Advice on this Kz550

Edit: Ok, I see your confusion. Ignore the plates of the chain. It does not matter if it's a "top" pin or "bottom" pin. All that matters are the pins themselves. Pretend the plates don't exist. Only the pins exist.

Use the line next to the T mark. That is TDC. The F mark is for ignition.

If you do not have an F mark, maybe your advancer is the wrong one. Can you read the part number on the advancer?
This photo is of the 550 advancer. The part number is 1016. The maker is TEC.




When you post photos of the timing marks, try to get a lower angle along the deck so we can see the alignment better.

Also, when you rotate the motor with the cover off. Put a hand on the chain at the top to keep tension on it and to keep that droop. Sometimes the chain will jump over the teeth and you will lose your timing. Keeping a hand on it prevents that.

loudhvx wrote: Edit: Ok, I see your confusion. Ignore the plates of the chain. It does not matter if it's a "top" pin or "bottom" pin. All that matters are the pins themselves. Pretend the plates don't exist. Only the pins exist.

Use the line next to the T mark. That is TDC. The F mark is for ignition.

If you do not have an F mark, maybe your advancer is the wrong one. Can you read the part number on the advancer?
This photo is of the 550 advancer. The part number is 1016. The maker is TEC.

When you post photos of the timing marks, try to get a lower angle along the deck so we can see the alignment better.

Also, when you rotate the motor with the cover off. Put a hand on the chain at the top to keep tension on it and to keep that droop. Sometimes the chain will jump over the teeth and you will lose your timing. Keeping a hand on it prevents that.

That clarifies everything loud.
I do in fact have a 550 advancer although the T marking besides the F marking was a bit hard to read.




So I set it to TDC
Ex_ mark and z 5 mark set and made sure the chain was drooping. Here is how it looks. I marked off where I started and ended in Red.



I counted from the pin right above the ex and the z_5 mark fell between the 43 and 44th pin.

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I also went ahead and remeasursed the clearances as the method I had followed was the incorrect one (fsm). Following loud directions I measured the valves specified by firing order.

Exhaust
1. . 23 /.229
2. .15 /. 178
3. . 18 /. 20
4. . 20 /.203

Intake
1. . 18/. 178
2. .18 /. 178
3. . 20 /. 203
4. . 18 /. 178


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I recommend the FSM method (summarized on my site). It is different from the Clymer method.

I see you have two sets of measurements, but they are all in spec, so I'd leave it. You can check it again after you have another several thousand miles on it. That might be a good winter project since the bike will be down for a little while if you have to order shims.

From what I can see of your valve timing, it looks right to me.

loudhvx wrote: I recommend the FSM method (summarized on my site). It is different from the Clymer method.

I see you have two sets of measurements, but they are all in spec, so I'd leave it. You can check it again after you have another several thousand miles on it. That might be a good winter project since the bike will be down for a little while if you have to order shims.

From what I can see of your valve timing, it looks right to me.

Suprised there was not that great a variation between the two set of results with the earlier kawa method in the fsm and the later one from your site. All in all I'm glad I lucked out of having to remove the cams. Yes I will be checking some time down the line. Luckily the valve gasket came in a few days ago. I am Sorry I didn't get a timing cover gasket as the old one is stuck on bike.

I guess I can do a little cleaning up of the advancer area. Is it possible to remove the silver plate held by the two screws? I would like some nice access to the advancer plate.
Is it alright to use a wire brush to polish up the area and what type of oil should I use for lubrication

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Just to be clear, I believe the method summarized on my site is the same as the Factory Service Manual. It differs from the Clymer Service Manual. I changed the wording on my site to hopefully make that clear. Let me know if you see something on my site that contradicts the Kz550 base manual (either one, the red one or the white one) from Kawasaki. I could have mis-typed something.

Nice!
Glad things worked out for you man! Such a relief when things turn out to be okay.
I know, now, that all that I did back in the spring was not needed (most everything had already been done by the PO) so it was all just to satisfy my own curiosity and I suppose to give me a baseline of understanding where my "new" bike is in terms of service interval.

