hi, would be any signs that this would need done?

i ask because theres 36,000 miles on my blade now, ive had her from 34,000 and dont know if these were ever checked.

is it something i should be looking into?

cheers

On my '99, valve clearances are checked every 16000miles or 24000km. No harm in checking them.

cheers guys.

is it costly to get done?

Well, it's a fiddly job so I would imagine so (time = money). However checking them is pretty easy, something anyone should be able to do. If all are within spec then there is nothing else to do other than put it back together again!

If a clearance needs adjusting, then the cams need to come out. I've not managed to do this successfully yet but I'll have a bash next time it needs doing! A shop might be worthwhile if you'd rather not tackle the actual adjustment.

Have no idea wat a bike shop charges but it's pretty straight forward in doing it yourself and it doesn't cost anything except for replacing a shim if needs be. They about £1 from a dealer.

oh, is that easy mate? i thought it was complicated. is there a 'how to' guide on here, do you know?
cheers.

i can fairly competently tinker with the car but havent done anything on a bike before mate, if its relatively straight forward i'd def investigate myself.

Best bet is to get a workshop manual. It'll pay for itself the first time you use it!

To check them is easy in principal, it's just fiddly getting the cam cover off as everything is quite tightly packed.

All you do is take off the cam cover and timing cover, rotate the crank as specified in the manual and measure the gap between the bottom of the cam and the top of the shim bucket with a feeler gauge. The manual tells you the range that is OK. If it's within this range, it's OK. If not, it needs to be adjusted. This is done by removing the cams, and replacing the shims under the buckets with a shim of the correct thickness to bring the clearance back within spec.

Like DD said, your best bet is to get a manual, they go through it step by step. I have a '99 or els I would scan and email the pages over.

1. You'll need to remove tank,side and belly pan.
2. Remove airbox
3. Remove carbs
4. Remove HT coils
5. Remove spark plug caps.

You should have enough space to remove the cam cover and see the cam shafts.
At this point it the manual will come in handy as it will differ from my older blade.

6. Manualy turn the engine over by hand so the T mark aligns with the top notch( the in and ex marks on the cam sprockets should show outwards)

Intake valves 1 & 3 can now be checked
(Intake is the valves at the carb end)

Turn the engine 180 degrees over by hand so single scribed line is in the 12 o'clock potition, now exhaust valves 2&4 can be checked.
(exhaust is at the exhaust down pipes side)

Turn engine over so T mark aligns with notch so intake 1 & 3 can be checked and lastly turn over by hand so single scribed is in the 12 o'clock potition so exhaust 1 & 3 can be checked.

Im sure your tolerances would not be the same as my '99 so I didnt bother mentioning the values.

thanks very much guys.
i'll def have to invest in a manual, hate paying out for things i could prob manage myself with a little guidance

Would be wise to get one as you need the tolarances and torque settings. I need to do mine as well cause my intake on cylinder 1 is .03 out.

Clearances on a 929 is:

Intake: 0.13 - 0.19
Exhaust: 0.24 - 0.30

Just replaced two shims £4 each from the stealers on my 954 (17,000mls) a couple of months ago, it was a bit fidley removing the cams etc and re-setting the timiing as the frame obstructs the view of the cam sprocket notches to line up with the cylinder head but managed it ok after using a mirror.

It says in the workshop manual to release the tension on the camchain by inserting a key in the end of the tensioner to lock it whilst checking the clearances which i thought a bit odd and concerned as i thought a slack chain could jump a tooth when turning the engine, any how i done what it says in the book and had no problems.

I pull the tensioner back when removing the cam shaft, not when I'm checking clearances and turning the engine over by hand. Don't think it makes a difference though and a doubt it will jump a tooth while turning the engine over by hand. I use a small screwdriver to pull the tensioner back, this can be a bit difficult as you need to keep it in place with one hand and use the other hand to remove the cams or you can just remove the tensioner all together.