How-To: Valve Adjustment for Honda PCX

[you you]

Next to a silly rev limiter video on my youtube channel the Honda PCX valve clearance tutorial continues to draw the best viewership. Much to my surprise many around the world do worry about those clearances wanting to know more according to time spent watching analysis. Unless people just want to watch boring video and not actually do the job this video is serving it's purpose for 2015 PCX



I look forward to taking the PCX down again some day but for this years upcoming riding season... we are good to go

Equally looking forward to next years riding but without checking my valves (bike is running like a peach). Let's see how it goes?

[jkautz]

My dealer in Modesto,CA will do a valve adjustment for $135. 1.5hr labor

[JohnL]

My dealer in Brisbane, Australia has quoted me $180.00 for a 4,000km maintenance service, not including a valve check. I didn't even bother asking how much for that.

Looking at the owners manual almost everything else in the service is inspection, apart from cleaning the crankcase breather.

The manual also reccomends a valve clearance check every 4,000km (2,400 miles). A nice little earner.

[iceman]

You will be lucky to get any dealer checking valves even for a high-cost and little done service. In the UK, most london dealers want about £70 1st service, £120 2nd, rising to £220 for later servicing - all plus VAT! For many of them, they do not remove the panelling and check the valves - only perhaps at one of the later services and if they believe it needs doing.

[MikeP]

In preparation for a long trip, I decided to check my valves among other things.
At 13480 km, I found my valve lash to be spot on. That is about 9000 km since my last check.
Needless to say I am happy.

[you you]

My dealer in Modesto,CA will do a valve adjustment for $135. 1.5hr labor

Audible or physical check?

[jkautz]

Physical. I had it done last week, they kept the scooter overnight. They adjusted them back to factory spec, and after 2800mi they were "a little snug" but not tight. They also adjusted my brakes that were out of spec as well. Turned out to be a very good trip.

[mstram]

The tolerances for the valves on the PCX are HUGE, so you don't have much to worry about unless you hear clicking.

PCX 125/150:
INTAKE: 0.10 +/- .02mm (0.004 +/- 0.001in)
EXHAUST: 0.24 +/- .02mm (0.009 +/- 0.001in)

I don't have a PCX (yet), and I know next to nothing about engines (but would like to learn)


Are you saying that +/- .02mm is a "huge" tolerance ?

(Like I said, I don't know much 'bout engines, but .02mm doesn't seem all that "huge" to me

Or that the valves will actually operate well beyond those tolerances ?

If the latter what are the "real" tolerances ?

Mike

[MikeP]

In preparation for a long trip, I decided to check my valves among other things.
At 13480 km, I found my valve lash to be spot on. That is about 9000 km since my last check.
Needless to say I am happy.

Well I just rolled over 20,000km and my bikes performance is amazing. No concerns about a valve check. Perhaps at 25,000k just for fun.

[nedla]

hi maddiedog, thanks for the very helpful posts
Why do we have to disconnect the electric fuel pump electric line and the fuel line when adjusting the valve clearances?

[fish]

Short answer: "you can't get there from here"
Shorter answer: "You can't. "
Honda obviously never meant for the valves to be touched once the engine was installed in the scooter....unless you live in Modesto@!!!
Fish

[nedla]

sorry Fish I don't clearly understand what u mean can't... . . no need to adjust valve clearances?

[WhiteNoise]

There is a need for valve adj. If it needs it. I think that's a given when you think about it...right?

what Fish is saying, is that by doing so, it makes the valves more accessible. Honda didn't have us in mind when it came to adjusting valves on a PCX. Tight quarters and packed in. So maddiedog and others found their own way, and shared those pathway(s) with us.

nedla, you've got me curious....why did you Really ask? Do you have something to share with us? I'm serious. Please do

P.S. I have no experience adjusting valves.

[nedla]

hi Whitenoise, thanks for explaining what Fish meant

i am planning to adjust it myself next week because i don't like to wait too much in Honda shops, besides i may have better understanding than those mechanics, they have traditional thinking and always believes in myth, don't want to change for the better, reading posts here makes me even want to do it myself . I haven't tried valve adjustments either that is why next week i'll buy a torque wrench because according to BPT the tightening of the lock nuts for the valves is 10Nm.
BTW my scooter is a Click 125 PGMFI esp 2015, i will have to take off those fairings first.

i am asking why is there a need to disconnect the fuel pump socket and the fuel hose from the fuel injector, what is the connection in adjusting the valves, BPT said the challenging part is adjusting the exhaust valve, in which i have to lie down and someone holding the feeler gauge for me..

my odometer reads 3,900km already, needs to check valve clearance...

