Cam Chain J-Motor 1100

1)How long is the life expectancy on a stock cam chain?
2) How much of a pain is it to change? 1 being a walk in the park,10 being I need to chew off my arm to get out from under the rock that trapped me in the canyon?
Thanks.

9 1/2

How many miles does your bike have? Cam chains normally last a looooong time. The Kawasaki Service Manual describes how to measure to see if they are still within service limits. Ed

Correct. The hyvos should be goof for 50K

Actually, changing the cam chain is simple...takes about 60 seconds........ Once you have the crankshaft in your hands

HYVO chain engines benefit from installing manual chain tensioners. Before you dive in up to your elbows you might want to try one of these. Manual Tensioner

Key note.... "Once you have the crankshaft in your hands".... Hmmmmmmm..... :laugh:

I've got about 33k or so.The situation is this: I found a set of NOS 81-83 GPZcams (12044-1036ex & 12044-1031 in)cams,and totally refurbished the head.All new valves,keepers,retainers,springs & cam bushings.Now I'm having a heck of a time getting things lined up right.The overlap on these cams is so close,the valves clash if it's not perfect.I know I've allready stripped out a coupple of the cam cap bolt holes taking it in and out about a thousand times.No biggie,I have the thread kit allready,and did it on a privious head.Question...Are these the fabled GPZ "Hot Cams"? I think that the stock adjuster just can't take up the slack like it should.At this point another $50 into this thing is better than than the grief i'm going thru right now.

havakaw wrote: I've got about 33k or so.The situation is this: I found a set of NOS 81-83 GPZcams (12044-1036ex & 12044-1031 in)cams,and totally refurbished the head.All new valves,keepers,retainers,springs & cam bushings.Now I'm having a heck of a time getting things lined up right.The overlap on these cams is so close,the valves clash if it's not perfect.I know I've allready stripped out a coupple of the cam cap bolt holes taking it in and out about a thousand times.No biggie,I have the thread kit allready,and did it on a privious head.Question...Are these the fabled GPZ "Hot Cams"? I think that the stock adjuster just can't take up the slack like it should.At this point another $50 into this thing is better than than the grief i'm going thru right now.

You either :

a] have them timed incorrectly
b] have some kind of funky valves with super thick margins
c] larger than stock valves that aren't sunk enough

because there's no way those cams should be doing that in a J head.

Another thing that might help and is easy if you have the GPz sprockets.... your cams are OEM on 105/107 centers. The GPz11 sprockets were for 110 centers. You could swap sprockets pretty easily and spread the centers a tad bit.

I got the valves from Dennis Kirk.They are supposed to be Vesrah's.The valves are the same part number for GPZ/KZ.The sprockets are the same part numbers also.I have the OE head from the bike that I could try just popping the cams into and see what happens. I'm going to try to fit the OE KZ cams into the refurbed head and see what that does.I'm going to mic them up.Supposedly the exhaust is smaller than the intake.I am assembling them the way the parts diagram says (the grooved one is intake/no groove is exhaust.Mybe it's wrong.I could try swapping them around,see what happens.Worst case,I put the stock KZ into it and try to sell off the GPZ cams.Brand new NOS.Good thing I have the 750 to tool around on.

havakaw wrote: I got the valves from Dennis Kirk.They are supposed to be Vesrah's.The valves are the same part number for GPZ/KZ.The sprockets are the same part numbers also.I have the OE head from the bike that I could try just popping the cams into and see what happens. I'm going to try to fit the OE KZ cams into the refurbed head and see what that does.I'm going to mic them up.Supposedly the exhaust is smaller than the intake.I am assembling them the way the parts diagram says (the grooved one is intake/no groove is exhaust.Mybe it's wrong.I could try swapping them around,see what happens.Worst case,I put the stock KZ into it and try to sell off the GPZ cams.Brand new NOS.Good thing I have the 750 to tool around on.

You have bad information or are misunderstanding it. There is incorrect information readily available all over the internet....

Those Vesrah OEM replacement valves are cheap. You get exactly what you pay for.

If you have at least .185" distance between the valves when they are on the seat, you won't have issues.

BTW, those cams (by the part numbers) are for a 1981 GPz1100. The 1982 GPz1100 cams differ as do the 1983 cams (which also differ from the 1982 cams). The 1981/82/83 cams all have different profiles. The so-called 'hot' cams are for the 1983/84 ZX1100.

I've got the 83-84 GPZ cams in my J engine, with Vesrah valves and APE springs. No Problems what so ever with valves hitting each other or pistons. I did put a new Chain in way back when I first got this bike, as it had bent valves. Never split the cases, as there is a master link available as well as a riveting tool.
So on yours, you say you bought NOS cams? Did they come with the Gears installed? Or did you have to install them?
The manual in my signature will cover how to measure the Cam Chain for stretch. How to install the cam gears. How to time the cams etc. But when doing Cam timing, you need to have a look at the Cam lobes and the notches on the right end of the cams. Make sure they are aligned with the valve cover gasket surface. If you want to Degree them, there is a good read in "File Base" as well as lots of write ups on the net.