Honda CBR900RR Fireblade Valve Clearance Check & Adjustment Guide | How To Change Valve Shims | 009

[@tonkie1131]

Me and my mate are picking up a 1996 blade today(in a van😊) for him to restore, I’m sure he will be watching your vids

[@SPANNERRASH]

I hope you get as much fun out of it as I did out of mine. It'd be great if you find the vids helpful, good luck with your build.

[@hustlen4low14]

Excellently detailed tutorial. This is the confidence I needed to work on my 07 CBR1K. Thank you!

[@SPANNERRASH]

Glad it helped. If you are patient and methodical these things aren't too scary. The best tip is take your time, people make most mistakes by rushing. Good luck.

[@3789gaz]

Hats off to you for doing this with the engine in situ and being able to get the camera in there too! I tackled this a few years back on my '98 SC33 but ended up taking the engine out of the frame for ease of access and used it as an opportunity to do a few other bits too. It always seems daunting on your first go but it's straightforward and a Haynes manual pays for itself in one sitting! Excellent video detail, nice one.

[@SPANNERRASH]

Thanks for your very kind words. Like you say it is a lot easier with the engine out, it takes a lot of patience and thought to get at everything with it in the frame. Its especially hard to see the alignment marks on the cam sprockets. And like you say having a good manual is essential.

[@apriliaguy4life198]

Thanks for the excellent video. I’ve got a 1994 that has California cams in it. I’ll be switching it to 49 state cams. This video shows me exactly the process.

[@SPANNERRASH]

Brilliant! I am really pleased you have found it useful. Hope it goes really well unleashing those horses :)

[@apriliaguy4life198]

Worked out perfectly. Thanks again!

[@Desertduleler_88]

Great job, loved your methodical approach to this bike.

[@SPANNERRASH]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks

[@darsiesoanes2911]

Really interesting topic, very well explained, made the job far less daunting than it actually is. 👍

[@SPANNERRASH]

Glad you enjoyed it! I enjoyed doing them.

[@Vollgaskommando]

This video made a diy valve check a lot more approachable:) Thanks a lot❤ I will try to check my valve clearances myself

[@SPANNERRASH]

Glad it helped. As long as you allow enough time and you are methodical you should be able to do it. Good luck.

[@Vollgaskommando]

@SPANNERRASH Can you recommend any kind of shim set to buy as good starting point? Apart from the shims I have every tool I need for the job. I'm just wondering what sizes and how many to get. Also if there's a difference in the quality of shims one can buy.

[@SPANNERRASH]

@@Vollgaskommando Sure these are the shims I used for the job: ebay.us/Q6a3MD I was very happy with the quality. 3 of each size in the set.

[@Vollgaskommando]

@SPANNERRASH Thanks a lot:) Unfortunately, they have very long delivery times for shipping to Germany. But this is a great starting point for searching a similar set:)

[@MrGrey-no7sn]

Very good! I guess I better do this while I have my engine out of the bike. Its my first time fully assembling my engine myself so.

[@SPANNERRASH]

If you take your time it is farily straight forward. It's the main thing that gets missed by home mechanics. I admit, I frequently haven't bothered with some of the bikes I have only had for a short time.

[@fuzzybrain8274]

Great stuff. Thanks for all the tips, warnings and advice. I may do this yet!

[@SPANNERRASH]

No problem, glad its helpful for you! 😁

[@jansieger5667]

Tanks for this fantastic Video!Absolutly great explanation! I bought the same echaust for mine, when i visit the TT on the Isle of Man in 96' for two weeks. How time flows.....mine is a 92' Blade and i never sell it ;-) Got the second motor,because of my mistake, not to check the oil....it was too little- connecting rod bearing damage...😢. Great bike! Greetings from Germay to you!Stay healthy!!!!

[@SPANNERRASH]

Thanks for the comment. Shame about the motor in your '92, you must have been really upset. Take care.

[@owensmith1258]

This was a very good video. I enjoyed it. Thank you very much 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@SPANNERRASH]

Thanks for your encouragement. Hope you enjoy some of our other content too.

