Well, I don't know much about bikes, but I do know that carbureted engines for cars do need a little more care to keep them running smoothly, especially if you're running a multi-carb setup. If I had to guess, I'd say the same is probably true for bikes. That said, while the task of setting valve lash is relatively straightforward, I can understand why he'd be uncomfortable doing it. I'm gonna confess something here. Know why I own an FR-S? I mean, besides the fact that it's fun. I don't have to do jack shit with it. I just drive it, take it to the dealer for its scheduled maintenance, and stay worry free. The lack of worry really adds to my enjoyment of the car and I'm confident enough in it that it's my daily driver. When I had my El Camino on the other hand, that thing broke down every single month. It sat not running more often than not. Either I knew how to fix it and didn't have the money, or I had the money but didn't know what to do. Even though it wasn't my DD and I loved the hell out of that car, it was a frustrating experience. Now that I'm a bit older, and have money to spare, I'm willing to look at another GM G-Body again when I have space for one. It kind of circles back to the whole fear thing we talked about. For those interested in Valve Lash, Summit Racing has a great tutorial on how to adjust for it . . .
Bike carbs are a whole 'nuther animal. Variable venturi, auto-compensating for pressure. Fewer parts, less adjustability... and then you get to balance 'em. But hey- you have to balance fuel injection, too. On the plus side, everything else you can plug it into the 'puter. Bike valve lash is a whole 'nuther animal too. no rocker arms. Here's a great guide for the KLR not because you'll ever have one, but because it introduced me to the phrase "abyss towels."
I lawled a little. I'll be damned though, if that's not an intimidating number of steps there.This is a part of the procedure where you can't be careful enough. A wrong move here that allows a cap locator or screw to fall down into the engine has made men go crazy, women faint, and children cry. (Undocumented information.)