cam timing help..82 1000 j

hello everyone i have finally decided to start messing with my 82 j again.. can someone explain how i can find out which one of my cams is intake or exhaust?? and does anyone know if the clymer manual is correct for setting the timing up?? i have allready screwed up some of the cam bearing bolts going by the suggested torque spec in this manual....i went as far as getting my new stickers for my bike plates this year and its still not running sitting in my garage.. finally getting the gumption to mess with it again after throwing the towel in on it..its a great bike i love it.. sometimes when i get frustrated its best to leave it alone..lol..if anyone could point me in the right direction i would certainly appreciate it

If no responce here, go to www.kawasakimotorcycle.org and find the member there who goes by "Kopcicle", H'e got a lot of information about the "J" engines.

Clymer?? Shame on you. Ed

Ok I'll put it here also

Clymers , Chiltons and Haynes just don't do this justice . The factory service manual despite being explicit assumes that the reader has basic mechanical skills and some motorcycle experience .

I'll try to fill in the blanks

The Gen III “J” engine uses basically two different types of camshafts . Gear driven tachometer and electronic . The early CSR for example used the mechanical tachometer drive making camshaft identification easier . A good portion of the rest however used the same cam and sprocket for intake and exhaust so identification isn't the problem assembly is .

Both camshafts are identical so now where to go ? The cam is marked left and right so that's easy enough . But how to assemble an intake and exhaust from two identical cams and gears ?
Take note of the left and right markings as if you were sitting on the bike and pick up one camshaft and see that there is a notch in the right end of the camshaft . Assemble the exhaust camshaft first . No particular reason but I had to pick one . If this is the mechanical tachometer drive you will have the cam with the obvious worm drive gear cut into it . Place one sprocket over the cam , notched end of the cam toward you .with lettering and identifying marks of the sprocket toward you you . You will be installing the bolts in the round countersinks so that the arrow marked exhaust lines up with the notch that is opposite with what will be #4 exhaust cam lobe .

Next is the intake cam . Place one sprocket over the cam , notched end of the cam toward you .with lettering and identifying marks of the sprocket toward you you . You will be installing the bolts in the square countersinks so that the arrow marked intake lines up with the notch that is opposite with what will be #4 intake cam lobe .

Installing the cams . Place the crankshaft on the timing mark for #1 & #4 . fish the cam chain out ot the case . You may have to rock the crankshaft back and forth to get all the chain up . Disable the camchain tensioner by removing the 17mm cover from the tensioner . Slip the chain over the camshaft and place the exhaust camshaft in the head . Take all the tension you can out of the chain and place it over the sprocket . The exhaust arrow will point at the front cam cover parting line and #4 exhaust lobe will be pointing rearwards . Verify that the crankshaft it still at top dead center #1 & #4 .
Install the intake cam. slip the chain over the camshaft and place the intake camshaft in the head . Take all the tension you can out of the chain and place it over the sprocket .

Now the fun begins . Because of the camchain slipper in the cover there has to be a specific amount of slack in the chain between the sprockets . Counting from the front parting line to the rear parting line it is 44 pins .

All these conditions must be met .
Crankshaft at top dead center #1 & #4.
Exhaust arrow pointed at the forward parting line.
Intake arrow pointed at the rearward parting line.
The notches in the right hand end of the camshafts must be pointed directly forward and rearward .
The cam lobes for #4 intake and exhaust must be pointed at each other .
There must be 44 pins counted between the forward parting line and the rear parting line.
And all this with the cam caps installed and torqued and the tensioner reassembled .

Take care installing the cam caps . These cap screws require only 7-9 ft/lbs of torque . Take them down a bit at a time . Installing Heilicoils in the holes occupied by the locating dowels is something you do not want to experience first hand .

You are now in a position to check the valve clearances of #1 cylinder .

~kop

you're welcome John it had to be done anyway
Mike , Mike , Mike . Don't you ever sleep ?
Thought I saw Larry and Steve here earlier also
Guess there's only so many places to hide
move , amend , mangle , clarify , shake or stir as needed
the grunt work is done .

~

As for sleeping, I'm retired, sometimes going to bed at 3 A.M. central time, rising around noon (need my beauty sleep), I usually get on the internet after lunch(sometimes 1-2 P.M.)

