Looks like it may be tight but can it be done?

 

Yes, easily done.

 

Yea, but why?
Its so easy to lift the bike off the motor and swingarm.
Its like a half-bike, lol.

 

guy i got my bike from had the water pump go out and apparently he wasnt aware of it....I fixed the waterpump and now the head gaskets are shot....hopefully the heads arent warped....

 

If you have them off, make sure they get buzzed ( milled ) flat.
You dont need to take off more than needed to make em flat again

 

can they get milled with the valves in?

 

They can, but do a very complete washing out of the heads, in case foreign debris goes somewhere its not supposed to go.
normally shavings wont get everywhere, but it depends on the person operating the machine.

 

checked the back one.....only .001 so i wont touch that one...once i get the front one off will see how that one goes....

 

Easily ?

Easy if you mean taking the entire bike apart.

But yes, they can be done engine in situ.

I was cursing Honda-san just today, with the location of the top cam cover bolts on the front head. Good job I have a good toolkit

Paul

 

Yes... easily. This is comparing it to anything else I have to work on, on a day to day basis. Example: Starter R&R - VTR1000F=15min., K1200LT 15hrs. The VTR just might be the most mechanic friendly modern motorcycle. What is so bad about the front cover bolts? You could remove the front valve cover without removing anything else if you wanted to.

 

They're in a sodding awful place, as you have to drop the oil cooler down and preferably get the fairing off to have any hope of getting to them.

To get the head off it's best to remove the rads, to avoid any damage and to ease access.

I wouldn't describe the VTR as "the most mechanic friendly modern motorcycle" in any breath

Suzuki Bandit maybe, everything's open and accessible. My Kawasaki ZX12-R is an absolute bitch, as you do have to dismantle half of the bike to get at the plugs (and take the tank off to get at the battery (WTF? ))

Even the mechanic I used face fell as I told him it needed the big (16K mile) service as he knew he's be on it all day

Cheers,

Paul.