Ticker valve guide replacements

[odowda]

I live in the Sierra foothills, Nevada City to be exact. Just put the bike in for the 24K valve check and the dealer smiled at at me as he was telling me I had a "ticker". Never heard anything before 22K and even then wasn't sure what it was. Researched it on the net and was told by Yamaha mother ship in Cypress, CA, that even though they had extended the warantee to 5yr/20K mi he was sorry, but I was "out of scope" (luck). Wrote a letter of appeal, but not expecting anything but a repeat of the customer relations guy I talked to. So, a couple of questions. After reading a 2006 article on DIY approach I am still not sure whether to use the up-graded Yama replacements or go with the Kibblewhite Ampco 45 version. What is the best route? The Yama guides are $63 each!!!! Kibblewhite does not carry them as a shelf item; they require a run of 16 (minimum) for $407. Can the exhaust guides be machined down to intake guide length? Know an xlnt machinist in Loomis, CA, who has done many of these for the Sac. dealers. Lastly, would it be worth getting the Black Diamond Kibblewhit exhaust SS valves to go with them? I would greatly appreciate anyone with experience in this area giving me some feedback. Have done so much else to the bike, Russell Daylong, PC III, CB monster screen, HID divers, 2' RISERS, etc., that looking at a $3.5K bill kind of takes the fun out of it. I've got the mech experience, the time and the shop to do it myself, but at 68 I dont know if I have the will.

Bob in Nevada City

 

[exskibum]

You need to talk to Zac, the Service Manager at Roseville Yamaha. He's the go to guy around here for FJR maintenance and tick repair (also an FJR owner who goes by "Cisco" here). If anyone can get it repaired by Yamaha, it's Zac. He diagnosed my '05 at 24K (in 2009) as a ticker and they repaired it at no cost. It wasn't repaired under warranty, because Yamaha was repairing ticks through dealers in the US even out of warranty. Zac has always been great going to bat for FJR owners on such things (I know, because I bought mine when living in Gardnerville, NV from Michaels in Carson City and they bollixed hell out of my YES warranty (putting me in for a 600 Quad or some such ****)).

 

[LAF]

Or send ti off to a head shop and have them replace them with valves, guides, seats. They do it every day and they may have to upgrade to oversize by a bit but it will be a super job. I know not cheap but I would bet cheaper then paying Yamaha. They will use Vioton seals and the seats and valves will be a better quality,

I have had head work done on a few V-Twins and while not cheap the end result is great.

 

[ionbeam]

If you have the repair done, don't lose sight of the fact that it is the seals that lead to the guide wear. Be sure you get correct seals.

 

[SLK50]

An argument could be made that the valve guides are covered by the

Emissions Warranty. This warranty could be up to 8 hrs /80,000 miles.

Remember, your only burden is to show the condition existed DURING

the warranty period. It doesn't matter WHEN it gets repaired.

If you're in Calif this coverage is even more extensive, do some

online research into emission warranties.

 

[rickysnickers]

I was thinking about this. For cars and trucks there are shims that can be installed into the original guides. The guide is reamed out and and the shim driven. Then it is cut down to the height of the original valve guide. Would something like that work on a "ticker?"

 

[Brodie]

Have you looked into a head from a junkyard - direct swap. It would seem to me to be way less expen$ive than the 3.5k you were figuring on.

Just a thought

Brodie

 

[odowda]

Thanks to all for the feedback. The idea about buying a used head sounded ok, but it might turn out to be a ticker too. I'll give Zack at Roseville another call and see what he thinks. I might even have a go at it myself (With Meticulous Metal doing the head work). Would be a good learning experience. I'll see how things play out over the next week or so. I wish I could talk to someone who has actually done the procedure.

Bob in NC