£190 estimate for valve clearence and throttle body checks

[LaKraven]

I know it's a couple of hours' work, but I'm wondering if anyone else has quotes for comparrison.
My nearest Suzuki dealership has given me an estimate of £190 to check the valve clearences and throttle-body alignment (replacing tappets as necessery etc). They said this was the worst-case scenario quote, where all 4 tappets need replacing and so on. As I say, just wondering if this is cheap, average, or a rip-off.

Also, has anyone ever done these themselves? If so, was it tricky/difficult to do? Is it obvious whether or not the valves have the correct clearences etc? Is it worth me paying a mechanic to do this for me at all, or should I just do it myself? I've heard horror stories of people who cock it up, and very little in the way of DIY success stories!

[frez]

My 14.5k service entailed 4 hours labour at Crescents and no shims needed altering. If you assume all the other parts of the service takes an hour, they are charging you £190 for 3 hours. It's about what Crescents charge per hour but you can do better at an independent. Although at an independent you may have to leave it for more than a day if they need to order in some shims.

[Strommer]

Is that including the rest of the service as well?

[hookie]

Don't know where in Suffolk you are but suggest you contact Carl Harrison in Harleston on 01379 852020. Very competent and won't rip you off!

[Iggy]

Its not actually too difficult to do yourself, but may well take a lot longer than the amount of labour time you've been quoted. And if you need to change out some shims then you'll have to factor in the time taken to get them as well.

I needed to change out both the exhaust cam shims on the rear cylinder - the camchain tensioner needs to be removed to get some slack in the chain so you can remove the relevant camshaft. That was a pig to access, but I'd happily do the job again rather than pay someone else to do it.

Mostly it depends on how competent/confident you are with the spanners.....  


Iggy

[LaKraven]

Thanks for the replies. Just want to stress, the £190 estimate is only for the valve and throttle checks/maintenance. It doesn't involve anything else from the 14.5k mile service (all of which I'm doing myself)

Appreciate the info for the bloke in Harleston. It's less than an hour from me, so might be a good option if the price is right. I always prefer dealing with mechanics recommended by other bikers rather than "taking a risk" on someone I've never heard of.

My big concern about doing it myself is that I don't have anyone qualified (and more experienced) around to double-check my work, and the VStrom is quite literally the only thing I own which is as much for my own enjoyment as it is for my work (bottom line: I don't want to risk damaging/destroying my pride and joy).
Don't get me wrong, I'll do pretty-much everything else myself... but the notion of opening up and tampering with the engine itself doesn't instill me with confidence, that is unless any of you who have done this part of the service yourself happen to be in the Suffolk region (there's all the beer you can drink in it if you are and are willing to assist, and the use of my workshop to do any work on your own bike if you want to). :text-givemebeer:

[Strommer]

Thanks for the replies. Just want to stress, the £190 estimate is only for the valve and throttle checks/maintenance. It doesn't involve anything else from the 14.5k mile service (all of which I'm doing myself)

That's what I'm hoping to pay for the same work at my 28.5k point.  I'll do all the other stuff myself as well.   Being London I can expect to pay up to £250 I imagine.

Is this the sort of thing an independent would be OK doing?  I'm thinking of Bill Bunn in Ealing.

[LaKraven]

Thanks for the replies. Just want to stress, the £190 estimate is only for the valve and throttle checks/maintenance. It doesn't involve anything else from the 14.5k mile service (all of which I'm doing myself)

That's what I'm hoping to pay for the same work at my 28.5k point.  I'll do all the other stuff myself as well.   Being London I can expect to pay up to £250 I imagine.

Is this the sort of thing an independent would be OK doing?  I'm thinking of Bill Bunn in Ealing.

