I have a new (2005) Rancher 350 4x4 es. I was told that after the first tank of gas i should have the valves adjusted but i haven't heard that from one person but it makes since. should i have them adjusted or just say screw it.

 

need at least 200+ miles before doing an adjustment, it will be loose again if you do it too early

 

I always do a new bike at 20 hrs. After that, a Rancher could go 100 hrs., but still I prefer to do it every 50 hrs..

 

One tank of gas sounds too early. Id wait at least for 20 hours.
Checking it isnt that difficult, and if it needs adjusting, then you can decide to do it yourself or take it in. Most motors dont need any adjustment, but they should all be checked.

 

it takes a while, its not like a 15 minute job for a newbie, or me for that matter

 

hey thanks guys. im an auto mechanic so hopefully it won't be to hard for me to do. The the general conscencis is 20hrs then at 100 than ever 100 after that?

 

Seeing how youre a mechanic...you could probably show us a thing or two.
If you get a Clymer or other service manual, itll step you through what needs doing, 100 hours sounds good, I think theres a chart in the owners manual which breaks down when things need to be done.

 

Whatever the manual say is fine. But to be honest it probably doesn't matter. I KNOW folks who have never set the valves on a bike and have 5-10-15 years on it. No noise either. I just don't see it as a critical item. If you don't know what your doing (not the case here) you can probably do more damage than good.