TOPIC:

Hey fellas,

I have finally gotten around to doing some maintenance items on my 81 KZ750E after buying it last April, at the advice from you all. Being the weekend mechanic that I am, I decided to undertake valve measurements and adjustments in my garage. I got the valve cover off and tried to take measurements with a shim tool and am scratching my head.

I read on the forums that at TDC, valves 1 and 4 should be readable and then at the bottom T it should be 2 and 3. I tried getting measurements that way and only managed to get cylinder 4 intake and exhaust then Cylinder 1 Intake. At the bottom T I was only able to get Cylinder 3 exhaust and no readings at all on cylinder 2. I then turned to the trusty Clymer manual that indicated that cylinders 1 and 3 or 2 and 4 will be at the right compression stroke so I tried to remeasure based on that info and am still confused.

My final measurements read as such (photo attached)
Cylinder 1 - Exhaust .038mm Intake .127mm (TDC)
Cylinder 2 no clearance on I or E
Cylinder 3 - Exhaust .127mm Intake no clearance
Cylinder 4 Exhaust .063mm(TDC) Intake .038mm(TDC)

So I have 2 questions for the more knowledgeable folks on this forum
1) Did I do my measurements correctly?
2) If this was done correctly, how do I figure out the correct new valve shims for cylinders that I wasnt able to get a reading from?

Thanks all for taking a look!

The best way to position the cams is with two adjacent valves both on the base circle, that way the adjacent valve to the one you are checking is not pushing the cam upward and skewing it in the journal clearance leading to an inaccurate measurement.

To position the cams do the following:

Exhaust valves:
Aim #1 exhaust lobe forward at the gasket surface and then measure both #1 & #2 exhaust valves. Then repeat with #4 facing forward and measure #4 & #3 exhaust.

Intake valves:
Aim #1 intake lobe straight up, 90* to the gasket surface and then measure both #1 & #2. Then repeat with #4 intake pointing up and measure # 4 & #3 intake.

If you have zero clearance that is bad; someone abused the bike and neglected maintenance. You are going to have to extract the shims and move down 3 or 4 sizes, install the cams back and repeat the measurement process to see if you can get a clearance measurement which allows calculation of what exact shims you need.

Lastly, be very careful when installing the valve cover because it has a rub block in it for the cam chain which presses down. You need to remove the cam chain tensioner wedge spring to allow the tensioner to move back when the cover is installed otherwise the cam chain will be over tensioned.

Thank you for the clarification! I will go re-measure with your method and see what my results are. I'm not totally surprised about the prior abuse based on who I bought it from, which is why I find myself here. I have a manual cam chain tensioner so my plan was to adjust the valves, leave it loose, button up the valve cover then get the chain adjustment sorted out.

On a side note - are there any stores that usually carry valve adjustment kits? I am going to try calling my local Kawasaki dealer and of course have found them online but not sure how common they are or if they can be found at an auto parts store.

Thanks!

Each shim is about $5 and there are a multitude of sizes. A "kit" would cost you a bundle and most likely you would never use 80% of the shims.

Updated measurements.. I feel much more confident in these although they do convey that 5 out of 8 cylinders need adjustment. About to dive into getting under the buckets to check the existing shims and start the process of getting this figured out. I appreciate the help! The local Kawa dealer says they have all types of shims for different models but drew a blank when I asked him if he had anything for an 81 KZ so we will see where I end up getting them from.

Get the Manual for the valve adjustments




www.750turbo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=13320

DL the full Manual

www.750turbo.com/manuals/GPz750_Base%20Manual.pdf

Thanks for the diagram Scirocco, I didnt have that in my Clymer but my measurements matched up with what the chart says! The Clymer manual has an example equation to figure it out so that helped.

I am now stuck on how the hell to get the 3 valves that had 0 clearance to go lower. I just got back from the Kawasaki dealer and got 2 of the 5 (270, 300) I needed. My calculation/guess on the 3 valves that had no clearance had me looking for a shim size that doesnt exist (lower than 185 which is the smallest I've been able to find online). The dealership had 200 at the smallest size yet the valves already had shims of 245, 250, and 255 so I doubt I would get the clearance I need by switching to a 200. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? Do I need to look valve springs now?

Thanks!

Put the 200 in and measure. 245 to 200 is a lot. That's 9 steps down. If that is too large then tipping the valves is another way or larger valves.
Steve

lousankz wrote: Thanks for the diagram Scirocco, I didnt have that in my Clymer but my measurements matched up with what the chart says! The Clymer manual has an example equation to figure it out so that helped.

I am now stuck on how the hell to get the 3 valves that had 0 clearance to go lower. I just got back from the Kawasaki dealer and got 2 of the 5 (270, 300) I needed. My calculation/guess on the 3 valves that had no clearance had me looking for a shim size that doesnt exist (lower than 185 which is the smallest I've been able to find online). The dealership had 200 at the smallest size yet the valves already had shims of 245, 250, and 255 so I doubt I would get the clearance I need by switching to a 200. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? Do I need to look valve springs now?

Thanks!

What shims are installed now? Again, try moving the valves with no clearance down 4 sizes and then check again. So if there is a 2.55 in there now try a 2.35. That should get you some clearance to measure.

I am always amazed when I read that there is zero valve clearance on a KZ. I have put about 62,000 miles on my KZ650 and have only replaced one shim, and that was simply to bring the clearance to the center of the range, so the new shim was the very next size.

How many miles are on the bike? Are you positive that you are measuring the clearances correctly? If not you may be creating a problem rather than fixing one. Ed

Are you sure you Need a lower thickness than 2,00 mm shim? No way ,some PO must have do a fu*k up cut to deep into the valve seat ring in the cyl. head!!!
If so only a valve stem top grid will fix it.

Nessism wrote:

lousankz wrote: Thanks for the diagram Scirocco, I didnt have that in my Clymer but my measurements matched up with what the chart says! The Clymer manual has an example equation to figure it out so that helped.

I am now stuck on how the hell to get the 3 valves that had 0 clearance to go lower. I just got back from the Kawasaki dealer and got 2 of the 5 (270, 300) I needed. My calculation/guess on the 3 valves that had no clearance had me looking for a shim size that doesnt exist (lower than 185 which is the smallest I've been able to find online). The dealership had 200 at the smallest size yet the valves already had shims of 245, 250, and 255 so I doubt I would get the clearance I need by switching to a 200. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? Do I need to look valve springs now?

Thanks!

What shims are installed now? Again, try moving the valves with no clearance down 4 sizes and then check again. So if there is a 2.55 in there now try a 2.35. That should get you some clearance to measure.

Nessism - that’s is for reiterating. The advice makes a a lot more sense now that I have looked at the shims and measurement charts. I will step down a few notches on the 0 clearance ones and report back. Thanks!