Timing Help

Hey guys, finally got my new rings installed, honed cylinders, new valve guide seals and a few other odds and ends! All went flawlessly until trying to get this damn motor back in time. I even marked my cams and chain before removal. But I may have accidentally marked them on the wrong spot!? FML. Long story short, even when not going by my marks and following the Hanes manual, such as "T" aligned with mark on the case cylinders 1&4 are at TDC and have been confirmed through spark plug hole. I have the exhaust cam at Z7EX aligned with head and the intake with the "IN" aligned with head. But it seems my cam lobes on intake "2" and Exhaust "3" I believe are pointing lob down onto the top of the bucket making the cam un-even and not allowing me to put the cam caps on!!!! I fiddled with it for almost 2 hours. I noticed to when I do have it set to my marks on the cam and chain then set it to the "IN" and "EX" on the head, the advancer is not correctly set to the "T" mark on the case!!! Not sure what to do at this point haha. When I do the pin count, pin 45/46 are 3 or 4 pins above the head. Wondering if the timing chain is too stretched Thanks so much! I attached a few pics. Let me know if I made this too confusing, id be happy to get more details to whoever or pics as well! Thanks guys as aways, super appreciate it!!!!!

1) Set the crank to 1-4 T.

2) pull the cam chain tight in the front (don't move crank) and then install the exhaust cam so the 7ZEX mark is pointing at the gasket surface

3) Install the intake cam with the IN mark between the 45th and 46'th pin.

All this should be done with the cam chain tensioner installed but with the wedge and spring removed. After you get the engine timed up right then install the valve cover. Last step is to install the cam chain tensioner wedge and spring back in.

Using some vice grips to clamp the cams down into the head makes it easier to install the cam caps. It helps avoid stripping threads too.

Hey @Nessism, thank you!!! I'll give that a go tomorrow. I completely forgot that the cams won't sit flush anyways. They will need to be pushed down onto the valve. I worked on it a bit again after submitting the thread. Making more sense now. It is an easy process and can quickly turn overwhelming if you over think it!
Thanks again, ill be sure to report back

Ok, so I think I got it all right! I actually think that the bike may have been off time from the beginning. I now have the EX mark starting between two links and the IN mark between pin 45 & 46. Still just seems off for some reason and of course the timing advance mark is at T1 and aligned with the notch on the case. Just odd, I have seen other posts such as this: www.kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/189116-re...nt&type=raw&start=20

and his 1st pin is between two pins and 45/46 are between two different links. Pretty much opposite of what I and the manual have!!!! Hope some one can chime in and make sure my $hit is correct. Thanks guys.

That's interesting. The notches in the end of the cams line up with the #4 cam lobes. On the 550's they line up with the #1 cam lobes (so on the 550, the notches face outward at the #1 firing position).

I would check a proper Kaw manual. When setting timing and at proper TDC I also have never seen on a 550 or 1000 where the notches and cam lobes point inward. I have never opened at 750, but find that odd too. When I have done this I always had the timing mark set before removal and confirmed it. You could be 180 degrees off, perhaps switched exhaist and intak cam around accidentally.. This will not cause valve interference, but will start the engine on fire. I won't bore you with how I know about the fire part. Goood luck. R

Hey guys, thanks for the responses. I ended up getting it dead on. Was slightly brain dead when doing it. Made it MUCH easier with the chain tensioner in as described above. I have it set exactly like in that link I posted. IN mark between the 45-46 pins and dead set on T1/4. Thanks again for all the awesome help!