KZ1000 valve clearances

Hey Everyone. Been a long time since I have been on. Been dealing with new house work. UGh.

Well good news is I now have a proper workshop, and no longer have to work on my KZ in a parking garage, or desolate parking lot.

Anyways, I have had a tapping sound come from Cyl 1/3 since I acquired the bike. It is def not an exhaust leak, so I figured it would be time to check the valve clearances. (never done this before)

I am waiting on the valve shim removal tool to arrive by mail. So until then, I only have my measurements.

In the pic the top set is the Exhaust and the bottom is the Intake.

As you can see... valve 3 intake, is the only valve out of spec by about .03mm.

My question to you guys is - would this be the cause of a "tap"? to a novice.... .03mm doesn't sound like a terribly out of clearance measurement



.

.002-.004 is what you're looking for. .007 is a little large. How many miles, what year is it? If it doesn't quiet down, the valve springs are weak. They can test good only to cause problems in use. / :evil: I had a ticking at start up, clatter while running and the adjustments would change for no reason. My problem was leaking valve guide seals. The carbon would build up on the seats, I would adjust them and so on. Yeah I was burning oil but the springs were weak too. I collected the parts I needed and did it all at one time. Now my valve train sings like new.
Steve

Hey Steve , Thanks for taking a look.

It is a 1980. Unsure if the miles are only 6800, or 30k. Between the story I got from the guy who rebuilt it, and what was in the title, I have no idea really. Its a strong runner. No noticeable leaks, not burning oil regularly... maybe a tiny bit here and there. But very clean, and nothing surprising on the top end when I took the valve cover off. The guy whom I bought it from, said it was a basket case, and he put it all together, and redid the top end. So It was barely broken in when I got it. The Tap is not so loud that it is unbearable. But I know... its just not right.

I think i am going to swap the shim on intake number 3. Cyl 2 and 4 are on the top end of what I would call acceptable. But.... I don't hear any problems over there, so I think I will leave that side alone. If its a spring job... we will know after this swap...

Best to set a little loose. New valves will seat in. Let us know and we love pics.
Steve

Well in that case...

How's this?




Steve

hello people; I'm new.I havn't done a valve adjustment myself and I do have one of those cheap tools but I might have to go for the better one. Witch one did you go with?
Do tell how it goes.
I like the black head.
IBBY

I've been using the cheap ones for years. I curse every time I use it. I treated myself to the factory style one but it was stolen with the rest of my tools.
I hate tool thieves.
Steve

waiting on my motion pro tool to arrive from amazon.... hoping it comes with instructions, as by just looking at it, I have no idea how to use it...

:blink:

Using only the bat-wing (and not the lever) works just fine to hold the bucket down while removing and replacing the shim.

Use the cam lobe, instead of the lever, to depress the bucket.
Hand-rotate the crankshaft with a 17mm wrench on the fake nut provided for such purpose (under the points cover) to depress the bucket.

Hold the bat-wing in position to catch the edge of the rising bucket while slowly and carefully hand-rotating the crankshaft .

Remove and replace the shim.

Rotate the crankshaft to further depress the bucket just enough to release pressure on the bat-wing, and remove the bat-wing.

Don't hand-rotate the crankshaft any more than necessary to re-position the cam lobe as needed to install and remove the bat-wing. Because the valve being held open with the bat-wing is exposed to being hit by the other valve if it's also opened. In other words, keep an eye on the other valve's cam-lobe to be sure it's not opening also with the bat-wing in position.

And once again :kiss: -- it's critical that both valves are NOT OPEN at the same time.

Good Fortune!

Simple. You rotate the engine so the valve is pushed down. Before you do, you make sure the cut out is facing you so you can get the shim out. Fit the tool on the out side of the head using the cast blocks. That's what they're there for. Rotate the cam backward so it is facing up and remove the shim. Do not rotate the cam towards the tool. That can make for a FK'd up day. Do yourself a favor and buy a extendable magnet. Use a small long screw driver to pry the shim up with the magnet in place to remove it. I have a pair of Hemostats to put the shims back in.
What did you pay for your new tool?
Steve

$8.50 free shipping... ya i think i need it in my hand to visualize this. i am a visual learner