Valve Clearance

I just checked the valve clearance on my 82 Kz750 N1. They were as follows:

Intake 1 .003 2 .005 3 .005 4 .005

Exhaust 1 .005 2 .003 3 .006 4 .003

According to my manual it's supposed to be anywhere from .003 to .007. Can I ride another season or is it time to reshim?

I don't really understand that I need a thinner shim to increase clearance. I know the valve wears down in the seat and gets tighter. It seems to me a thicker shim would increase clearance, thinner would make the gap even smaller.

Think of it this way. Envision the valve with the valve stem pointing upward. On top of the stem you have the shim. On top of the shim you have the tappet (inverted bucket type). Above the tappet there is some clearance; then there's the cam lobe. If you put in a thicker shim it raises the tappet closer to the cam lobe and decreases the clearance. If you put in a thinner shim it lowers the tappet increasing the gap between it and the cam lobe. Ed

Makes perfect sense now. Seems obvious. Lol. Thanks, Ed.

Should I reshim...or wait? I suppose I should get it taken care of sooner rather than later.

I probably would re-shim the tight ones before another season. Do one cam at a time rather than removing them both together; plug up the cam chain tunnel with rags so you don't drop anything down into the abyss; and be sure to use a torque wrench calibrated in INCH pounds to torque the cam caps to the proper torque setting. I would keep it to the light side of the torque range to be sure not to strip threads. Ed

Spectre1982 wrote: I just checked the valve clearance on my 82 Kz750 N1. They were as follows:

Intake 1 .003 2 .005 3 .005 4 .005

Exhaust 1 .005 2 .003 3 .006 4 .003

If the measurements are in thousandths of an inch, they are dead on perfect for a 750 twin. Not sure about a 750 four.

On my bike, the clearances moved very slowly when they did move at all.

650ed wrote: I probably would re-shim the tight ones before another season. Do one cam at a time rather than removing them both together; plug up the cam chain tunnel with rags so you don't drop anything down into the abyss; and be sure to use a torque wrench calibrated in INCH pounds to torque the cam caps to the proper torque setting. I would keep it to the light side of the torque range to be sure not to strip threads. Ed

Harbor Freight has a decent cheap torque wrench that does 200 Inch-pounds full range. I believe the spec on the cam cap bolts is 120 inch-pounds, probably better to go maybe 80 - 90 I-P. If you use a large range torque wrench that is not accurate at the lower range, the bolts strip VERY easily.

www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-inch-d...que-wrench-2696.html

The cam cap torque spec for the KZ650 is 95-113 Inch Pounds; I wouldn't set my wrench above 96 in. lbs. The 4 cylinder KZ750 is built around the same engine, so I would expect the spec to be about the same. HOWEVER, before starting the job be sure to have the Kawasaki Service Manual in your hands! This is not a task to be done by instinct; the manual is absolutely essential not only to ensure that the torque is correct, but also to avoid improperly installing the camshafts and wrecking the engine. Ed

I have that torque wrench. Not sure I'd call it decent. It doesn't really "click" and it's extremely easy to over torque with it. For the money, sure, it's "decent". But it's not really decent.

I have a Clymer manual but it is for the 750 E, H, L, LTD and R. I doesn't cover my shaft drive N1. Anybody know if the valve clearance is different for the N1? Also, is the cam and timing the same? Maybe I should pick up the right manual to make sure I don't goof something up.

Thanks for the warning on the cam bolts too.

Yes, those measurements are in thousandths of an inch.

Engine components should be the same torque/timing. No difference there.

I say #s 2&4 are little tight on the exhaust side according to your numbers anyway,exhuast valves should be a little loser on the scale since they run hotter