[Dez Rat 250]

Hey everyone I know this has been discussed but I need some opinions on this. about a month ago my wife went to start her bike (06 CRF250R) ....nothing. the only thing that would get it started was to kind of blip the throttle and it fired up and it was very difficult to find TDC. To make a long story short the famous right side intake went to 0 on the clearance. I shimmed it on the loose side and within 2 rides (30 miles) the valves went to 0 on the intake. Now I have heard many many opinions from one extreme to the other. I will be going to SS intake/exhaust valves and spring kit. Heres my worry. A few people have told me to have the valve seats, valve guides and quite a few other parts replaced. Along with that they said to have the "valve/guide relationship" checked and to have the valve seats re cut. After they are replaced???. The last thing that I want is to drop a valve but does this seem a little extreme or does hold ground? Tracy is sponsored by Pro-x and LA sleeve so the cost is not going to be bad but I'm really not prepared financially to spend 1000 bucks right now (or whatever this would cost). So I guess heres what I was thinking, let me know what you think.

I was going to send the head to Pro-X for a valve job. New Pro-X SS valves, spring kit, piston, rings and gaskets. Do you think this would be sufficient? I'm all ears for ANY opinions right now

Heres a little history
I take maintenance very seriously with this bike but we were not prepared to do the top end until May. The bike has 75 hours on the engine. The hour meter was installed before before we did the first ever break-in. Tranny, engine oil and oil filter replaced every 5 hours sometimes every 3 after a Dez race. Air filter replaced every ride. It has a Dr. D pipe full SA system with header, Twin Air power flow kit and Boyseen quickshot. Thanks in advance

-Kevin-

[madmax]

I would get the seats cut. The tight valve might have damaged the seat a little, and this would insure the new valves would seal good. It`s cheap, only cost me $50 at local shop.

Since your getting a pro to cut your seats they can check your guides, if in spec, which most likely are, there is no need to replace them. If your carefull with the seals you can leave them in, but they are also very cheap.

As far as i`ve seen all the SS valves kits come with every thing you need.

[124]

Kevin, It sounds like you're advise is correct, but maybe you intepreted it the wrong way. Your process should be as follows:

Stainless steel valvetrain parts is a must for longevity. Spring kit is necessary. The stainless parts require heavier springs than the OEM stuff.

The seats need to be repaired. Replacing them is not necessary depending on how much they are damaged. 99% of the time the stock valve seats can be re-cut. The 1% is usually contributed to a catastrophic failure in the valvetrain.

99% of the time the existing valve guides can be re-used. It is the valve, not the seat that is causing the Honda's valvetrain woes.

You should replace the valve seals. It is cheap insurance. They're like $6/ea.

Every part needs inspecting upon performing the repair. It is not a sure thing to say you will be able re-use any part in the valvetrain without inspecting them upon dis-assembly. With that said, if you stay on the maintenance and don't run the $hit out of the bike with the valve clearances at 0, then the seats and guides should be OK to re-use.

The shop that performs the repair should check the valve-to-seat relationship after the work is performed. It is merely to verify that there is no compression leakage through the newly cut seat. It's like checking your work and every reputable shop does this. I'm sure a shop like Pro-X knows what to do.

A new top-end is always a good idea when doing the stainless valvetrain swap. You're in for $450-500 on the parts bill and the piston kit is the cheaper part. Hopefully with your sponsorship, they won't kill you in labor. Here's the typical cost breakdown (retail), good luck! Sam

Stainless valves and spring kit - $300-350
Piston kit - $100-150
Top-end gasket kit - $60-100
Top-end needle bearing - $10-15
Valvetrain swap with seat repair - $140-160
Valve seals - $6-8/ea
Std labor fee - $70-80/hr

You can do all the R & R yourself and just send the head in for the valvetrain swap and save a ton of $$....

[Dez Rat 250]

You guys are awesome. I'll tell Pro-x to call me if anything needs to be replaced. Thanks again for taking the time to answer. I'll keep yall posted on the progress.

-Kevin-

[Dez Rat 250]

Well the head is getting shipped out to Pro-X on Monday or Tuesday depending on when the parts get here. We got the Kibblewhite SS valves and spring kit, cam chain, cam chain tensioner/guide, top end kit and gaskets.

Heres a few pics of the tear down, ya they are a little blurry...sorry. Chris, a good friend of mine walked me through my first 4-stroke top-end breakdown, very interesting. At first I was pretty hesitant but after I was finished I think I got the hang of it. I'm no expert here but it looks like there was damage on the right side intake valve....not good.
enjoy

[Scott Wilson]

I have a 250R that has the right intake that wont stay within clearance. I suspect a valve seat issue but am not sure. I would like to know the best route to fix this problem both for the dollar and for the long run. I love my hondas but this particular one is really gettin under my skin. Do the stainless valves and new springs eliminate this problem?

[124]

By repairing the valve seats, installing the stainless equipment you will extand the service life of your valvetrain significantly. I've yet to see a rebuilt valvetrain (with stainless) wear out...

So far so good...lots of 250's in there too.