Valve gap still not in spec after shim swap

Thousands is so much easier for me anyway ...... .002 is to small ........ .003 is the minimum .... .004 would do fine but .005 to .007 might keep you from doing it again for a good while ........ each shim size is .002 smaller or larger .... to hell with the chart just remember that.

blink543 wrote:

swest wrote: No, that's the low end.
Steve

I'm measuring in mm though

OK, for your application then it would be .003" to .007".... if you have feeler gauges marked in mm, then use that if you are more comfortable.
On my 900s and 1000s I try to get really close to .003" or dead center of the .05mm to .1mm as per the manual.
And if you are relatively new to this, do use the manual with it's shim charts if you have it available... it is extremely easy once you understand what the chart is trying to convey to you.
Once you understand the number system of the shims, their actual thickness and all that, the chart will become secondary.

Regarding valve adjustment, be sure to always position the cams in the way the Kawasaki manual for your bike dictates. Failing to do this will result in the incorrect valve lash measurement. In particular, if you position the cam pointing away bucket and measure that way the clearance will be greater than with the cams positioned the Kawasaki way.

Turns out I was reading the feeler gauges wrong. I was reading inches when I meant mm.

Where there's zero clearance, would first try 2 shim sizes thinner than whatever size is in there that's measuring zero clearance.

Good Fortune!

You don't need to look at charts. If you need to increase clearance by 1 mm, get shim 1mm thinner! Very complicated!

Obviously You haven't done it.
Steve

swest wrote: Obviously You haven't done it.
Steve

I did my KZ1000, 92 ZX11 and probably 100 cars.
Beside shim replacement I adjusted valves by:
grinding valve stems
grinding solid lifters (Nissan)
sanding shims (ZX11, 10mm shims)

Sanding or grinding shims is a bad practice. Aside from it being very difficult the ensure both sides remain parallel the shims are only hard on the surfaces and can crack during use and wreck the engine Notice that even the Kawasaki Service Manual warns not to do this. Ed

car5car wrote: You don't need to look at charts. If you need to increase clearance by 1 mm, get shim 1mm thinner! Very complicated!

1mm!? That's almost .040" of an inch... rethink that. LOL

missionkz wrote:

car5car wrote: You don't need to look at charts. If you need to increase clearance by 1 mm, get shim 1mm thinner! Very complicated!

1mm!? That's almost .040" of an inch... rethink that. LOL

That was a mistake, I meant 1 mile.