Knowledge is Power!

My speedometer doesn't work so I couldn't tell you how fast I was going, but it felt amazing. Redline, 5th gear, passing cars like they're standing still. I'm doing all I can just to hang on to this 33 year old bike as we go screaming down the parkway. Even in fifth gear going uphill; if you grab a hand full of throttle she'll knock your fillings into the back of your throat.

The reason for this ride? I re-adjusted the exhaust valve tappet clearance after reading about the later K and F models having valve reliability issues. It seems that Honda changed the exhaust valve guide design in the later CB's to allow for longer distances between oil changes. This change however, causes the valves to heat up more and can cause the valve to gall and stick. Eventually this will cause the valve to not get out of the piston's way in time and *SMACK* there goes your valve-train.

The solution is to increase the tappet clearance by a little bit. This increase does cause you to lose some cam duration but from what I could tell by my test ride, you don't lose any performance.