The bike in question is a '03 YZF 450. I raced a full season of enduros here in Colorado last season, and a few motos as well. This season I am broke and have just been riding. I bought the bike new and have not adjusted the valves, but have religiously changed the oil, oil filter, and cleaned the air filter. Despite being a hack mechanic at best, I have been reading the service manual intensely, and have decided to dig in. The bike is not starting any differently than when new, but I am beginning to get paranoid, and would rather take the time for preventative maintenance, than have the motor grenade, subsequently shredding my wallet. If the valves need to be replaced, should I opt for stainless valves for the sake of longevity? As long as I am "digging in" should I replace the piston and rings? Any words of wisdom, with the exception of, "you're a dumb-ass, take it to a shop!" would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Geoff
Valves: Stainless or Titanium
- Thread starter lennythor
- Start date
DO the valves NEED to be replaced? Damn, I guess I would advise you to have a leakdown test performed to see what the status of the engine is.
Maybe go into it for examination/re-ring at minimum. Look things over. See what story the internals tell. Make decisions based on that. Unless you are running at top revs, you shouldn't need Ti valves. New keepers and springs, and replacement stock valves will prolly be fine if the ones that are currently in it look fine after a season.
Call the guys at Ferrea, tell them what you have and what your budget is. They make one piece(no weld) valves and I have yet to see one that 'dropped' even on endurance racing gsxrs(most valves break/drop when the head separates from the stem at the manufacturing weld).
http://www.ferrea.com/
Maybe go into it for examination/re-ring at minimum. Look things over. See what story the internals tell. Make decisions based on that. Unless you are running at top revs, you shouldn't need Ti valves. New keepers and springs, and replacement stock valves will prolly be fine if the ones that are currently in it look fine after a season.
Call the guys at Ferrea, tell them what you have and what your budget is. They make one piece(no weld) valves and I have yet to see one that 'dropped' even on endurance racing gsxrs(most valves break/drop when the head separates from the stem at the manufacturing weld).
http://www.ferrea.com/
I don't think you can resurface Ti valves, but you can stainless.
http://www.blackdiamondvalves.com/Default.htm
http://www.blackdiamondvalves.com/Default.htm