[@kevinchamberlain7928]

I have this ahead of me, I got a 919 with 15000 miles from new so time to dig in!!!

[@SPANNERRASH]

Hope it goes well Kevin, its pretty straight forward in reality so I'm sure you'll sail through it.

[@kevinchamberlain7928]

@@SPANNERRASH I have some significant spanner success's behind me and looking forwards to this. Always helps if some one blazes a trail to follow, though! Thank you!

[@grahamhiggins1]

Hey Kevin, what did you find? I have a 919 with 15,000 miles on the clocks.

[@javierr1blue]

Well done video.. Now if you are planning to visit Texas my 1998 R1 is waiting for you mi amigo. God bless.

[@SPANNERRASH]

Thank you for the comment. If I make it to Texas I'll look you up, I can't promise I'll service your bike though :) I think I would be just too excited at just being in Texas!

[@javierr1blue]

@@SPANNERRASH you have an open invitation. Good bless your family

[@mexicanorespondon1223]

Absolutely great video, It will help a lot because Im planning to do the valve work to my Triumph Tiger Sport, It Is three cylinder but It seems to be preety similar, Im very carefull with my bike, always synyhetic oil and a conservative driving, so Im expecting that the valve clearance be still in specs after 60,000 km. Greetings from Mexico !!!

[@SPANNERRASH]

Great to hear from you. I love the Triumph 3 cylinder bikes, I have had a few. If you are methodical in how you approach it and don't rush you shouldn't have any problem.

[@kimsmith4409]

Brilliant video very easy to follow 😀

[@SPANNERRASH]

Cheers mate

[@renolle]

Thanks alot for sharing this, awesome stuff!

[@SPANNERRASH]

Really glad you enjoy it. Comments like this encourage us to keep making content.

[@1234567marks]

Hi Les, regarding the temp gauge reading low I think it may be normal, now that the warm weather is with us mine reads higher and in traffic went past middle and the fan kicked in, I guess it could be because the cooling system is designed to operate in much hotter climates than the UK so could be over cooling a bit here in Blighty!

[@SPANNERRASH]

Hi Mark. Sounds plausible. TBH I wasn't overly worried about the gauge reading, while it is somewhere in the middle of the range. Now we just need to get some miles on our bikes.

[@jimmykilbride9762]

Great video. Very easy to follow. Out of interest, what’s the mileage on the bike? All looks in great condition.

[@SPANNERRASH]

I'm glad you enjoyed it and found it useful. The bike has 29k miles on it. Most of it seems to be fine, but I have had to attend to a few things, creaky fairing, and a crack in the subframe. I am considering what I do about the bodywork. I have a couple of sticker kits, but I am also tempted to go for another standard colour scheme, this is my fourth black blade!

[@markieboy101]

Great video👍 Can I ask why you used imperial for measuring the clearances? I’ve got an old Haynes manual I’m using and it gives them in metric and imperial. I’ve bought feeler gauges in metric which I assume just makes the process a bit easier?

[@SPANNERRASH]

Great question with a stupid answer :) , at the time the best set of feeler guages I had was in thou (although it did have the mm equivalent for each, but they were to 3 decimal places). I did find it easier adding or subtracting from the measured gaps in whole 1 thous (0.025mm) rather than working with mm to a number of decimal places. If I had a better set of mm gauges at the time, I would probably have used them and added the 0.025mm up or down as required. I also find that most machine shops that I come across here in Yorkshire, seem to talk more in thou than in metric, so I tend to lean towards using thou. I do hope it didn't make it too confusing, it took me quite a while to record working out the new shims in a way that was understandable.

[@markieboy101]

@@SPANNERRASH thank you, I was worried that I was over simplifying the calculation in metric. I’m actually swapping out the cams so the video has been a great guide to the process👍

[@mulliedog1]

Great tutorial!!

