Seized KZ 550

Hey loudhvx,

I the cam chain timing is off. and it seems more than likely that the shop will be fixing it for me free of charge.

My brother picked the bike up from the shop for me the other day after thay had done the work.. and get this.. the mechanic told him "ya the cam chain tensioner seems a bit loose, but we put it back anyways, and it's fine.. it won't be a problem you can ride all summer like that, if you want in the winter you can bring it back in and we'll replace it" nice to have a solid guarantee like that days before the cam chain falls off hahah
If the guy had said it was serious, I would have had it replaced on the spot.

OH well..

The tensioner gets a bad wrap on those KZ550's. But I'm convinced that the problems are caused by improper maintenance. The tensioners I find on motors that haven't been opened always work perfectly. The only time I find messed up tensioners, they're on motors that have been opened for supposedly routine maintenance (adjust valves, etc).

I've talked to too many "experienced" mechanics that look at me like I'm talking a foreign language when I mention the valve cover issue. They apparently never even read a manual. Clymer has special warnings all over the valve adjustment and assembly pages.

Even without the manual, it doesn't occur to them to investigate why the valve cover won't sit flat on the head.

It's only my opinion, so of course I could be wrong, but I'm convinced this shop caused your problem. It happens all too often.

Luckily, top end parts are available and cheap.

Must keep that green machine on the road!

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2006/07/21 15:31

Hey Loudhvx,

So I took my bike back to the shop, and they took it apart to see what was wrong. (they said they'd fix it free if it was something they caused). Turns out (surprise, surprise) it was nothing they did.

Turns out, a bolt came untreaded from one of the cam chain sprockets and fell out, getting itself wedged somehow with the cam lobe. No damage seems to have occured (happened at low speed) they need to re-thread the sprocket, clean things up, and put it all back together.

They say the cam-chain tensioner is still a bit slack, and should probably be replaced as well.

Besides the three week wait for a new head gasket, the news doesn't seem all that bad. I'm only looking at something like 2 or 3 hours labour to get it back on the road. (after getting all the parts, I should have it back on the road just in time to put it away for the winter :pinch:

Gawd a'mighty, see if Jeff at Z1 has a head gasket he can ship to them. 3 WEEKS!

How could this NOT have been caused by the shop? You had it in for valve seal replacement right? They had the head off, cams off, valves out and all that, and they did not see that there was a loose bolt on a timing chain sprocket? I don't buy that for a second!