Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Forum banner

Help!! Valve Clearance

2K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  riverszzr 
#1 ·
When doing a valve clearance check, how should the feeler gauge feel when I slide it under the cam? Because I can fit one under it and it is nice and smooth, but I can fit a little bit bigger one under it but it's a little rougher when I slide it back and forth.
 
#3 ·
First,, Hello and welcome to the forum.

Why not take a couple of minutes and say HI in the new members section.

Just did mine, being the first time I actually changed shims it was a pain in the butt.

What PainfullySlo said. I started noting what was easy, nice, sticking and wouldn't.
Many would be too easy, to sticking. I split the difference.

Used the JPG attached to take notes. Those clearances might not be yours.

Here are two app's for calculating what you need.
Triumph Universal Valve Shim Calculator There is a youtube video to help.

This one click on the British flag to get into english.
- Universal shim claculator (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki)

Lastly, the easiest way to get cam's back right would be pull the engine.
If not mark clearly the back side of the cams along with a witness mark on cam to chain. And MOST important. Take a picture of marks.
Along with cam position over the cylinders.
I could it was easier to have a extra set of hands to hold chain in place when tightening the carrier down on the cam's.

It's more than you asked for, figured cover it all now.
 

Attachments

#4 ·
When I checked my 2012 CBR600RR I found that the position I held the feeler gauge in made a big difference in it sliding smoothly or dragging a bit. I found that bending the gauge helped get the right angle to slide it in. If the clearance is smaller than the feeler gauge then it's not going to go. Good point from PainfullySlo and Indy. When it comes to timing be careful and double check everything. Not my first rodeo but had to spend some time studying the manual to make sure I had the correct timing marks.
 
#6 ·
Angle of approach is everything.......

You want to make sure you are parallel to the bucket face

If you are using feeler gauges that are in .001" increments and;

say the .008" slides through super easy and the .009" will not go at all.........your true clearance is likely about .0085"........you could narrow this down further (I do) if you had feeler gauges in .0005" increments..... but many people think this unnecessary


That said...... I have seen people cram through .012" and .013" feelers on bikes that truly only had .0105-.011" clearance due to the strength of the gauge and force applied and conversly- I have seen people claim a .005"
clearance on valves with a .006-.0065" clearance due to their angle of approach
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top