Hey guys, Wasn't sure what forum to post this on exactly, but I'm potentially looking at getting a new (used) bike, something slightly more modern (2007-2010), 600/1000cc. Now one bike I like the look of has 75000 on the clock, and the dealer reckons that they don't have service history for things like valve clearances etc. They said that the bike (09 Fireblade) was "ecu tuned" a couple of months ago to get it running nicely. To me, that says they have masked any lack of maintenance by tuning instead? Also means if I do the valve clearances, then I could undo the ecu tune and then need it tuned again? Thoughts? Cheers! Dan
Hi Dan I would say they may have remapped the ECU or even something as simple as synced the throttle bodies to get it to run right Look at my posts here on the Daytona and u can see what can be done .... pretty simple stuff ... I did similar with the Tiger Project - The FZR on Steroids Bike | Page 6 | 2FIFTYCC.COM - Home of the Quarter Litre My biggest concern would be not knowing the history with all the usual culprits , which are much the same as on old bikes , and it has high Ks ..... oil changes, brake fluid/pads , fork service , sprockets/chain, wheel bearings , headstock bearings , tyre date, filters , etc etc If its a dealer , you would think they would do a full service , including valves, before it goes up for sale But then , its a dealer ... it would be the last place I would buy anything, except genuine parts over the counter
Hey bud! Hope you're doing well down in Tamworth! I'll be honest I've pretty much made piece with the fact that any used bike I buy I'm probably going to have to do a ton of maintenance on, I do feel like there's a lot of riders (friends of mine included) who do the bare minimum. I can't say too much either following my vanishing oil issue last year, but i digress. I haven't had much experience with dealers but sort of thought the 3 year warranty might be beneficial if there is anything major that's overlooked? Going back to the valve clearance/ecu stuff, if I did find the clearances were out of spec and fixed them, I guess syncing the throttle body is a certainty, and depending on the extent of the ECU "tune" then I guess a remap possibly too as valve clearances would affect the fueling would they not?
3 year warranty sounds pretty good but sounds questionable on a second hand bike .... are u paying extra for that ? Someone can correct me if Im wrong but doing the valve clearances wont affect the fuel map .... the current map may be wrong to start with .... it would help if you know what it is , then research whats recommended for a stock road going bike .... Im betting theres a zillion groups and forums on any size fireblade , being a track bike also Maybe a test ride is in order .... it may just go like stink from the get go
Only experience with valve clearances affecting anything on a fuel injected bike was on a Daytona 675 that was randomly stalling out when hot. After much diagnosis finding nothing, I decided to go and check the valve clearances and they were all tight. Rebalance the throttlebodies after and it was golden. I will warn you, that era of CBR (and honda in general) are a total pain in the bum to pull apart and re-assemble, so I wouldn't blame you if you decide to outsource a valve clearance job. I have done many of them so I'm good at it, but it's never enjoyable. Even had one were the harness was so tight, manoeuvring it around the throttlebodies caused an internal break in the harness (5V supply for most of the sensors) which I had to chase down by opening up the harness until I found it. Spent most of a day on that one. At 75k KM it's worth checking and doing the clearances unless you have evidence that they were recently done.
Thanks @GreyImport and @Linkin , i appreciate the input Sounds like I shouldn't need to worry about the ecu mapping but now more concerned with hiw difficult a Honda is to work on haha! I'm mulling over options at the moment though so nothing set in stone yet
