07-28-2026, 12:29 PM
It doesn't matter what you ride (unless it's electric), but all valves will eventually go out of adjustment. I believe that the majority of people who visit this forum ride their CB1100's quit conservatively, and what I mean by that is their bike rarely, if ever, sees redline. I've only had my CB1100 past 6,000 RPM twice since I've owned it. The higher the engine RPM, the more stress on the valves, and the more wear. Some people may choose to never check their valve clearances, and I understand why. It's a PITA if you do it yourself, and very expensive if performed by a shop (do you really trust the shop to work on your bike?). Can someone please respond who has had a recent valve adjustment performed by the shop and tell us how much it cost? As much as I hate checking the valve clearance on my "modern" motorcycles (I can adjust all the valves on my 1976 CB750F Honda in less than two hours), I still believe it is better safe than sorry, so I check mine. The damage caused by an out of adjustment valve (too tight) my appear to happen suddenly, but it doesn't. Excess wear accumulates over the course of several thousand miles until suddenly one day your bike fails to idle smoothly, or fails to start at all. By this time the damage is done, and you're talking a very expensive bill.