Well I finally got the courage to clean the RAVE valves myself. At first I didn't think I needed to do it because I took the Caps off and pulled on the hex nut a few times and it moved ok. But I figured I had bought new gaskets so I would do it. They were quite full of black grime and the little bellows had a substantial amount of syrup oil residue in them. When reassembled they slid in and out way easier. Couple of tips, make sure you use a pipe cleaner to clean the little gas port. On the first one I used a Qtip and the tip stuck in the port, I had to push it back onto the piston and vacumn it out. I think I got it, started the engine and it didn't blow up. Second, just pull on the starting cord to move the piston below the valve port, then you can shove a cleaning rag and pipe cleaner right through into the cylinder to get a good job. Can't wait to get on the snow and test.
i am going to do that soon too.
