cam chain length?

Nessism wrote: You couldn't pay me to use Athena gaskets, particularly the green base gasket. it can't take the clamp load force and will extrude out of place after some heat cycles. Don't ask me how I know...

Yep. Happened to me too. The only thing Athena gaskets are good for is using as a guide to cut other gaskets from better material....

If you plan to work on it here's some information that should prove helpful....

WARNING! Do not even try to use Phillips screwdrivers on the Kawasaki cross head screws. Despite their appearance they are not Phillips screws. They are Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) screws. The tips of Phillips screwdrivers are too long & pointed to allow the 4 blades of the screwdriver to properly engage the screws, so when you apply force the screw head slots will deform and look like crap. The fact is that Phillips screws were deliberately designed to have the screwdriver bit "cam out." This was done to prevent production line assembly from over-tightening, stripping, or breaking the screws. JIS screws do not have this problem. A proper fitting JIS bit can tighten a JIS screw to and beyond the torque spec without camming out. Here's the good news - you can easily modify standard Phillips screwdriver tips to fit the JIS screws.

I have ground down the tips of DeWalt #2 and DeWalt #3 Phillips to make them fit JIS screws. The large crosshead screws on the cases take modified #3 bits (or genuine #3 JIS bits). To modify the DeWalt bits you need to grind the very tip a little, then test fit, then grind a little more and test fit, etc. until the bit no longer "rocks" back and forth in the screwhead. Picture 1 below shows how a DeWalt #3 bit fits the case screws of my KZ650 after being ground properly. The #2 DeWalt bits can be modified the same way to fit smaller JIS screws. Pictures 2 and 3 below shows DeWalt #2 and #3 modified bits.

I did find a place that sells authentic JIS bits. They don't list the #3 bit, but if you contact them they can provide the #3 JIS bits even though they are not listed on the website. These folks were very easy to work with, and the authentic bits do work great. Here's their site:

www.rjrcooltools.com/shop_item_detail.cfm?subcat_ID=89

Pictures 4 & 5 below show a comparison between my home made modified bits with the authentic JIS bits.

PICTURE 1

PICTURE 2

PICTURE 3

PICTURE 4

PICTURE 5

Before reaching for that wrench or ratchet consider the following. The bolts are steel, but your engine and front forks are aluminum. The bolts are much tougher than the aluminum and if over tightened will strip the aluminum threads. Although these can be repaired, preventing damage by applying proper torque will save you grief, time, and money. Tightening fasteners properly requires torque wrenches. Various vendors, including Snap-on, CDI, Sears, etc., market torque wrenches. The two most popular types are the bar type and micrometer type. Either will work, but the micrometer type is a bit easier to use, especially if you are tightening several fasteners with the same torque - such as cylinder head covers. You will need a torque wrench calibrated in INCH POUNDS for many of the bolts. You will also need a torque wrench calibrated in FOOT POUNDS for the larger bolts. Don't try to use the foot pounds wrench on the smaller bolts as it will not be sensitive enough at low torque settings to provide accurate torque. There are many fasteners that require low torque. These include such things as 6mm oil pan bolts, cylinder head cover bolts, etc. for which the torque in 61-78 inch pounds. These low torque bolts require a wrench that is accurate at low settings and this wrench should be graduated in inch pounds. In addition, there are numerous high torque fasteners such as the front axle nuts (51 - 65 foot pounds) or swing arm pivot shaft nuts (58 - 87 foot pounds). These require a wrench that is accurate at higher settings; this wrench should be graduated in foot pounds. Using the proper torque wrenches to correctly tighten fasteners will help prevent damage and contribute to a safe bike. The Kawasaki Service Manual will list the various torque specs for the bolts. I suggest you get the manual before buying the torque wrenches so you can decide which wrenches best meet the torque specs.

Consider buying a can of Kroil penetrating oil and use it to soak stubborn fasteners for a couple days before trying to loosen them. Remember, the original screws and bolts were installed on your bike when Jimmy Carter was President, so many of them may be hard to remove. Kroil can be bought online, at guns shows, and at some other venues. Ed

Good thing Jimmy wasn't hard to remove. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Steve

That would have been useful to know before the tear down because I did destroy some of them in the process. I was told by a mechanic that the service manual torque specs are better then the ones in the Clymers manual I have due to accuracy. He explained why that is and just to double check to make sure nothing gets over torqued. Thanks again Ed.

I replaced all of mine with SS Allens.
Steve

Thats what I plan on doing. Thanks for the input.

I've got a decent spare cam chain that measures well within the service limit. Let me know if this is something you can use.

There are usually plenty of 750-4 chain drive Kawasaki factory manuals on eebbaayy & reasonably priced.
Here's a site w a pdf manual & wiring diagrams. mbsween. bike-night. KZ750L3 . Scroll down & click "The Bible" link.
Note: some of the wiring diagrams are mislabeled in the links: the 1981 Ltd is an H2, the 82 is an H3, & the 83 is an H4.

Thanks Nessism. That would be awesome.

Finally figured out the pic thing...I think. Let me know if they come through. Im more mechanically inclined then tech savy. Thanks

82kzn73521 wrote: Thanks Nessism. That would be awesome.

Send me a PM if you want to discuss.

BTW, you need a proper measuring instrument to measure length. A tape measure doesn't cut it.

To be honest, I wasn't sure on that but converting the cm to mm and looking at the pic in the manual thought that maybe it might. Once again, good to know and thanks. Once I have it checked and verified I'll let you know one way or the other. Since the clymer manual didn't specify what to use for the measurement, what would be the proper tool for this?