TOPIC:

The book says .001" Inlet and .002" Exhaust. How many other guys are running such close tolerances?
I averaged them out to .002" all round.

What about adjusting the timing chain? Anyone got a good technique or tips for that?

Thanks guys.

Steve

I don't know what book you have, but if it says those numbers throw it away.

Make sure you're not reading metric for inches...

Your valve clearances need to be set at .003" to .004" if you are running stock cams. The factory manual says 2-4 thou, but 2 thou is really too tight. In later years, Kawasaki modified the settings to 2-6 thou. I typically try to set my bikes at around 4 thou. Bear in mind the valve clearances tighten with wear, so setting them wide initially will avoid having to keep adjusting.

Post edited by: Jeff.Saunders, at: 2006/12/03 07:20

Take a look at the valve clearance article on my web site... might be of help.

hey George! I just read your article on that and first of all it sounds like you are talking about a shim over bucket style, Because with mine I have to pull upp the camshafts to get at the shims under the buckets. But thats cool. Your description of why we adjust clearances cleared up something with me but confused me also. I noticed you said the valve seat wears thus causing the valve's length to move upward causing the clearance between lobe and bucket to decrease. Is that what causes the slapping noises under the valve cover?
In the clymer manual..... o wait never mind I just saw the vision in front of me. I am looking at my clymer manual right now. Ok so the clearance decreases? Not increases?. I hope you can get back to me on that as soon as you can cause I might be in trouble right now.

Clearances normally decrease with wear and tear (although there are some exceptions - see below).

The wear on the valve/valve seat is great than the wear on the cam/shim/bucket.

If you have a valve guide / valve stem seal that leaks oil, the carbon build up on the valve/valve seat can cause the gaps to open up.

hey Jeff! I have oil on my spark plug on 2 and I was wondering if I should just get a oil seal or should I get a valve guide and seal the same time? I have too pull my head off and go through it and see where this oil is coming from. I haven't done a compression test yet but I do here some cams slapping under the cover.

Unfortunately you won't know for sure until you pull the head off, remove the valve and measure slop. If the mileage is low, it's probably just the seal - but some bikes eat valve guides some don't. On my first Z1, I got 50,000 miles out of the valve guides - but they were well worm by the time that head was retired.

Hi Jeff and WG,

I definately know my metric from imperial and have set hundreds of tappets in a past life as a car mechanic in the past...
Glad to be out of that!

Anyhow, there seems a lot of conjecture about the valve clearances. I tried to average my clearances using only the shims I had (the shuffle technique for budget riders at the bottom of the world where it costs $11 per shim... WTF MATE!)

On average they are .002 - .0035" clearance for IN and EX. I once hung out with a bunch of drag guys running Z motors in Ontario and they never set below .003" and I have more or less stuck to that. The problem is the obvious tappet noise that is audible and thus my interest in the stated difference between the manual and experienced persons like Jeff. The manual does say .001 - .002" and this is backed up by WG in his internet site:

TECH SPEC: 1973-1978 clearances from 0.05-0.10mm are acceptable. 1979/80 clearances 0.05-0.15mm are acceptable.

Am I reading this wrong or what? The cam and top end are in average condition and I would like to reduce the tappet noise without burning a valve or 12...

Cheers for your thoughts Jeff and how much are your shim kits with postage to NZ?

Stephen

WTF! wrote:

Hi Jeff and WG,


TECH SPEC: 1973-1978 clearances from 0.05-0.10mm are acceptable. 1979/80 clearances 0.05-0.15mm are acceptable.

this comes out to 2-4 thousandth of an inch and 2-6 thou clearance converting from the metric. And like the Canadian guys - I never set my own bikes to under 3 thou - usually I try for 4 thou - even going to 4.5 or 5 thou if needed.

I'll email or PM you.

DOH! Brain fart - shit, I didn't read that correct at all.
Thanks Jeff. Mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

kzwolfsr wrote:

Because with mine I have to pull upp the camshafts to get at the shims under the buckets.

If you have underbucket shims in a KZ900 motor, then someone has changed them from the original setup. It's likely you have aftermarket cams.

The best is to point the lobe directly away from the bucket when checking lash and set each valve at MAX loose clearance.

You'll have:

a] better compression
b] more seat time for the valves to cool off
c] better revs

Yes you may experience some ticking.

I never like to see a valve in a KZ 900/1000 motor tighter than .004" lash, no matter what cam is in the bike.

.004IN with .006 Exh is a pretty good setup.

JMO

WTF! wrote:

The problem is the obvious tappet noise that is audible

I would like to reduce the tappet noise

Stephen

Just be aware that all tappet noise is not always caused by cam/tappet clearence. The tappet bores frequently become worn and the tappet rocks in it's bore producing noise. In this case it will be noisey even if the valve is clearence is tight.