[Jerry BB]

my zr has started to make a ticking noise from the top end only today. I assume it is one of the valves needs a new slightly larger shim. It is only really noticeable because the engine was so quiet before this and I guess I'll be doing the shims one day soon. Great to see this thread with the step by step guide as in all my years biking I have never done shims before.

 

[Obo]

my zr has started to make a ticking noise from the top end only today. I assume it is one of the valves needs a new slightly larger shim. It is only really noticeable because the engine was so quiet before this and I guess I'll be doing the shims one day soon. Great to see this thread with the step by step guide as in all my years biking I have never done shims before.

Unless I'm wrong as the valves lose clearance they'd tick less. Hopefully someone else can add their 2 cents.

 

[carryall]

Yep, your correct Obo. As they wear, the clearance decreases. Thus LESS tappa-tappa. Once they get down to little/no clearance, the bike usually wont start, or will "miss/not produce power because either the intake valve can't introduce air/fuel into the cylinder, or the exhaust can't escape the cylinder.

 

[Obo]

Yep, your correct Obo. As they wear, the clearance decreases. Thus LESS tappa-tappa. Once they get down to little/no clearance, the bike usually wont start, or will "miss/not produce power because either the intake valve can't introduce air/fuel into the cylinder, or the exhaust can't escape the cylinder.

Which is exactly what happened to mine 2 years ago (clearances got down to zero, started harder and harder when cold until it wouldn't start at all.)

That being said, Jerry BB, you may have another issue going on if you have a new ticking sound that's not the valves.

 

[shakennstirred]

Could be the camchain adjuster

 

[Jerry BB]

Certainly no issues with performance on it yesterday and it revs freely, just a slightly annoying noise that was not there previously. If I had a loud pipe you could not hear it.

I have to change the rear disc tomorrow so I'll have another look & Listen to it.

 

[carryall]

Like Shaky said, could just be the cam chain. Not to mention, with the hot weather, and some miles, the oil gets a bit thinner and makes those valves, cam and chain, and other internal moving parts more audible. It's amazing how much quieter they are with an oil change!

 

[Jerry BB]

Like Shaky said, could just be the cam chain. Not to mention, with the hot weather, and some miles, the oil gets a bit thinner and makes those valves, cam and chain, and other internal moving parts more audible. It's amazing how much quieter they are with an oil change!

I did change the oil only a few weeks back, but it has been very warm here and I had been belting it bit before I noticed it. It sounds a lot quieter today, so I'll see what happens over time and keep an ear out for it. It is only a very minor rattle/tapping so I don't think I need to panic just yet!

Thanks all.

 

[damage.inc]

This is great. Especially the pictures help.
Once I got the gasket, I started putting everything back together. Before putting the cover back on the valves, I thought I would check the valves again and ... there was no clearance anymore, nihil, nada, zero, nothing. They were all slammed close to the cams ...

This guy's misery is over 8 years old, but I just ran into this EXACT same problem. Measured all clearances and waited 10 days for the two shims I needed. (six of eight were fine) Replaced the shims and got ZERO clearance on 7 of the eight, .002 on the eighth. I've disassembled and reassembled about 5 times. Engine turns over smoothly and what feels like very normally. Timing appears to remain correct.

I've done 4 or 5 successful valve adjustments on dual cam single cylinder bikes, so I am not exactly a newbie, but this bike makes me feel like a complete idiot.

 

[damage.inc]

This guy's misery is over 8 years old, but I just ran into this EXACT same problem..

OK, (takes deep breath) FYI, I think I have my valves figured out. I have no idea what went wrong with my initial measurements, but I kind of gave up and started over.

I pulled all shims and bought 8 new ones, with a nice selection of smaller sizes. The valves I deemed the tightest got an adjustment of up to 0.25mm (i.e. 2.60 >2.35). I estimated everything else on the thin end and replaced all 8 shims with smaller ones. Some were still tight AF, but gradually I was at least starting to get measurements!!

After assembling and disassembling many times, (approximately 6 total) I was finally able to get 7 measurements. (My smallest feeler is .002") I STILL had to buy three more shims to get everything right. I now have every clearance at either .005" or .006"

I had to mathematically "back into" the original clearances, but they were as follows:
Exhaust (inches) (1234): .004, .002, -.0037, .001
Intake (inches) (1234): .002, .003, .004, .003

On a side note, the blue Permatex matches the candy lightning blue pretty nicely!

 

[damage.inc]

OK, (takes deep breath) FYI, I think I have my valves figured out.

Also FYI, it is a 2000 ZR7 with only 11,500 miles. I just bought it last summer. The PO took it to the dealer only (so he says), so my guess is that it probably did get the break-in adjustment, but that's it.

