[Socalcrf450r]

am new so i dont no. IM just being safe so i am asking. I purchsed an 05 crf450r a few months ago with around 30 hours on it. the bike was in really great condition and he maintained it well. Ive now put on 20 hours on it in the last few months and have done a few oil changes. 53 hours total on motor. my bike runs great starts up ushalley first kick never more than three still when cold with choke. its sound like its running smothe and the performance is great. my qustion is everything seems ok, but the valves havent been checked and i dont wanna open up the valve cover or take it to the dealer to check them out is there anything else i can do to see if the valves are still in spec. i mean if it isnt broken y fix it. cause i have herd of valves starting to come get out of spec with my amount of hours.

[nedirtbikr]

Check your valves. It's easy. It doesn't sound like you have to worry about it if it's starting and running okay, but assuming the valves are in spec, I recommend you check them now so you know what "in spec" valves look/feel like. Dealers will rape you. If money is no object, then I guess this doesn't matter. Here's a link.

http://crfsonly.com/howto/450r/valve-ch ... -check.php

Check the valves...just for your own piece of mind and money in your pocket (instead of in the dealers pocket.)

Congrats on the bike!

[bones88]

I agree with nedirtbikr. I just purchased a used 06 that is in excellent condition and starts and runs just fine, but it was driving me crazy worring about valves. I used to be one of the yamaha faithful and heard all the stories.

Last night I pulled it apart both intake valves are between .005 and .006 and the exhausts are right at .010. This is right in line(as far as I understand) with the spec, so in about 45 minutes everything was put back together and running.

Do it, you will feel better!

[124]

There is no other method to verifying the valve clearances are in spec. You must physically verify the valve clearances with feeler gauges. As others above have said, it is not a big deal. Valve cover is 3 bolts, just make sure you clean the dirt out of the pockets they sit in before reassembly.

As far as the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" comment. Well, there are 2 schools of thought. Preventative maintenance or subsequent maintenance. Preventative is cheaper 99.9% of the time and much easier on the mind.