Mike Folks

thank you so much for taking the time that you did to help sort this mess out..really stinks i paid good money for a shop manual with unreliable information..reminds me of alldata, or should i say nodata

here was how it was set before i took it apart

Kop,
would these instructions also apply to the 1984 GPZ1100 ?
sadly, I am without a manual but would love to get this engine together asap.
Thanks for any help..
-john

kopcicle wrote:

Ok I'll put it here also

Clymers , Chiltons and Haynes just don't do this justice . The factory service manual despite being explicit assumes that the reader has basic mechanical skills and some motorcycle experience .

I'll try to fill in the blanks

The Gen III “J” engine uses basically two different types of camshafts . Gear driven tachometer and electronic . The early CSR for example used the mechanical tachometer drive making camshaft identification easier . A good portion of the rest however used the same cam and sprocket for intake and exhaust so identification isn't the problem assembly is .

Both camshafts are identical so now where to go ? The cam is marked left and right so that's easy enough . But how to assemble an intake and exhaust from two identical cams and gears ?
Take note of the left and right markings as if you were sitting on the bike and pick up one camshaft and see that there is a notch in the right end of the camshaft . Assemble the exhaust camshaft first . No particular reason but I had to pick one . If this is the mechanical tachometer drive you will have the cam with the obvious worm drive gear cut into it . Place one sprocket over the cam , notched end of the cam toward you .with lettering and identifying marks of the sprocket toward you you . You will be installing the bolts in the round countersinks so that the arrow marked exhaust lines up with the notch that is opposite with what will be #4 exhaust cam lobe .

Next is the intake cam . Place one sprocket over the cam , notched end of the cam toward you .with lettering and identifying marks of the sprocket toward you you . You will be installing the bolts in the square countersinks so that the arrow marked intake lines up with the notch that is opposite with what will be #4 intake cam lobe .

Installing the cams . Place the crankshaft on the timing mark for #1 & #4 . fish the cam chain out ot the case . You may have to rock the crankshaft back and forth to get all the chain up . Disable the camchain tensioner by removing the 17mm cover from the tensioner . Slip the chain over the camshaft and place the exhaust camshaft in the head . Take all the tension you can out of the chain and place it over the sprocket . The exhaust arrow will point at the front cam cover parting line and #4 exhaust lobe will be pointing rearwards . Verify that the crankshaft it still at top dead center #1 & #4 .
Install the intake cam. slip the chain over the camshaft and place the intake camshaft in the head . Take all the tension you can out of the chain and place it over the sprocket .

Now the fun begins . Because of the camchain slipper in the cover there has to be a specific amount of slack in the chain between the sprockets . Counting from the front parting line to the rear parting line it is 44 pins .

All these conditions must be met .
Crankshaft at top dead center #1 & #4.
Exhaust arrow pointed at the forward parting line.
Intake arrow pointed at the rearward parting line.
The notches in the right hand end of the camshafts must be pointed directly forward and rearward .
The cam lobes for #4 intake and exhaust must be pointed at each other .
There must be 44 pins counted between the forward parting line and the rear parting line.
And all this with the cam caps installed and torqued and the tensioner reassembled .

Take care installing the cam caps . These cap screws require only 7-9 ft/lbs of torque . Take them down a bit at a time . Installing Heilicoils in the holes occupied by the locating dowels is something you do not want to experience first hand .

You are now in a position to check the valve clearances of #1 cylinder .

~kop

you're welcome John it had to be done anyway
Mike , Mike , Mike . Don't you ever sleep ?
Thought I saw Larry and Steve here earlier also
Guess there's only so many places to hide
move , amend , mangle , clarify , shake or stir as needed
the grunt work is done .

~

A "J" is a "J" is a "J"

Yes .

Any problems or any resistance to rotation get in touch with Myself Larry or Steve for a start . I am sure there are others here .

Just know when to stop and be patient when needed .

~kop

When i did the timing on my 1983 GS300L Twin suzuki (first engine i did this on) i slid the cams through the chain and started to do the work. My manual said to line up an arrow on the exhaust cam with the gasket surface of the valve cover gasket area. Then there was another arrow on the cam that would be pointing straight up. You would count 23 to 30 some pegs on the chain over to the intake cam and line up that arrow with the last peg. Then you were all done! im sure that its similar. The cams should also be marked with a "int" or "ex" or something to help you determine which one is which. Check, double check, and triple check your timing before you give it a crank. If your off by one peg on that timing chain, it will crank like normal, slow way down all the sudden, and then keep on cranking with no trouble at all.. so you can guess something probably got in that pistons way and it aint there no more:D

Good luck man,
KT