I got my valves checked at the stealership at ~600 miles after break-in about a year ago as per the manual. I am coming up on ~2000 miles and she's running great.  Manual says check valve clearance at 4000 miles/12 months.  Do I really need to worry with the valve check at 12 months or keep on until I hit 4000 miles?

I don't hear any knocking or clanking, only the faint electrical sounding tick, tick, tick, tick if you put your head close enough to the engine which I understand to be normal, right?  Otherwise, if she were having valve clearance issues I imagine I would hear some really noticeable TING, TING, TING, TING....right?

Thanks!

Valves dont get out of adjustment sitting. Only wear changes it.
The adjusters are pointed bolts, basically. When new, the ends are just plaino metal, but, as time goes by & the rounded ends have banged into valves Over and Over & Over, they mash down a bit & as they get mashed, surface area making contact increases AND the metal work hardens, so, by about 12,000 miles, the adjusters really slow down on how they change, so, valves slow down on how often they need adjusted.
Now, IF a seat should happen to have not been fully inserted into the head at the factory & it slowly move completely into position, then your valve adjustment will close down & Could cause a problem,

Checking the clearance is nothing, anyone can do that, just do it w/ engine cold. Adjusting it if its not in spec? Anyopne can do that too, but IM not explaining it here right now.

Verslagen is not kidding, if it says "check the valves" it does NOT mean adjust the valves.

And the assholes really do charge you the official book rate for bending over and listening for 4 seconds ....

I got the 5 year warranty and am really starting to regret it. I get the bad feeling that I paid $600 for the priviledge of being obligated to the dealership for an extra $320 every 4-6 months. Wife is gonna be pissed but it is probably much, much cheaper to abandon the warranty to save myself about $4,000 over the next 5 years.       

Dane Allen wrote on 04/02/13 at 12:56:31:

If they want to contest it, they can say the air passed thru the bike was wrong.

keep your receipts, make yourself a log book and deligently record your maitenance.  Not any different issue than with cars.  pictures of the mileage and with the oil filter cover off should be conclusive evidence.  And the nail in the coffin would be bagged and tagged used parts.

Thanks all.  Sounds like I am on the right track...just keep riding and worry with it when I hit the mileage.

I have changed the oil twice (first when I bough it as a barn find with 400 miles as it sat for 4 years, and again at ~1000 miles just to make sure anything stuck up in there from sitting so long had cleaned its way out).

So far, so good...