my question is. exactly what part of the engine on my honda rancher would be the "head cover"? thats what its referd to in my manual. and when they say recoil starter cover there jsut refering to the black plastic u have to take off tog et the the handle of the rcoil, right?

 

I assume youre doing a valve adjustment, and are wondering where the valve cover is. It would be #4 in this picture.cylinder head
The recoil starter cover is #7 in this picture.recoil starter
Does this help?

 

yeah kinda, there wasnt a number 4 or number 7 but i did find this, would that be what i would need to remove in order to check the valve clearence?

 

Yep, # 4 in that picture is the cover.