tackling a tick tick tick

Hey Guys and Gals-

How is everyone doing? I have had this dreaded tick that I have been living with for quite some time now.

As I have mentioned in the past, I was a new KZ owner and paid a guy for a bike I fell in love with, overpaid by a bit, but so be it. At the time I did not know what to look for.

The bike likely had the tick when I bought it, but I did not notice it. It is faint. It can only really be heard at idle... The tick is not loud at all, but this tick is just not right.

The tick is coming from the 1/4 area of the exhaust, but I did not think it was exhaust related because I am not feeling any puffs of air.

Well i have since done a valve adjustment, and recheck, and I am in tolerance. Part of the advertised description of my bike includes a rebuilt / bored top end new valves new pistons yadda yadda... and when I had the cover off. It seems that many of the parts are new. So I am hesitant to think that my tick is coming from worn valves...

I never did pull the exhaust and check the condition of the gaskets... studs... anything. So before undertaking a bigger job, lets dismantle the exhaust.

My bike has a 4 to 1` vance and hines collector. And OEM flanges. The flanges look to have been grinded down to accept the 4 to 1... The collars look to be OEM. And inside I found two crush gaskets on each port. One of which - see below seems to have blown apart some. (see below) This is cyl number 4. A probable contender for my tick.

I purchased a few new collars, and new gaskets and attempted to remount the exhaust with only 1 crush gasket.

This was a fail. It seems one of the studs on #4 was stripped. Could not get the nut tight, and could not get the nut off. What a PITA. Did I mention i despise exhaust work?? haha Also - I am noticing that with just 1 crush gasket I am all the way to the bottom of the studs and still loose.

I called Z1 and they recommended me to get the suzuki GS exhaust gaskets because they are 2mm wider than the KZ gaskets. Just received them, and when I hold them up to my old gaskets they are the size of two compressed crush gaskets. My question to you guys, is - will this be sufficient? Should I add in another gasket to obtain a bit more clearance? Do any of you guys have Vand H 4to1's mounted with OEM collars and flanges?

Sorry for all the type.. But I find the more I write, the more you guys get where I am at...

Also - my 4 to 1 looks like it has taken a beating. So I decided to wrap it. Pic below.

Sounds like you're on the right path.
Best of luck.
Bill

thanks appreciate that. Just sucks sometimes when working with somebody else's mods. Now I know why you guys love these bikes original.

I have a Vance & Hines with stock exhaust flanges, & use single exhaust gaskets , never had a problem
Pete

It also does not look like your flanges have not been altered either. attached are what mine look like... And when I install them... they need to be notched or else they do not fit.

I wonder why I am having issues with mine. Somewhere along the way I likely have different parts than I should.......

Maybe this article will help answer some questions
Pete
kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/517233-78-kz1000-exhaust-question

yep. i used this thread to help me get to where i am now. I will start with the thicker gaskets, and go from there.

The fins on those exhaust flanges you showed a picture of are extremely long, & It's hard to tell from the pic's, but the base of the flanges looks to be thinner than the stock flanges, my guess would be they're from a different model bike
Pete

now the problem looks to have reared its ugly head. Well. Let me try to make this work.
Mike

You probably already know the trick of using paper masking tape to hold the keepers in place during the install? i also use a small piece to hold in new copper gaskets, and peel over after installation. Also if your bolts are worn you can add washers under the nuts to get the nuts to tighten on a sweet spot. Just had a tick a few weeks ago after an oil filter change (long story), Was all because the keepers on a pipe were not fitted around the pipe and into the port correctly >>> unbolt - rubber mallet - rebolt

Be patient and understand the problem - then you can solve it faster and enjoy riding!

You might want to invest in a set of these, they look good & don't rust, I bought a set for my bike but haven't installed them yet
You can also check e-bay for a set of used ones, that pop up every so often
Pete
www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=C3nW002_4Vam...roupid%3D20919789969

LineArtist wrote: You probably already know the trick of using paper masking tape to hold the keepers in place during the install? i also use a small piece to hold in new copper gaskets, and peel over after installation. Also if your bolts are worn you can add washers under the nuts to get the nuts to tighten on a sweet spot. Just had a tick a few weeks ago after an oil filter change (long story), Was all because the keepers on a pipe were not fitted around the pipe and into the port correctly >>> unbolt - rubber mallet - rebolt

Be patient and understand the problem - then you can solve it faster and enjoy riding!

Yes, I use masking tape to hold the keepers in place,...it burns right off, & I use a couple of small dabs of wheel bearing grease to hold the gaskets in place
Pete