Hi guys,
I have 2014 1k Kawasaki ninja and I live in SF.
$1,600 sounds a lot.
What do you think?
I have 2014 1k Kawasaki ninja and I live in SF.
$1,600 sounds a lot.
What do you think?
If the bike is running fine I'm not planning to mess with it until 32k. At that point, assuming I can find a shop I trust in my area, I'll get them checked. I'm also very unlikely to change plugs every 7500. I'm thinking every other oil change should be fine for that, unless you folks can think of a compelling reason otherwise. I've never heard of a iridium plug loosing an electrodinto the bore, but maybe I'm wrong?Jefferson......you are correct. If we could guarantee that your description, or thought was happening, this would be a waste of time,and money, there would be very little reason to check. BFD comes to mind...
What really happens is the clearance decreases. If this clearance gets to zero, the valve won't close.
The valve,and the cam are basically wear proof, under normal conditions. However, the valve seat is not. If things go south, the valve can seat, into it's seat, just a little more than it did when it left the factory. Maybe the seat wasn't seated properly? Maybe the factory set the head tithe tight side of the measurement? All kinds of "what if".
If the clearance goes to zero, or beyond zero, the valve can't properly close. It would never touch the seat. Your compression is gone. This also burns the valve and seat as it's letting the combustion process by. It doesn't take long to where the damage is severe. You have to rebuild the head. We have to check it,and use a thinner shim,before this can happen.
Measuring valves is not easy, although it sounds like it would be.. It's not like cutting a 2x4. The demensions you are working with is about like taking a few sheets of copy paper The thickness of these 2 paper sheets is similar to your allowable clearance. You measure to stay within this range. Metal temperature can influence the measurement. How tight you close your calipers. How hard you push your feeler gauge...this all factors in.
So, yes, you HAVE to check this to know , for sure, that this isn't happening. But, you can't make a mistake.
I've seen way more Japanese heads damaged from mistakes than I have from the wear process.
I THINK a person could ride the bike 300,000 miles and not have this become a factor. Sure, the valve might not be in range, but it's been a long time since I heard of a Japanese street bike going to zero.