valve adjustment

first let me start off saying i'm new to the world of kz's,and this site is proving to be an invaluable resource.big thanks goes out to everyone. doing tune-up to start the process of elimination of curing some backfire through the carbs and some off idle stutter in the throttle.i read the how-to written by wired george of "setting valve clearances".my intake cam marks line up with the top of the head,but i can't ck the clearances on 1&4 or 2&3 at the same time(still pressure on the valve).i can ck 1&2 or 3&4,but i understood that 1&4 fire and 2&3 fire together,and that the cylinders were numbered 1234 from left to right as if i was sitting on bike.also clymer manual states that you'll ck some with cam lobe pointing away from valves and the other pointing away from opposite camshaft.this is possible when checking 1&2 and 3&4.just wanted to make sure i wasn't overlooking anything or was reading instructions wrong.
78 kz1000 ltd w/mk2 motor

I don't quite understand what you are asking, but I think I can clarify one point.
No pair of cylinders fire at the same time, the spark plugs do but one of them is firing on the exhaust stroke (wasted spark).

Just turn the cams so the lobes are pointing away from the valves that you want to check.

Hopefully I don't confuse things more:

The firing order in the following description may not be right, but the general idea is.

Number one cylinder fires, then 180 degrees of crankshaft rotation later (1/2 turn of the crank) number two fires, then 180 degrees of crankshaft rotation later number four fires, then 180 degrees of crankshaft rotation later number three fires.

#1 and #4 pistons reach TDC (Top Dead Center) at the same time, but one is at the top of the compression stroke while the other is at the top of the exhaust stroke. The same thing applies to #2 and #3.
When #1 amd #4 are at TDC #2 and #3 are at BDC (Bottom Dead Center).

I really hope this helps clarify things instead of being confusing

Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/06/19 11:38

The cam sprockets have two plain lines stamped on them as viewed from the right side of the bike. Put these lines to parallel when 1/4 is at TDC; that is, the 1 and 4 pistons are at the top. Two of the intake valves can be measured. I don't recall which two. The way you can tell they can be measured is that the lobe for one will be mostly straight up and the the lobe above the other will be not straight up but will be out of the way of the bucket. Do the same for the exhaust valves but use the 2/3 T mark (TDC).