[@SPANNERRASH]

Cheers! :)

[@mariosnikolaou5212]

Really nice, but we really wait for the e30 ;)

[@SPANNERRASH]

Cheers Marios, E30 update coming soon. :)

[@Yamaprilia]

Great video. Although personally if youve gone that far with the engine why not do the inlets aswel? They are all at bottom of tollerance and are only going to get tighter! And please for gods sake put some cloth in the oilways so you dont drop anything into the sump

[@SPANNERRASH]

I understand what you mean, but if it was in a shop they wouldn't change them if the were in spec. There is also a school of thought (not that I am in total agreement) that you should have them at the tight end of the clearance for best performance. I agree about being more careful to stop things going down into the engine, must try harder.

[@harryw9598]

spanner , i love your video's caution , your rotor pulse looks like an aftermarket tuning one. they come in 2 or 4 degrees more advance timing, i have to check mine i am suspicious. my blade bogs from stand below 3k 2 degrees i can live wtth 4 degrees is pushing it. imo will check my valves soon, also change the sparkplugs. but have to be carefull , there are counterfit ngk's

[@SPANNERRASH]

Thanks for the info. I never thought about it being a tuning part, I will have to go back and look. I was very surprised at it not being marked as standard. I think my work around to set the clearances is fine, but I never thought about ignition timing, I have just assumed it would be right.

[@harryw9598]

@@SPANNERRASH my pleasure , 2 men know more than one? ; ) not to worry about tdc , your trick with the allen key is good enough. i can send you pictures of the rotors. or you can search for factory pro ignition advance rotor. them rotors do come without any marks. my blade i have to check, and if so i replace it with the stock part. mine does have a factory carb kit 140's main jets! and butchered airbox. with foam cone/pod filters. runs great but too rich imo. have quit a list to do valves carbs plugs seals for tha brakecalipers just service i like delboys video's too great precise mechanic. o , another thing can you share your thoughts on k&n airfilters?

[@SPANNERRASH]

I have had a look at the Factory Pro rotor and you might be right. I wonder how I can check. I am not sure if the bike runs any different to the other blades I have had. I am really intrigued. As for K&N filters, I do have one, but I haven't fitted it yet. I had a new paper filter already in the bike, and didn't want to throw it away. I have fitted K&Ns to other vehicles I have had, I can't say I have noticed any major difference in how they run.

[@harryw9598]

@@SPANNERRASH my friend , the rotors, if you have a picture of both. lay them side by side. you can easily see the difference. the notch in the middle of the factory one is of by, yes 4 degrees. the oem is a greyish color, the pro more a golden finish. maybe you like the pics trough facebook? hit me up. k&n filtering i think is not so good... more air is less filtering? but then again the miles i do on clean roads should be no problem. i do 4to 5 k km a year. i checked my little filter behind the airbox. it was very bad, the foam mostly fallen apart

[@harryw9598]

@@SPANNERRASH i am no expert but i like to learn and do it right. now an expert told me , a new paper filter lets more air through then a k&n . this evens out during use in favour of the k&n also,there are two versions of the k&n for the blade , the newer one has more ribs, but less airflow. ever heard of the viking mod?

[@gabrielsilivestru6351]

Hi! i think when you did the calculations you converted the recorded valve clearance and specified valve clearance from Millimeters to Thousandths and the old shim thickness you left it in Millimeters, and you applied the formula, the result for a new shim is wrong:) i hope you did t put it in the bike with the wrong size shim.

[@SPANNERRASH]

Hi thanks for the comment. But it seems you stopped watching at 33.32 completely missing me converting the thou to mm at 33.47 before doing the calculation. Further in the vid I show another method that confirms my original working out. If I am wrong please do let me know. But I think you were wrong saying I was wrong. And as we both know two wrongs make a right!!! :) Take care.

[@gabrielsilivestru6351]

@@SPANNERRASH Hi! thank you for responding! Assuming: .006 thou = 0.15mm and .010 thou = 0.25mm (0.15mm-0.25mm)+2.12mm = 2.02 mm. The result you have is 2.05mm :). It is nothing wrong being wrong! I learn a lot from your video. Thank you.