If they're a reputable mechanic, it should be fairly basic stuff to them. I've been through the service manual and it looks simple enough even for a novice like me... but as I said before: I'm not going to risk my own bike without someone experienced to at least double-check my work first  

[Juvecu]

Done the valves myself and as long as you have the service manual handy so that you can set the timing properly if you screwed it up *cough*, then there isn't much to it. Only thing you'll need are a few shims and any mechanic that's done the job for a while should have a collection of shims by now or at least be able to get hold of them quickly. All my valves were tight so I ended up sanding the shims down by hand to get the right clearances. I wouldn't advise it now that I have done it, it's very time consuming, even though it works a treat.

[Abercol]

All my valves were tight so I ended up sanding the shims down by hand to get the right clearances. I wouldn't advise it now that I have done it, it's very time consuming, even though it works a treat.

And they say Scotsmen are cheap!    

[Strommer]

My main concern (among others) is that I find a tight valve then have the bike off the road until a shim arrives.  As I can't (reasonably) get to work without the bike it's not a kite flyer.

I guess I could start the job and if they are all in spec. I don't have a problem.  If they are out of spec, then I stick it back together and ride it until the shims arrive, then do it all again a week later......

Sounds like £200 worth to me unless there is a way I can get my hands on a shim set that I can return or pass on if not needed.  I think some sites have a site set that can be borrowed, wonder if we could do someting similar?

[LaKraven]

My main concern (among others) is that I find a tight valve then have the bike off the road until a shim arrives.  As I can't (reasonably) get to work without the bike it's not a kite flyer.

I guess I could start the job and if they are all in spec. I don't have a problem.  If they are out of spec, then I stick it back together and ride it until the shims arrive, then do it all again a week later......

Sounds like £200 worth to me unless there is a way I can get my hands on a shim set that I can return or pass on if not needed.  I think some sites have a site set that can be borrowed, wonder if we could do someting similar?

Shims aren't that expensive! I say keep a set anyway if you intend to do your own maintenance long term. It never hurts to have spares of anything!

Yesterday, for example, I went to a Fittings wholesaler to match and purchase stainless steel replacement screws for several head-sheared screws on my bike. I didn't just buy one of each and call it a day, I bought 5 of each so I always have spares for those fixtures! Sure, it cost 5x more, but next time I don't have to go the trouble of matching them up etc. Hopefully there won't be a next time given that these are stainless, they're socket head rather than Alan head, and they're all-round superior bolts... but it never hurts to be prepared!
In the same way I also have a full set of replacement bolts for the engine, cowellings, footpeg rails, exhaust, and crash bar assembly! You just never know when you'll need any of them!

[MartinW]

Why not just buy 5 bikes LaKraven ....  

[LaKraven]

Why not just buy 5 bikes LaKraven ....  

If I could, I would! When I owned my first bike (1986 Yamaha RD), I bought a second one as a "donor bike" because it was cheaper than buying each separate replacement part ;)

[Strommer]

Just had mine done at West London Suzuki - £218 for valves, TBS and TPS.  Seemed a fair price.

[medic5]

Just had mine done at West London Suzuki - £218 for valves, TBS and TPS.  Seemed a fair price.

Used to use these blokes but have been using Steve Jordan for my service now. Did u find west London to do a good job as last time they could not even fix a gear change / clutch problems I had.....Jordens even give u a free loan bike, their cost is labour £55.00 per hour, is that good?  
 

[LaKraven]

Just so you know: Valves, throttle body alignment, a small repair to the vacuum pipe on my vSystem (I accidentially pinched it putting the fuel tank back on during my maintenance, apparently) and a check of the steering bearing (just needed some grease on it). Two and a bit hours of their time, they charged me just over £130 all in... not quite as bad as their estimate!

[Strommer]

Just had mine done at West London Suzuki - £218 for valves, TBS and TPS.  Seemed a fair price.

Used to use these blokes but have been using Steve Jordan for my service now. Did u find west London to do a good job as last time they could not even fix a gear change / clutch problems I had.....Jordens even give u a free loan bike, their cost is labour £55.00 per hour, is that good?  
 

Seem to have done a good job, not that I'd know.  He moaned about my removal of all the connector blocks, so he must have had the tank off which suggests they actually did the work.