2012 Honda CBR250R/RA Valve Adjustment Procedure - Page 1
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Disclaimer: this is not intended as a replacement for the Honda service manual for
this motorcycle. The author and website owner are not responsible for any errors
or incorrect procedures or advice in this document. By using this document and following
the procedures and advice below, the user assumes all risk and responsibility for
injury or damage to their motorcycle. The author is not a motorcycle mechanic and
has received no formal training in motorcycle servicing. Consult the service manual
for additional information.
Read all of the instructions before beginning. If you have a digital camera, it
may be helpful to take some photos of the bike as you remove parts and reposition
others, so that you can refer to them later as you put the bike back together. The
following is based on the author’s observations and experience performing a valve
clearance adjustment on the 2012 CBR250RA and on information contained in the official
Honda service manual for the 2011 CBR250R/RA (part no. 61KYJ00) which the publisher
has stated is also applicable to the 2012 model year.
The service manual skips over a few points that would be helpful to know in advance.
This document attempts to fill in some gaps, help clarify some points and offer
some hints to make the valve adjustment procedure a little easier. The actual valve
clearance inspection and adjustment procedure should also be applicable to the
2013
Honda CRF250L as both models essentially use the same engine (with a few
differences). The specified valve clearances are likely the same, but you should
still consult the CRF250L service manual to verify that as well as other aspects
specific to the CRF250L.
Some people say it’s easier to perform the valve adjustment if you remove the fuel
tank. It probably would make the job easier if the fuel tank was out of the way,
but I’ve also heard that it can be difficult to disconnect the fuel line from the
fuel pump; the quick connectors are apparently not so easy to disconnect. There
are also a number of wires, cables, tubes, connectors, the frame tubes and other
parts that impede access to the valves. Anyway, you can check and adjust the valve
clearance without removing the fuel tank; that’s the way I did it, but the access
and visibility is somewhat limited.
By performing the valve clearance check and possibly valve clearance adjustments
yourself, you can save a significant amount of money, learn more about your bike
and gain the satisfaction of maintaining your bike yourself. The most frustrating
thing about this procedure on the CBR250R is the limited amount of access or working
room. There is nothing technically challenging about the procedure though, especially
since the camshafts do not need to be removed in order to replace valve shims. Use
the correct tools for the job.
Note: with 1033 km on the CBR250R in the photos, both exhaust valve clearances (0.19
and 0.20) were less than the specified range and needed adjustment, but the intake
valve clearances (0.17 and 0.17) were fine.
Parts and supplies you may need:
- valve shims
- valve cover rubber gasket
- copper sealing washers for the bolts securing the rocker arm shafts
- silicone liquid gasket / sealant (Three Bond 1207B, 1215, etc.); available as a
Suzuki part from a Suzuki dealer
- valve cover bolt seals
- motorcycle engine oil that you currently use for your bike
- shop towels
- electrical tape
Tools you may need:
- torque wrench
- tool to remove the crankshaft hole cap and timing hole cap (ex. Motion Pro timing
plug wrench)
- telescoping mirror
- telescoping magnet
- 10 mm, 12 mm and 17 mm (?) sockets, 6 inch extension and ratchet
- 5 mm and 6 mm hex keys (Allen keys / wrenches)
- feeler gauges, preferably angled and tapered (or narrow) to measure the valve clearances
- micrometer to measure shim thickness
- flat bladed tweezers
- small flat bladed screw driver
- needle nose pliers
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