[@SPANNERRASH]

Great reply. I'm guessing you hadn't heard what I said about the shim sizes which might make it look odd when I suddenly write 2.05. You have rounded to 2 places whereas I used 3 places, getting my figures from the feeler gauges. My 2.018 result matches your 2.02 taking this into account. However if you listen to what I say, at 33.11, before writing the shim size of 2.05, I clearly explain that the shims don't come in the exact sizes so I had to round to the next nearest, in this case slightly thicker so that the clearance falls within the correct range. I really enjoyed going back through my video, I was worried that you had found a problem with it, but I can't see that there is. I do hope this makes sense for you, and I really hope I didn't offend with my two wrongs joke!

[@aquasaurus1504]

Very useful video again. Thank you! Could tell me where can I order a passenger grip like you have at the back of the bike?

[@SPANNERRASH]

Hi, it is a Renntec one. Here is a link to the one I have. ebay.us/sDdnUo I bought mine secondhand and powdercoated it myself, see and earlier video. I wouldn't be without it. It makes putting the bike on a paddock stand very easy, not to mention giving my pillion something to hang on to.l

[@aquasaurus1504]

Yeah, it seems really handy! Thanks for the reply. I think I'll get myself one as well! :) @@SPANNERRASH

[@joakimjanmyr7477]

Hi! Great video! Do I need to change the thick rubber gasket for the cover? In the manual they also mention some kind of liquid gasket to be put on the half circle area of the cover? Thanks,

[@SPANNERRASH]

If the rubber gasket isn't damaged you can reuse it. I use Honda Bond for the half circle and anywhere the rubber gasket goes over a join (I can't remember if there are any on the Fireblade, but there are on the CB750 I am just working on), but you can use any silicon or similar liquid gasket maker.

[@joakimjanmyr7477]

Thanks! Honda bond? Can you put a link? @@SPANNERRASH

[@SPANNERRASH]

@@joakimjanmyr7477 This should be the stuff: ebay.us/qEHmct

[@josephpietrusza6974]

How do i make the stopper tool what are the specs of it i can't find it anywhere

[@SPANNERRASH]

It is definitely in the CBR900RR workshop manual, I downloaded it from a fireblade forum. This link has a photo of it. cbrforum.com/forum/stickies-91/how-replace-your-automatic-cam-chain-tensioner-104184/ I hope this helps. Make yours out of heavier gauge metal than me, I ended up using a screwdriver and vice grips to hold it in place, which actuall worked out ok.

[@soy_flaxowo]

Saludos quería saber el torque de bancada y biela y camara del CBR 900rr

[@SPANNERRASH]

Google translate tells me that you have said "Greetings, I wanted to know the torque of the bed and connecting rod and camera of the CBR 900rr" I am not sure which setting I missed out in the video, if you could give me a little more information I will try to help. - No estoy seguro de qué configuración me perdí en el video, si pudieras darme un poco más de información, intentaré ayudar.

[@Flowtickler]

Can you please make a fuel pump video🙏

[@SPANNERRASH]

Sorry Nikolas but my version of this bike doesn't have a pump. I think the very early ones did, and I know the latest ones do. Maybe when I change bikes I may have something to say about pumps.

[@Flowtickler]

@@SPANNERRASH ahhh mine is a 1999 i just got it and i could not find the fuel pump LOL

[@Flowtickler]

Do you have any tips on how to get it started with carbs spray in the carbs?

[@Flowtickler]

I just did a oil change and new battery and installed new carbs the dash lights up but it doesnt light up neutral unless you pull the clutch in. not when its footed in Neutral with clutch released.

[@justastulpe3265]

Hi, what`s the reason to do this job? Were there any issues with the engine that you decided to do this job? Thanks

[@SPANNERRASH]

Hi, valve clearances are a standard maintenance thing, that often gets missed. There wasn't any specific problem with the engine, but it was at nearly twice the mileage of the scheduled first check. If they close up they can cause quite a problem for the engine, and a couple of them were at the lower limit, so I was pleased that I did it. I felt that the engine was a little quiter after, but that might just be in my head :)

[@justastulpe3265]

@@SPANNERRASH oh ok, cause i have an issue -> unstable idle and jerky on revs up to 3000 when warm. Seems cylinder 4 exhaust pipe colder then others. Changed spark plugs + ignition coils, cleaned tank, injectors, checked vacuum hoses, changed filters but still same... everybody online have this issue but nobody knows what`s the problem, pity :/

