I have a ticking noise coming from my Foreman and I looked threw some of the older threads and nothing went in too deep on how I would go about adjusting the valves to correct this issue. Do I adjust it after the quad warms up or do I do it when she is dead cold?

And is this really that big of a problem?

 

Cold. And yes it can cause problems if you don't maintain valve adjustment.

 

I have yet to go through my manual, but I am thinking (tell me if I am wrong) that I should tighten the valves to rid myself of the "ticking", and of couse turn the screws a half turn at a time or even a quarter turn at a time?

 

Not sure how the Foreman work but on my 250X, I loosten a locknut on a screw that goes through the rocker arm. The bottom of the screw meets the top of the valve stem. I rotate the crank so that the valves are both closed, then screw the screw toward the valve stem until there is .004" clearance, measured with a feeler gage. Then tighten the locknut up without moving the screw. It's an easy 30 minute job for me. Even on your Foreman, I'm sure there is no "tighteneing of the valve itself". It's a DIY job no problem.

 

See pg 96 of the June ATV Action Mag.