TOPIC:

Hey gang - Finally got the bike running tonight. Turns out I had slightly bent an exhaust valve when the cam chain snuck off the cam chain adjuster sprocket. The sprocket holding the adjuster between the head and block had a little sideways play on the center bearing and along with not having the chain snugged up properly this allowed the chain to jump a few teeth on the cam sprockets.

Luckily a buddy of mine who has a couple Kz's had one exhaust valve to spare. A quick lapping and a couple of hours of reassembly and the old 810 is singing better than ever.

The weather is supposed to warm up to about 50 degrees on Wednesday. If I see a break in the rain I'll be shuffling some appointments and grabbing my helmet to take it out for one last squirt before putting the old girl into hibernation for the next 4 months.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada
1977Kz650 with 14,000 miles on bike. Bought new by brother in 1977. Latest rebirth includes 810 big-bore with lottsa go-fast goodies tucked away inside.

Good to hear, Colin, obviously coulda' been loads worse! (crossed fingers that the weather breaks a bit for ya)

all the best,
Ray

glad to hear you got it. it could have been a lot worse. could you notice any marks on the piston where the valve hit?
Scott

77KZ650 wrote:

glad to hear you got it. it could have been a lot worse. could you notice any marks on the piston where the valve hit?
Scott

Yup Scott. One partial little valve impression that was barely noticeable on top of the piston. Got lucky this time around. The bend on the valve wasn't noticeable to the naked eye or under a magnifying lens and light. I only noticed it and confirmed that the vavle wasn't fully seating when I sprayed some carb cleaner into the head on my bench. A tiny amount of seepage of carb cleaner confirmed my conclusions on the bent valve.

Cheers-Colin Firth