[@Gboyrides]

Have a question how come you have to loosen the chain tensioner to check the clearances when it's gonna be tight while it's running

[@SPANNERRASH]

When you are measuring the clearances you don't want anything giving any additional pressure to close them up at all. Tension on the cam chain would certainly be pulling the gap closed, but I suspect shouldn't really be making much of a difference at all. When the engine is running and up to temperature the gaps will be very different to what you set them to in a cold, non running engine, also the chain tension will be something the engineers take into account.

[@Gboyrides]

@@SPANNERRASH where would the pressure be coming from whether there's tension on the cam chain or not how would it be pulling the force down? The force would be rotating it would be spinning and if it's time, it's not spinning whether there's pressure on or not there wouldn't be any difference in the gaps. I'm gonna remeasure it today. I've asked a couple people and they said it doesn't matter. It's for assuming that you're gonna be taking it apart. I don't believe Honda engineers wrote the Hanes manual

[@Gboyrides]

@@SPANNERRASH in my mind you would want that additional pressure to close up the gaps if there were flex like you say because that's how the bike is gonna be running. Why would you not account for that gap if there was one? Dont you want make sure those gaps aren't to tight with the pressure on the cams because thats the gap while running?? It makes sense to check with tension. Why would you check them with extra gap so that the gap closes up and becomes tighter when you the chain is tight,in theory if my valve is at the tight end of the spectrum but in spec while the chain is loose if you're saying what you're saying is true it's gonna be even tighter when I take tension off the chain. and more so it would only affect the intake cam because that's the only one with the tension being pulled down. There's no tension on the backside of it because it's already taught rotation and flexion are two different things. I don't see how a cam would flex with five attachment points, holding it down flushwhile something is rotating it I'm gonna check today though cause I did my valves yesterday. We'll see if there's a difference.

[@SPANNERRASH]

@@Gboyrides I used the Honda manual. From recollection I think virtually every manual explaining valve clearance says to loosen the cam chain tensioner. Maybe I'm mistaken. If you are going to the effort of checking or adjusting the clearances I would just follow what they manufacturers say without trying to second guess it.

[@SPANNERRASH]

@@Gboyrides Like I said in a previous answer, I would just follow the workshop manual. I think they always say to release cam chain tension, there is even a special tool that they tell you to use.

[@sebastianschellens5777]

Is the rattling gone away now?

[@SPANNERRASH]

Yes the rattling was totally solved when I refitted the top cowl. There were a few fastenings missing from it, and the two dowls that support the headlight were broken off. Once I had fixed them the strange noises disappeared. I didn't think it was the cam chain or valves. I did the clearances as part of routine maintenance. The bike is running really well.

[@eastwood111]

Are the valve specs the same for the 929rr?

[@SPANNERRASH]

I don't know what changes they made, besides the capacity increase. I would check in the manuial. I suspect they will be very similar, but better to be sure.

[@eastwood111]

@@SPANNERRASH Thank you so much for the reply! Yes, it appears that the exhaust clearance is a little different than the original 900 motor. Exhaust specs for the 929 are 0.10 - 0.12 I just checked all the valve clearances, Thanks to your video and only the 4th exhaust valve is off 0.09. Is that even worth addressing? All of the other intake and exhaust are within the allowance.

[@SPANNERRASH]

Sorry to say this, but if it was me I would worry about it being too tight more than if it was .01 to slack. If the valve doesn't fully seat it mighn't cool as much, so could burn out. I suspect that what you have measured would probably be OK. But once I knew about it, I would have to do something about it. And you are most of the way there to address it. I wouldn't bother changing any of the others if they are in spec, you can probably buy one shim from Honda, or put something on a Facebook group and somebody with a set will probably let you have the appropriate shim. Good luck.

[@stephenwalsh8184]

🏍👍

[@SPANNERRASH]

Cheers Stephen 👍

[@VinceHoward-cw6vn]

Excellent video

[@SPANNERRASH]

Thank you very much!