Talon Valve Adjustment at 37,486 Miles

[hondabob]

I was too busy riding or I would have checked the valves at 20,000 miles. My engine still runs great, and the valves were not noisy. Intake Spec is .006” + or minus .001” and exhaust is .009” + or minus .001”. All the intake valves were perfect at .006”. The exhaust valves needed adjusting. One was ok at .009”, two were in spec at .008” and one was out of spec and .007”. Fortunately, it's easy to adjust the exhaust valves.

The spark plugs were still like new. I had new plugs, so I installed them. The spark plug caps are difficult to remove if you don't have gorilla strength. The spark plug socket in the tool kit makes removing the spark plugs easy. There was a lot of disassembly to make it easy to do the adjustment. I clean everything up before reassembly and did a good wash job before I took it apart. I put a large plastic gas can on the passenger seat area to lay on so I wouldn’t strain my back. I used a small mattress in the bed to lay on. I have been careful to avoid straining my back for the last ten years.

It's great to still be able to do all my Honda maintenance and repair, truck maintenance, and yard work. Being active is so important especially as we get older. Walking, trail work, and bicycle riding nearly every day keeps me in good shape. Still got to lose 20 pounds.

I’m going to keep one of my Talons and hopefully buy a base 4 seat Talon R early next year. If Honda doesn’t offer the Talon R 4 seat with the Showa shocks, I will buy the live valve model.

 

[NTCPrezJB]

I was too busy riding or I would have checked the valves at 20,000 miles. My engine still runs great, and the valves were not noisy. Intake Spec is .006” + or minus .001” and exhaust is .009” + or minus .001”. All the intake valves were perfect at .006”. The exhaust valves needed adjusting. One was ok at .009”, two were in spec at .008” and one was out of spec and .007”. Fortunately, it's easy to adjust the exhaust valves.

The spark plugs were still like new. I had new plugs, so I installed them. The spark plug caps are difficult to remove if you don't have gorilla strength. The spark plug socket in the tool kit makes removing the spark plugs easy. There was a lot of disassembly to make it easy to do the adjustment. I clean everything up before reassembly and did a good wash job before I took it apart. I put a large plastic gas can on the passenger seat area to lay on so I wouldn’t strain my back. I used a small mattress in the bed to lay on. I have been careful to avoid straining my back for the last ten years.

It's great to still be able to do all my Honda maintenance and repair, truck maintenance, and yard work. Being active is so important especially as we get older. Walking, trail work, and bicycle riding nearly every day keeps me in good shape. Still got to lose 20 pounds.

I’m going to keep one of my Talons and hopefully buy a base 4 seat Talon R early next year. If Honda doesn’t offer the Talon R 4 seat with the Showa shocks, I will buy the live valve model.


View attachment 402132

Glad to hear you’re still enjoying all the aspects of your Honda. Keep on keeping on and I hope you’re still enjoying the ride for many years ahead sir! 💪🏻

 

[TxDoc]

Thanks hondabob !

I think that's a great testament to the traditional Honda design, engineering, materials and reliability.

And, to your doing the basic care and maintenance, even though I understand it is not easy, sometimes, that goes a long way to having a machine that has great longevity.


Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

 

[hondabob]

Since I have two Talons, I can take my time doing repair and maintenance work and not miss any rides. Resting on a support reduces the chance of a back injury. My Kawasaki Teryx required laying on a support to adjust the valves without straining my back, so I have been careful for ten years. A benefit of doing your own maintenance is we can take the extra time do a good cleanup.

 

[Hondasxs]

Those plugs do look good for that many miles. Thanks for sharing.
I just ordered a of plugs for my trail toolbox. I hope I never need them.

 

[HondaTech]

We just take the skid plate off to do a valve inspection/adjustment.

 

[Adam490]

Those plugs do look good for that many miles. Thanks for sharing.
I just ordered a of plugs for my trail toolbox. I hope I never need them.

Needed them for the Pioneer at around 3k miles, but that's running an aftermarket tune as well. I keep two in the Talon all the time now.

 

[CID]

Needed them for the Pioneer at around 3k miles, but that's running an aftermarket tune as well. I keep two in the Talon all the time now.

I've read that both the Talons and P1Ks hate short runs where the engines don't get up to operating temperatures, resulting in fouled plugs.

 

[Smitty335]

I've read that both the Talons and P1Ks hate short runs where the engines don't get up to operating temperatures, resulting in fouled plugs.

Yea, that sounds like short run Adam!

 

[TripleB]

Yea, that sounds like short run Adam!

TWSS!

 

[TOGR]

Good report/info. Keep up the great work--and exercise!