Valve Clearance 78 KZ1000 B2

Probly easier to just order from z1 parts or somewhere.

As far as I know the A doesn't mean anything but a factory part. The ones you buy from other places don't have that marking and some are inferior to the factory parts. I set my valves to .002 -.004.
Steve

I'm not familiar with the Kawasaki shims, but I do know that Suzuki denoted "fat" shims with an X after the number. As someone with a sack full of old Suzuki shims I use my micrometer to measure the thickness and then I try to select just the right sample to get the clearance where I want it. It's not unusual to find a variation of about .001" in thickness between samples with the same number stamped on them.

swest wrote: As far as I know the A doesn't mean anything but a factory part. The ones you buy from other places don't have that marking and some are inferior to the factory parts. I set my valves to .002 -.004.
Steve

Steve,
What I understand is an "A" shim was only a factory installed item no part numbers are denoted for them. And they are not available new.The factory had them and they are .00025 to .0005 thicker. How do you shim that tight when the .05mm jump between shims is just under .002 thousandths. What are the options if a 225 is to tight and a 220 is to loose

I allow .005 if .004 is not obtainable. Better a little loose than too tight.
Steve

I use micrometer to check shims. Sometimes shims with same number are slightly different and I can choose which one is better

There is a huge range of valve clearance that is in range, for sure .004", 006" is fine, Even .002", or .008" falls whithin spec depending on what manual you are going by. Shims come in .002" increments. No need to overthink and get crazy looking for that .0001". Not a spec that is critical. .002" spacing between shims still gives a lot of give and easy to get clearance in range.

Valve clearance wants to be 0.10 mm to 0.15 mm ( 4 to 6 THOU ) on both inlet and exhaust.
2 to 4 thou was for the early 900 which was soon revised to the higher clearances.
You want to be towards the upper figure of 0.15mm / 6 thou.

Thank you for all the advice. I guess i'll buy a couple 220 shims and check them against the one I currently have and not over think this. This is the last major item needed to complete the mechanical restoration the bike needed. I had to rebuild both the front and rear master cylinders. Flush and bleed the brakes. Replace the throttle cables. Shim the valves. Rebuild the carbs, now re-sync them. Clean the gas tank and rebuild the fuel pet cock. Last thing now that i think about it is to clean and lube the drive chain. Once I change the oil and filter it should be a reliable bike for next summer. Thanks All

Wanted to thank everyone for the advise offered. I was able to find a slightly thicker 220 shim and the clearance gauged out at a tight .004 thou. So unless I wanted to look for a thinner 225 or pull the head and tip the valve it's what I have to live with.. wanted to share a few photos.




Took a quick run around the the block a few times to see how it runs.. after about 3 miles it really smoothed out a ran great. Back in the garage and looked it over for leaks. Only thing I found was a little oil under the left case that I assume is coming from the wire grommet. It's fine till I change the oil in the spring then I'll deal with that little issue

Just a few more photos to show the time line and what I started with.. it all started with the rear master cyclinder that leaked and stripped all the paint off the frame after sitting for 20 plus years. The battery box was all corroded. The front master cyclinder leaked also.. the carbs were all gummed up. The tank was full of Kreem the needed to be removed. So here's what it took to get the bike back to a sound running bike.
- clean and de-rust the tank and fuel pet cock
- rebuild both front and rear master cyclinder and flush and bleed the brake system
- clean, rebuild and re-jet cards
- repainted the frame and battery box
- replace the battery
- clean and oil the drive chain
- shim the valves
- adjust the cam chain tension
- set the timing
- replace both throttle cables
- sync the carbs
- adjust the idle air mixture
- set the gap on the plugs
- replace the neutral IP bulb.
- rub out and wax the sheet metal and side covers
- replace old hard rubber pieces
- install a great set of used V&H chrome header.

One last bit of bragging