Cam Timing, 'bout to throw the hammer at it!

'77 B1 kz1000 trying to time the cams for the last time. done it by the book 12 times in last 24 hours and still have piston to valve contact on 2&3 before TDC. Was fine till I pulled it apart to figure out were the parts that were in the oil pan came from.. metal washers tabs from the cam chain idler!!! anyone have any idea, seems to me that the intake cam is retarted some and causeing contact. made a few shim changes while in there but now have correct spec. clearance. just happens on 2&3 bout to pull my hair out or beat it with a hammer. all stock parts

OK, put the hammer down and step away from the KZ!! :laugh: Cam timing can be very tricky but there are a lot of helpful people on here that will get you through it.

The stock cam sprockets have a timing mark for the 28th link. I don't have this memorized but you basically set the crank according to the timing marks by your points, then install the one of the cams so the marks on the sprocket are parallel to the head (can't remember which cam goes in first) then install the other cam by lining up the 28th link with the tiny little arrow on the other cam sprocket.

A couple of things to look for when you start to install the cams, make sure you pull on the timing chain and can "feel" that it's on the crank sprocket securely. Keep the tension on it and put it on the cam sprocket. Also make sure the cams are 180 degrees apart when you first install them - the lobes should be facing away from each other or directly facing each other.

If you can post some pictures or have some specific questions we can help.

Look on the bright side, you've at least figured out you have an issue and have saved your valves from getting bent. We'll get you through it...

If something fell into the cam chain tunnel, it can (and will likely) end up on the crank and will cause the chain to walk ahead everytime you rotate the crank.

Same thing happened to my buddy's Suzuki. He swore he didn't drop anything in, but after timing the cams 2 or 3 times and having it walk a tooth every rotation, I knew something was mashed onto the crank.

A few hours later, I found the cam end-plug he had lost days earlier.