, I was kind of disappointed with it. It's too long to get in there easily. I got the job done, but I had to cut the tie holding some cables and move them out of the way to do it. After I got done, I took the tool down to the shop and shortened it. I cut it about half way down with a hacksaw. Then I put the plastic handle in a vise, and heated the steel shank with a torch until the plastic was just soft enough to pull the shank out. Then I put the shortened tip back in the handle, heating it with the torch just enough to melt its way back into the hole in the handle. It was still too loose, so I pulled it out and superglued it in the handle. Next time I use it, it should work better. I also bent my own 8mm box end wrench, and shortened it. That worked quite well.

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

Now you REALLY have the right tools for the job. A one job dedicated tool is pure pleasure compared to fighting with a standard do it all tool. As I found in the past, modifying a $5 wrench is much better than buying a specialized wrench for $20 because they can be hit or miss too.

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

I've got the valve adjuster screw, the feeler guages, and an offset 8mm wrench that I picked up at Sears for about $7. Now I just have to find the time!

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

Takes about an hour the first time.

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

I wish I lived a little closer to you guys - I'd love to give you some more opportunities to earn back your tool investment. The real downside of relying on dealership mechanics is you are rolling the dice everytime you go. Having worked in a dealership (car, not MC) I'm acutely aware that there is often a skewed bell curve of capability. Our service techs ranged from brilliant to "I learned most of what I know about cars washing them prior to delivery." I suspect that something like valve adjustments benefits from both skill and experience and I doubt that the GZ is one of the top sellers in the KAWA/HONDA/SUZI/YAMAHA dealer world.

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

[I suspect that something like valve adjustments benefits from both skill and experience and I doubt that the GZ is one of the top sellers in the KAWA/HONDA/SUZI/YAMAHA dealer world.[/quote]
Try looking for an independent m/c shop. They should be knowledgeable on almost evey make and model. I have a shop in Austin that advertises "We work on what They sell". Establish a good rapport with them and every worry should be gone.

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

Alan,

Tech days are a wonderful invention. Someone who is accomplished in doing their own maintenance hosts a tech day, in his (or her!) garage if it's big enough, or renting some space somewhere. People come from all over who have varying degrees of skill and tools, and who need to have various jobs done. Then, everyone helps each other out, and everyone learns.

I never would have attempted a full tune up on my Concours had I not attended a tech day a week prior to doing it. A guy had ridden in from New Jersey the day before (the tech day was in Southern Mass), so that his engine would be cold in the morning. He had never done any wrenching to speak of. Several of us, including the bike's owner, observed, helped, learned, and took the whole process in, under the guidance of a very experienced host. The hosts wives provided a wonderful lunch, and we all took a break. The tune up on the Concours took all day, partly because so many people were involved, partly because it is an all day job on the Concours by the time you get all the plastic off, wrestle with the valve cover, and adjust 16 valves. I did mine the next weekend, and it went off without a hitch. Other people were replacing tires, one guy came down from Ontario, and replaced his water pump - all kinds of stuff to observe ans learn.

I live in Southern New Hampshire, and my space would be quite limited. I am nowhere near the mechanic that these guys were. But I wouldn't mind doing a small tech day here, focusing on the basic stuff, if anyone is interested. I'm pretty sure that anyone who had actually seen a tune up or an oil and filter change done on a GZ would never pay to have it done again.

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

To DG - Any chance you guys could pack up and come down here to the Gulf Coast in the Florida panhandle? That's a great idea for everyone, never heard of that before. Same thing happens in surgery to teach others your craft - watch one, do one, teach one.

Re: Valve Clearance.
 

I love road trips, and it would be fun to do that sometime, but the rest of this season is pretty well booked up for me and the family. Maybe next year, if room and board were free. I haven't been to Florida since I was 10, and Disney World didn't exist! Are there many members of this group in your area?

Dave Geyer