How bad is it?

You simply will not believe what I did. It probably wins the forum prize for just plain not paying attention and not to mention being stupid. I could practically hear my dad talking in my ear,"now why di you do that? Take your time...."

here's the thing I was changing shims and with the shim tool in place, managed to turn over the motor! The cam lobe hit the tool, knocked it and bedlam ensued...

here's a pic

I'm hoping that the piece cracked off can be repaired. I'm taking it to a shop in the next few days to have it asessed. Else I'm in the market for a new head.

Sam

Post edited by: samwell, at: 2006/01/05 20:23

OOUUCCHH... a good heliarc or metalergest (forgive the spelling) can fix it.. tough part is finding the right person. I heard someone say that they had some fins put back on and can't see the difference, can't remember who tho.

900 or 1000?.. i have a 76 900 head that needs a good home.

it can probably be welded back on,but the problem will be keeping it from warping!if you can get a straight rod the same diameter as the cam journals you can install it in place of the cam and torque the cam caps down on it to help keep the head from distorting,id also mount the head down solid on a flat table!hope this helps!goodluck,happy wrenching!

Then you have to remachine the end radius perfectly so that the end plugs will fit and not leak. I guess you could get it close then epoxy our billet ones in place.
kzzone.com/plugs.html

Jay

OOUUCCHH... a good heliarc or metalergest (forgive the spelling) can fix it.. tough part is finding the right person. I heard someone say that they had some fins put back on and can't see the difference, can't remember who tho.

only problem with that is his peice is stressed.
fins dont carry weight,pressure or vulnerable to moving parts.
welding is great but no weld will be as strong as a cast piece.
the heat created through welding greatly affects temper and tencsil strength.

it would probably be cheaper and last longer to keep an eye out for a replacement.

//////thank you mr. ott///////

mykznme-a good heli-arc weld will be a lot stronger than any casting!but for the cost it would probably be cheaper to buy a replacement head!if you ever get a chance to tour a shop that builds a lot of hi-end motors take a look at some of the heads they have laying around they practically build there own ports with miles of heli-arc beads i guarentee those motors stand up to to more abuse then any motorcycle engine could imagine take a look at my old wireguy posts those heads on that boat have intake/exhuast ports the size of a 2x4 and they were built up with a lot of heli-arc beads,i post some differant shots as soon as i get this computer working right!happy wrenching!

Is from a 1978 KZ1000A2, thanks for the offer anyway.
From the advice , I guess I can try welding, but shouldn't surprised if it doesn't hold/work well.

thanks...Sam:sick:

KzJim wrote:

900 or 1000?.. i have a 76 900 head that needs a good home.

:

Jay, I have used your billet cam end plugs and never had much luck with getting them to fit properly in the head. You mentioned you epoxy them in place? It would be helpful if you could say a few words on how you folks install the billet cam end plugs... do you shape them with a file to fit flush? What kind of epoxy? Thanks...

I've seen worst. As long as the cam journal is not hurt. Big issue is oil leaks at plugs and cover. Welded or even bonded would fix. Devcon has lots of metal repair products. There is also those miracle alloy weld products. It's not structural. Cosmetically it might look bad.

Id jb weld that. Drill small holes and insert small steel pegs with the jb. Ive put in exhuast studs with it and there solid. But i havnt rode the bike yet so ..

Post edited by: nads.com, at: 2006/01/07 01:57

If the welder is good, welding that piece back on should be okay. The cam end plug situation: the aftermarket aluminum cam end plugs often have to be 'custom fitted' anyway, so you can use them along with Permatex #2 and that should solve any oil leak the problem, if the price is right for the welding to begin with. Otherwise, go with another cylinder head.

The strength of the weld will do the job. I had the area at the top of my '73 Z1's cylinder head, to which the center cam roller is bolted, welded back up (don't ask why). I then filed the new material flat and retapped the holes in the new metal. It's worked fine now for over 20 years now.