Question Dealership valve checks

[Majunior]

Has anyone successfully had a BMW dealer actually perform a valve check (and adjustment if necessary) as part of the 6,000 or 12,000 mile service? I ask as the R18 is my 2nd modern boxer and anytime I have inquired about service every dealer has said they don’t check valves as part of the service. Been told “we don’t check during the first few services as the boxers rarely need adjustment” which may be the case, but I’m sure BMW didn’t include valve check every 6,000 miles in the owners manual for funsies. I think it’s probably due to the turn and burn nature of most dealerships these days, so they don’t want to waste time checking valves that may not need adjustment. What has been your experience?

 

[Anibal]

The manual calls for valves clearance checks at all intervals, except the first 300mls which is understandable. Having said that, when I did my 6K mls service last year they did not check, or at least it was not quoted on the invoice. TBH, the check is very easy to do and it is not time consuming at all. I think they literally play it by ear. If there is a bit of chatter, they will probably check, otherwise they may leave it as it is.
There are different values for cold and hot adjustments.

 

[oldslodog]

I will adjust my own, They need looking at for sure. Intake valves seem to tighten/strech while the exhaust will do the rattling/ticking. I remember those old V.W. engines were air cooled also. If you let the intake valves get tight, then adjust lots of times they broke. Causing catastrophic damage.

 

[PistolPeteSTL]

BMW boxer engines are about the easiest engines there are to check valve clearance on, definitely something you can check yourself. All you need is a straight edge and a set of feeler gauges, you don't even have to contort your body in weird ways and/or remove the tank and bodywork like with many bikes.

 

[Majunior]

BMW boxer engines are about the easiest engines there are to check valve clearance on, definitely something you can check yourself. All you need is a straight edge and a set of feeler gauges, you don't even have to contort your body in weird ways and/or remove the tank and bodywork like with many bikes.

To be clear. I’m well aware of how to check/adjust valves and have performed this on my own on my airhead and 1200GS. I my inquiry here was more focused on dealers opting to skip the valve check on 6K and 12K services even though the service manual calls for a check every 6K miles. Looking to see what other folk have experienced at their dealers.

 

[Noelpolar]

Fwiw..... I formed a view some time ago that service places do not like doing valve checks generally. I think that it is a task they need to fully commit to in "normal time" not "service time" so they skip it for $$$ sake as long as something isn't presenting itself loudly.

For clarity sake "service time" is where they move between several vehicles doing simple stuff (drain oil etc) and spend a total of 40min on each vehicle spread over 90min (so 3 vehicles serviced concurrently in 90min) and charge each person for a 60min service (or 90min inc the road test they don't do...haha). My wife says female apprentices can do 4 vehicles min concurrently...... haha!

 

[Majunior]

Fwiw..... I formed a view some time ago that service places do not like doing valve checks generally. I think that it is a task they need to fully commit to in "normal time" not "service time" so they skip it for $$$ sake as long as something isn't presenting itself loudly.

For clarity sake "service time" is where they move between several vehicles doing simple stuff (drain oil etc) and spend a total of 40min on each vehicle spread over 90min (so 3 vehicles serviced concurrently in 90min) and charge each person for a 60min service (or 90min inc the road test they don't do...haha). My wife says female apprentices can do 4 vehicles min concurrently...... haha!

This is the exact behavior/business approach I was thinking about. It’s always jarring to me to have a dealer quote $500+ for a service and tell me it doesn’t include a valve check.

 

[Star-Lord]

Other than checking the valves by sound or listening... It would behoove a technician to not adjust any of the valves, during any real physical inspection; meaning, in order to check the clearance of the valves, one has to remove the cylinder cover, plugs, ignition coil covers, sensor port and find TDC ..

Could you imagine a technician breaking down the bike on both sides in order to "inspect" the valves tolerances, and not make adjustments because it wasn't on the work order... and to boot, put everything back together without making adjustments...

Oh yeah "customer", I checked yerr valves... they're a little outta spec..

 

[Majunior]

Other than checking the valves by sound or listening... It would behoove a technician to not adjust any of the valves, during any real physical inspection; meaning, in order to check the clearance of the valves, one has to remove the cylinder cover, plugs, ignition coil covers, sensor port and find TDC ..

Could you imagine a technician breaking down the bike on both sides in order to "inspect" the valves tolerances, and not make adjustments because it wasn't on the work order... and to boot, put everything back together without making adjustments...

Oh yeah "customer", I checked yerr valves... they're a little outta spec..

Lmao not to be argumentative, but you’re literally describing a “valve check”. A check to see if the valves need adjustment. That’s how checks work. Solely relying on your ear is not accurate, and by the time you hear something wrong the valves may be way farther out of spec compared to if you performed a routine check and adjusted as necessary if required. My 1200GS sounded perfectly fine, but actually doing my own valve check at 12K revealed the valves on one side were out of spec. Ordered shims, made the adjustment, put it back together, and ride with peace of mind. I’m aiming to see 100K and beyond on my bikes so perhaps I’m more rigorous about servicing than others.

Dealers operate on time and profit so I completely understand their hesitance to spend time checking if they’re not certain an adjustment is required. It also just means if they did service by the book it would take longer and they could not service as many bikes in the same timeframe. I just think it’s funny BMW engineers are like “this should be checked every 6K miles” and dealers are like “eh sound fine to me, let’s skip that part of the service”

 

[Star-Lord]

I've adjusted my valves on my R18 B twice since ownership (~13k miles); it's extremely easy, to the point where it has become routine with my engine oil, transmission and rear Bevel Gear fluid changes..

I sold my 2008 GS Adventure with 96,688 miles on it in order to purchase my R18..

 

[IN2R18s]

I'll check mine myself. My R18B, is as quiet as a mouse. My R18 Bobber is very rattely on the left side, sounds like a nut bouncing around in there. Whn my dealer had the bike for the reverse recall. I mentioned it to him. He said they will check it at the 10,000km service. Which for me, will be in 5+ years time, because I don't clock that many miles on my bikes (got too many cars and bikes to rotate through).

 

[Star-Lord]

Valve Adjustment Video:

 

[caillou]

Has anyone successfully had a BMW dealer actually perform a valve check (and adjustment if necessary) as part of the 6,000 or 12,000 mile service? I ask as the R18 is my 2nd modern boxer and anytime I have inquired about service every dealer has said they don’t check valves as part of the service. Been told “we don’t check during the first few services as the boxers rarely need adjustment” which may be the case, but I’m sure BMW didn’t include valve check every 6,000 miles in the owners manual for funsies. I think it’s probably due to the turn and burn nature of most dealerships these days, so they don’t want to waste time checking valves that may not need adjustment. What has been your experience?

I had mine at the dealer last summer for my 10K check. They did adjust them as they were just wearing in. Bike ran like shit for 50km but got settled right back to normal. Now runs like a well oiled machine.

 

[Noelpolar]

I had mine at the dealer last summer for my 10K check. They did adjust them as they were just wearing in. Bike ran like shit for 50km but got settled right back to normal. Now runs like a well oiled machine.

That's interesting, I never would have thought of maybe reseting the adaptions after a valve adjustment.