Valve Adjustment Time?

Hi, I have an '02 KZP with 17,000 original miles. It never saw police duty so it hasn't sat around idling or doing hot pursuits. In other words it has been pretty much gently driven. I put the last 6000 miles on it. The motor has never been opened up ie no valve adjustment yet. I plan on taking it on a 3000 mile trip. The bike starts and idles fine when it is hot or cold and doesn't make any funny noises. It looks brand new.
My question is this, Is it time to check/adjust now or can I take it on a trip or is that too much of a risk?
Also, is there a shim kit that is worth buying once I get an idea of what I need? My local bike shops went out of business recently.
Is there anything special I need to know? I see many excellent threads about valve clearances. I don't know why but I'm always chicken to open a motor for it's first time. Especially since I'm unfamiliar with air cooled engines. Mark.

It's really no big deal. Doesn't take long, either.

You'll need a feeler gauge, possibly a new valve cover gasket, a 10mm socket to check the clearances. That's the simple part. You'll be able to tell from the clearances whether or not you need to make any adjustments. Doesn't hurt to check it before you go...

I had my 900 running for years without any clearance adjustments when I was younger (not advised, I was young and dumb) but checking them more often than recommended isn't going to hurt anything.

I'd write them down and keep track, too. Nice to look back at and reference - you'll also know what shims are in what spots for future reference.

Their is a file under the filebase that has a chart you can print to help keep shim sizes organized.

I don't have a factory manual or even the owners manual. What does Kawasaki recommend for the valve adjust intervals on this motor?

Be careful working without a manual. Some things in there you need to know. Even for simple things like replacing the valve cover gasket (better back off the cam chain tensioner before reinstalling or else).
Things like that.

Just saying

johnbgood

Yup, no problem. That's what I do, I educate myself first such as with your suggestion. Feel free to fire away. I have a Clymers manual which I never trust for some reason. I'll look online for one to download but I'd much rather have paper in front of me.

This should work, but there has been reports of problems:
www.kawiworld.com/index.php?option=com_c...icle&id=77&Itemid=99

Manuals (Some of these websites sell used manuals, just ask)
www.repairmanual.com (Use # 99924-1026-03 for Kawasaki 1981-2005 Kz/Z1000 Factory Service Manual)
www.manualsnmore.com
www.midwestmanuals.com/
www.books4cars.com/
www.repairmanualclub.com/motomanuals/
moto-manuals.com/
www.e-classicbike.com/

In the Kawasaki shop manual, there are two(2) incorrect torque values; The camshaft bearing cap bolts(M6 X 1, 16 each) should be 66 inck pounds, not 12 foot pounds. And the cylinder headbolts(M6 X 1, 2 each) should be 96 inch pounds,not 104 inch pounds.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationThank you MFolks. Actually, I just now bought a factory repair manual from a place in Arizona. It covers 81-83 KZ1000 and KZ1100. I hope it's the right one for my engine.



Here is the link to the manual.

Yep, it should work. Here's information about the two models of Kawasaki Kz1000's:
www.aperaceparts.com/tech/techkz1000.html

MFolks wrote: Yep, it should work. Here's information about the two models of Kawasaki Kz1000's:
www.aperaceparts.com/tech/techkz1000.html

Yes, so I did good. I had read the APE information before and as clear as they made it a little fog still rolls in near the end. With bikes I'm not a great modifier by nature. I generally get the bike I want and make it as reliable as I can. Thanks again, Mark.

I just recieved my factory repair manual. It is brand new. What a deal. I am surprised to see "shim over bucket". Is this true on my 2002 engine? (I know this sounds like a stupid question but researching the site, pictures I've seen look like "shim under bucket"). If so, are the shims 29mm? Also, what would be the best tool to get to remove the shims. I see a Motion Pro hand tool available though the manual shows a Kawasaki tool that holds the bucket down.

If it were me,I would wait until I got back from the trip. Roy