 

[damage.inc]

My advice is this: If you're going to own this bike for many years and many miles, and you want to do your own maint.... buy a shim kit.!!

I had a free weekend, so it didnt kill me, but I had to keep assembling and disassembling because I was "moving" the smallest shims around to different valves to try to get a min. measurement. A kit would have saved me a lot of hours.

 

[locojim]

Even though it says not to cut them to the right thickness I have had my buddy grind some to the correct size at a machine shop.
They still passed the hardness test and have been fine.

 

[RussoTuristo]

Hi, I do not see the photo. I adjusted the valve many times and found out that the ideal clearance is 0.10-0.11mm, with this adjustment the engine runs quietly, if the gap is more than 0.12, an unpleasant sound is heard

 

[TWOQUIDKEV]

Hi, I do not see the photo. I adjusted the valve many times and found out that the ideal clearance is 0.10-0.11mm, with this adjustment the engine runs quietly, if the gap is more than 0.12, an unpleasant sound is heard

Hi Russo, if you look at post #31 I uploaded a word doc to Dropbox, just follow the link, I've just checked it and all the pics are there in the doc.

 

[Zed7]

Great information here. I just now bought a 2001 zr7s. It is in great condition with 19,000 miles and appears to have been well taken care of except the guy I bout it from said he never adjusted the valves and he's owned it since 12,000 miles. I don't know if the first owner never had it done. I'm the third owner.

My question is this.
What range shim kit should I buy with an engine getting its first adjustment at 19,000 miles? 😳
I know as an engine wears in the shims required get thinner and thinner. I've done valve adjustments before but the engines always had finger followers. Easy peasy, this will be my first shim under bucket and I prefer to have the shims at hand.
The shims are 13mm diameter?
What sizes should I purchase in advance? Thanks.

 

[Obo]

13mm sounds correct. As for thickness sizes that will depend on the clearances. You may find some are ok or some are tight. The shims themselves usually don't wear so in theory you could use a shim that wasn't right for one valve in another valve that needed that size. You could buy a whole kit but you'll likely have lots left over you won't ever need. You may be better off to check the clearances, work out what you need and then purchase those. May take a bit longer but it should be cheaper.

 

[Zed7]

			13mm sounds correct. As for thickness sizes that will depend on the clearances. You may find some are ok or some are tight. The shims themselves usually don't wear so in theory you could use a shim that wasn't right for one valve in another valve that needed that size. You could buy a whole kit but you'll likely have lots left over you won't ever need. You may be better off to check the clearances, work out what you need and then purchase those. May take a bit longer but it should be cheaper. I'm anxious to get this startedbut I'm helping a friend with some electrical work on her house. I've gone online and found 9.48mm shims listed for the 7S. I was happy because I have a kit for those from my ZRX but then thought, wait a minute, my kz1000 used larger shims. I found this thread and early on they are listed at 13mm. A shim kit is listed at $62 bucks and gives you three shims each over a wide range. A 'refill' kit is $35 bucks and gives you five shims each over a smaller range. That's why I asked for what people were finding out what shims they typically needed. As soon as I measure, I'll know. Hopefully there will be some clearance on all of them. If any are tight then I'm in for a pain. I may have a couple of 13mm shims if that's what my 1000J motor used. Adjusting the valves on a head with finger followers and a shim kit handy is easy. You just replace them one at a time as you go. But with shim under bucket you need to do the math and remove the cams. Not the worst thing but if there are tight valves, which I suspect my engine might have, then I'll have to buy or move around shims just to get the initial measurement. 😪 So far I rode the bike for a quarter of a mile only. And it ran well once warmed up. Under hard acceleration it gave no indication anything is wrong so hopefully I don't have any tight valves but I don't have this level expertise to determine that from simply the way the engine performed, or what the symptoms are of a tight valve(s).

 

[Obo]

I had at least a coupe with zero clearance. The tell tale sign was hard starting when cold (ok when warm) down to did not want to start at all. I had the dealer do mine only in that I was supposed to head to Laconia bike week in just over 2 weeks and had no time off to work on it.

 

[Zed7]

I never heard the cold start because before I reached his house the seller already had it running and, before the sale, he wouldn't give me his phone number to talk or even reply to email. It was weird. I was prepared to walk on the sale.
It turned out his wife was dealing with Craigslist and she told me she had dealt with a lot of weirdos on there. She said she was glad when she met me because I was "normal" 😂.

Anyway, I tried a cold start the next morning at my house but the battery died quickly so I just began stripping it but from what I've read here I suspect I may have some tight valves.