77 kz650 valve cams not playing nice please help

so i'm almost back to running but the valve cams aren't playing nice. is there a trick to losen the cam chain enough to get the cams in place. it seems much tighter than when i took it off to start the project.

You did remove the cam chain tensioner, didn't you? Or at least lock it in the full retracted position?

with the tensioner off how loose should the chain be?

Loose enough to sag between the cams when the cams are positioned correctly and the proper number of cam chain pins are between the cams.

Ok, I take it that you removed the cam cover, the idler that's bolted on between the cams, and at least one of the cams, and didn't retract and lock/remove the tensioner?

Here's what happened (but it's an easy fix).

When you removed the idler, the cam chain tensioner did it's job and took up the slack, and when you removed a cam, the tensioner took up all that slack that it could, then reached the limit of it's travel, which left you with a little bit of slack, with the cam removed, but not enough to get the cam back in.

Remove the tensioner from the backside of the block, then install the cams (triple check the cam timing marks, then check them three more times, it's IMPORTANT!), after the top end is assembled, manually retract the tensioner rod into the body, then lock it with the lock bolt on the side. Install the tensioner, then release the lock bolt. Check the manual for tensioner adjustment, my manual is unavailable at the moment.

steele you had it to the "T" that's exactly how i did it i' give it another shot. i'm takin pics along the way hope to have time to post them once she's runnin again