SR shims/ WG was right!!

I took my head of in the 58 degree weather today and I checked my valve clearances before I did and I couldn't get the thinnest leaf of my guage under some of the cams which I suspect where a peep open when they were supposed to be closed. As WiredGeorge said the valve clearances might be incorrect, but I didnt have a compressor to do a leakdown test so I had to do it the hard way. For me to find which shim to use, can I measure the amount the valve is stuck open when its supposed to be closed, subtract that and the spec .15mm from the shim I have and have the correct shim size? Also If I hone the cylinders would I have to get new rings or can I use the same rings?. O and I have like .007 Im guessing thats inches.178mm piston/ cylider clearance. Is that bad

The point of clearance is to measure the gap between your cam lobe and the bucket. The lobe points away from the bucket when the measurent is made. I don't see this measurement as having much to do with leak down testing or pistons or valves being open. I use a METRIC feeler gauge with thin blades. Thinnest is .051mm. This coincides with minimum clearance on a 903 engine. The blades go up from .051mm to .064mm, etc. If the feeler guage you are using is in inches, it may not have blades thin enough... not clear from your post. Anyway, if you can spin or rotate a bucket at all, you have SOME clearance. Usual way to figure out what shim is needed is to measure clearance and use a thinner shim to gain the clearance needed. In general, on a shim under bucket arrangement, you would make all measurements THEN remove your cams and do the computing based on what shim you find UNDER the buckets without the necessary clearance. Before removing the cams, leave the engine at TDC for ease in reassembling so you don't have to fumble with the cam chain as you turn the engine to TDC... with the cams out it can bunch. Sears Craftsman sells a feeler gauge as I described. Check a factory service manual on details for your bike... I don't know 650s very well so I don't know specific numbers. DON'T PULL THE HEAD TILL YOU GET THE CLEARANCES SET! Then recheck compression.

I already pulled the head, I have to change the oil seals on cylinder 2 anyways, sorry! I have a feeler guage with both inches and mm but they show the measurements on the same blade. I dint know about the spinning the bucket trick till yesterday evening reading someoneelses post. I did measure the clearance at TDC, when the lobe on the camhaft points upward. I got some pics to show you on my head. You can see my 2 valves on the no.2 cylinder is different from the rest.

Hey George! Anyone? One of the buckets under the cam is so tight that the bucket doesnt turn. What should I do, what shim size shouls I go with? Are there any shim sizes down to 140?. I did some calculating, but I fear that I am wrong. HELP!!!

200 is the smallest shim. If a 200 is too large, the valve stem needs to be ground. Usually when this happens it means the bike has had a valve job done by an incompetent or had multiple valve jobs done. For the most part on the 650s I've had they have around a 260-270 shim from the factory and a valve job done right will drop the size down 2-3 sizes.

Hey Ron! Where can I find shims in colorado besides the kawasaki dealership?

Get 0.5mm (0.02") ground off the end of the stems. I had this done to the valves for my buddy's bike, cost $20 and took it back to the thicker end of the shim range.

Post edited by: guitargeek, at: 2006/12/12 19:26

I just switched the shims on the head. The one that wasnt turning had a 260 shim under it and I switched it to a 240 that was under another bucket that had lots of space. the one with alot of space was like .254mm with a 240 shim and I put the 260 under that one and brought it up to .076mm. So I am getting pretty close to what I want. No grinding needed fellas! Thank God!!!