[sendler2112]

Did my valve adjustment on the 2013 PCX150 yesterday. 19,000 miles/ 30,000 km. It was last done at 4,000 miles. The exhaust clearance was still right on but the intake was just shy of 0 clearance. The valve cover gasket was still in good shape so I reused it again. I also gapped the spark plug from .040" to .30" so it should be good for another 20,000 miles. Too bad Honda didn't make the access panel for the spark plug by your left ankle as big as it could be so that you could just do the valve adjustment from there without taking all the rest of the body work off. It wouldn't really change the appearance if that panel was bigger.

[fish]

Did my valve adjustment on the 2013 PCX150 yesterday. 19,000 miles/ 30,000 km. It was last done at 4,000 miles. The exhaust clearance was still right on but the intake was just shy of 0 clearance. The valve cover gasket was still in good shape so I reused it again. I also gapped the spark plug from .040" to .30" so it should be good for another 20,000 miles. Too bad Honda didn't make the access panel for the spark plug by your left ankle as big as it could be so that you could just do the valve adjustment from there without taking all the rest of the body work off. It wouldn't really change the appearance if that panel was bigger.

Just curious. ...
You're getting 100 miles on $2 worth of gas......and seem to be asking (19, 000 + 20, 000) nearly 40, 000 miles of a $5 NGK spark plug??!!
Thrifty much?

[sendler2112]

Why throw something away that is still perfectly good.

[maddiedog]

The tolerances for the valves on the PCX are HUGE, so you don't have much to worry about unless you hear clicking.

PCX 125/150:
INTAKE: 0.10 +/- .02mm (0.004 +/- 0.001in)
EXHAUST: 0.24 +/- .02mm (0.009 +/- 0.001in)

I don't have a PCX (yet), and I know next to nothing about engines (but would like to learn)


Are you saying that +/- .02mm is a "huge" tolerance ?

(Like I said, I don't know much 'bout engines, but .02mm doesn't seem all that "huge" to me

Or that the valves will actually operate well beyond those tolerances ?

If the latter what are the "real" tolerances ?

Mike

+/- .02mm isn't huge from a measurement sense, but when you have a 20-blade feeler gauge, it means that you have a few blades between the 0.08mm and the 0.12mm blades that is a spec to aim for. It's more of encouraging, indicating that someone with a feeler gauge, some patience, and the ability to follow instructions can easily set the valve tolerances to within the acceptable range.

The valves do not drift much or often. If you get the PCX factory serviced for the first adjustment, it will probably be fine for the next 10k miles, which is a lot for a scooter!

[maddiedog]

hi maddiedog, thanks for the very helpful posts
Why do we have to disconnect the electric fuel pump electric line and the fuel line when adjusting the valve clearances?

If you look a few steps in, EddieC shows us how to remove the fuel line. Without doing that, there will be gas in that line, which will make a mess.

You do have to remove the fuel line in order to remove the valve cover, so I consider it a quick, but necessary step.

[pxc-in-japan]

Oh!

Reading just the 1st page of this thread, I can see that I need to do the valve-clearance check/adjust.

Bought the 2015/150 in Jan this year with 4,400 kilometres on it and can only assume that the first (the only previous) owner did this or had it done on schedule the first two times.

Now at 8,100 kilometres (5060 miles) in June '16 and I still have not ordered the manual from Helm in The U.S.A. (I am in Japan and use a Japanese manual for my Suzuki scoot, but it's much less of a challenge reading an English manual!).

I had better follow the advice of the original poster, get some of the plastic panel removing tools, and spend next Saturday stripping/ checking my PCX.

It makes no untoward noises - it has no 'tappet-like' ticking or such, and it runs beautifully (all other servicing done on or ahead of time so far), so I'll not panic about any potential 'bangs' just yet, but I had better do this for my first time and get that experience under my belt. Many a moon ago, as a young man, I always maintained my own cars - when i still had cars - so I should be OK.

Wish me luck.