TOPIC:

Yes, that is a problem. There should be nothing between the shim and the follower. That was likely the result of somebody making adjustments without any shims handy. It is a very risky thing to do, and could lead to catastrophic engine failure. Toss all of them in the trash and do it right.

Looks like some one want to be save some money and fill the gap with some feeler gauge metal to get in spec. No way, but you are lucky smart guy to find the no-brainer and save your engine!

Okay will do. They are super thin, maybe .03mm , so you are probably right about the “adjustments” thing.  I just hope the previous owners didn’t drop any into the valves.
I’ve been fixing “quick fixes” since I bought this bike.  Buddy was running a partially burnt wiring harness under his seat. I re-wired the whole bike

Are the shims under the bucket?  And did the PO put metal under the bucket too?  Wow!

If those pieces of metal are shifting around, or if a couple of them fell out while you rotated the engine, that could explain some of those odd measurements. Be sure to look carefully around and inside the valve springs for any wayward bits.

I will try to get some photos on Tuesday.  Can the valves be removed and replaced in order to check below or would that throw everything out of whack?

The valves cannot be removed without removing the head. I would try looking carefully with a flashlight an a small maybe a small mirror before taking the engine apart.

So I took everything apart today removed all those makeshift shims which were about. 25 mm. Then I measured, with a calliper, all the existing shims and all the existing shims regardless of their written number (2.65 or 2.75)were about 2.40 to 2.41. I measured a new Hot Cams 2.75 shim and it measured 2.75. 

I’m not sure what to do from here. I only have new shims that are 2.75 and 2.80 from Hot Cams and none of the local shops carry them. A Hot Cams kit is roughly $120 shipped but it’s at least 2 weeks away.   

Any ideas?

What I would do is to put 2.40 in all the buckets and measure the gap. You can then calculate which sizes you actually need. Once you know that you can buy individual shims to keep costs to a minimum.
There is no short cut or make do until you have the correct shims. 

I agree with Warren.  And I recommend you go to Kawasaki for your new shims.

On thing that I noticed in the photo, and maybe it's just the angle, but do you have two different diameter shims?  

Got everything back together and these are the results 

1 - 2.40   .127
2 - 2.40   .178
3 - 2.40   .254  need 2.50
4 - 2.40   .254  need 2.50
5 - 2.40   .178 
6 - 2.40   .178
7 - 2.40   .305  need 2.55
8 - 2.75   Too tight ( lost the 8th original shim somehow) guessing it will be similar to #4

I believe that all the shims are the required 13mm diameter 

I wouldn´t trust the parallelism shape and measurements of any grind down shim.