I just bought a new foreman. The dealership told me to take it in for a tune up at 20 hrs. He said that they needed to take the engine apart and adjust the valves. The cost is $200. Is it worth paying for this tune up or should I just do it myself or just leave it alone?

 

Ive bought 3 new ones in the past 3 years and never had heard of such a thing??

 

You absolutely do need to do a valve adjustment at 20 hours....just like your owner's manual says (see the maintenance schedule)! This is right after break-in, and the valves can change dramatically during that time. I have had several quads come up way out of spec after break-in!!!

If you are mechanical, get a service manual and see what is involved, then decide if you are up to doing it yourself (you won't need to "take the engine apart"). If not, pay to have it done by someone who is experienced.

 

Doing the valves on the Foreman is pretty straight forward. Taking the plastic and gas tank off is most of the work. On the Foreman mine didn't need adjustment until I hit like 1200 miles, but my Rincon was out a bit on the first check, as was a buddy's Rubicon...

Basically on the Foreman you remove the gas tank cover, gas tank, and a little heat shield underneath to get to the top of the engine. Clean the area around the valve inspection covers before removing. You also take off a chrome allen head inspection cover on the side of the motor.

Rotate the engine until you have a "T" on the flywheel visible in the inspection window. If both rockers are loose, you are ready to check the gap. If both are tight, the piston is top dead center between exhaust and intake and the valves are in overlap. In that case, turn the engine one rotation until the T is back and both rockers are loose (Between compression and power stroke both valves are fully closed).

Spec is .006" both intake and exhaust with engine cold. Lock nut is 13 ft/lbs, and recheck gap after tightening.

As ReconRanger said, if you are mechanically inclined (or financially inclined) to do this yourself, get a factory manual. If you haven't done this kind of thing before, having an experienced buddy there for the first time would be a good idea.

There is also a clutch adjustment you would want to check, and make sure the tie rod lock nuts are tight (use two wrenches so as not to force the joint over on the post).

Other than that, change the oil and filter. Don't put the filter in backwards, or it will block oil flow to the engine (Honda filters are marked). Also check the oil level in the axles.

Have fun with the machine.

 

I mentioned the 20hr valve adjustment to my dealer and he said to wait 100 hrs because everytime someone brings their bike in for the 20 hr valve adjustment the valves are fine. Don't know but that is what dealer said. I will probably do mine at 20hrs to be safe.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am downloading a service manual as we speak. When the time comes I will adjust the valves on my own and put the $200 towards a winch or rims.

 

As I recall, I think the owner's manual says to do the valves every 200 hours....after the initial 20 hrs. IMO, that's not often enough. I would do them at 100 hrs instead.

 

During the 20 hour inspections, I have found the valves to be too tight. These units will vary. I would also suggest readjusting your fuel/air mixture screw on the carb and check the differential fluids to make sure a set-up tech did not just uncrate the unit and throwe a battery and gas in it to be delivered.

----- Gimpster -----

 

I've seen them go both ways. My Foreman was within spec until like 1200 miles and then the intake was a bit loose. On my Rincon all the valves were a bit loose on the first check. A buddy's Rubicon was several thousandths tight. I don't think its previous owner even changed the oil in it's first several hundred hours...

Checking the axle fluid is an excellent tip. ATV's have been known to be delivered low.

Also, not to repeat myself, but check the tie rod ends. I found the lock nuts spinning around loose on the tie rod on the first real ride on the Rincon (checked after it started handling badly, and found one tire way toed in). There have been other treads about different machines with the same thing.

 

I always change my engine oil/filter early on (like at 1 hour) to get any metal shavings out of the engine quickly (a dino oil like GN4). I'll change it again at 5 and 10 hours, then after that I switch to synthetic.

I change out the oil in the front differential and rear final drive as well, for the same reason!

My experience is that Hondas and Suzukis come very clean from the factory (my Yamahas were absolutely filthy!!!), but why take a chance.....