When I decided to check, clean and lube my advancer (it looked almost identical to yours - you can see in the pics earlier), I used a sharpie marker and made small reference lines on the electronic ignition plate and case in a few spots so I could remove the electronic plate for easier access and be able to put it right back in place using the marker lines so I knew I didn't F-up my timing. If I recall correctly, the electronic plates do not have slotted mounting holes anyway so there's not much room to rotate that plate from where it is now.

The advancer is probably fine but could be sprayed with some WD40 and wiped down with a cloth. The center part rotates and you can grab it (that lobe) with your thumb and finger and twist it to watch it "advance" and the weight-arms will swing out from their pivot pins while you spray some WD40 around to lube-up the pins, springs, weights etc and help prevent oxidation.
When I did this (twist motion to force 'advance' action), I "felt" some drag, so I chose to remove the entire assembly because I wanted to grease the shaft internally. I had to remove that bolt which holds the 17mm nut used to spin the engine to do this. Ultimately, the whole shebang comes off the end of the crankshaft but it may feel seized onto the end of the crankshaft from oxidation...
NB:
- If you remove the assembly, be careful not to knock off the rubber pads on the weights.
I found my pads were already knocked off upon inspection but was unsure if I did it bumbling around or if they had previously fallen off.
- Pay attention to the orientation of the timing plate and shaft as it's removed. It only goes back together one way and it only goes back on the end of the crankshaft one way - there's an offset groove on it's base that mates to the crankshaft's end. So pay attention to things. I set the thing up to be at TDC for #1-4 beforehand so I knew where it all was before I removed anything...
- It helps to twist the advance lobe to force the weights to swing out before trying to pull it off the shaft as this will prevent you from stressing those rubber pads along the shaft as it pulls up/off. This is only needed if you wish to grease the inner shaft the timing plate rotates on...

I wish I had taken pics of this process but in truth, I had it taken out, cleaned, lubed (and pads repaired) in short order. So again, if I can do it, you can too. It's nothing as daunting as staring at the camshaft and gears and lobes and wondering "how in the h#!! do I adjust these?"

No everything is fine, just thought I made a mistake since I was following the fsm and not the updated method.

Thanks for the tips and guide, I'll be using it and luckily I still have a little bit of WD40 lying around somewhere. Hopefully I can get a new timing cover gasket soon. I also need another torque wrench to button back up the valve covers..are the FSM specs for torque settings correct ?

I'm also in the process of polishing up the valve and timing cover... aircraft paint remover is some powerful stuff stripped the old black paint off incredibly fast.

I'm tempted to dig into the carbs haha.

Its been a little while since Iast posted on here. I have a few updates on a small bit of progress I've made on the bike.
- Bought Valve cover gasket & Ignition cover gasket.
- Polished Ignition cover & stripped black paint off valve cover.
- removed carbs , separated them and soaked them as well as put them through ultrasonic cleaner. Also bought rebuild set.
-Still need a few more o-rings as a few were deteriorated.
-Bought a airbox from a kz550 82 ltd. For reference and to see how it fit on the bike.
-Bought a in-lbs torque wrench.
Hopefully I can clean up the advancer this weekend and button up this portion.
I have a few pictures to upload once I get a chance..
Also it it possible to move my thread into the project area?

Lubricated the advancer, moves a bit more freely. Removing the gasket residue from the valve cover and engine mating surface has been a pita. I've used aircraft Cleaner Didn't really work, oven cleaner worked a bit better after sitting for a while. Unfortunately the plastic putty knives I used for cleaning the surface were in pretty bad shape after a hour of scrapping.

I just use a standard razor. I hate breathing chemicals so I don't use any solvents. It's just a long session with a few blades and a radio going in the background.

The main thing is to not gouge the aluminum. That takes patience, so if you are in a hurry, put it off until you have more time.

I don't use utility razors. They need to flex to prevent gouging.

I use these. I can usually do a whole valve cover with one or two before they get too dull.