Valve (Shim Type) Adjustment 02 zx-6r

[ucmgrad]

afm199 - The bike did not run crappy from the start, just wanted to "freshen" it up since I hadn't done any serious maintenance in a long time. I'm seriously thinking either one or both of the cams are off a tooth as well.

dravnx - I don't think it's a carb issue because the carbs where left on, most if not all vacuum lines have been deleted and it idled fine but would miss when accelerating.

dmfdmf - I thought the coils might not have been pushed in all the way but I pull off each coil back and then reconnected it and you can "feel" it click into the spark plug. The same goes for the electrical connector that goes into the coil, you can feel and hear it click in.

 

[bergmen]

A camshaft out of time will run crappy from the first crank revolution. As mentioned earlier, focus on fuel and electrical. Leave no stone unturned, take nothing for granted.

Dan

 

[ST Guy]

You say the carbs were left on the bike? If that's the case, you cannot properly clean them. Remove the carbs, remove all jets, clean all passages and jets, check the rubber diaphragms for cracks and holes, reassemble, and then sync and tune. And that's only a partial list.

 

[ucmgrad]

ST Guy - The carbs were never an issue, but when I tear into the bike again this weekend I'll be sure to see that what little vacuum lines I have are and stay connected. Thanks for bringing that up :cool

 

[ST Guy]

Ah....missed that. But yea, check all lines and their condition. And check the condition of the rubber boots that the cabs attach to. Good luck!

 

[afm199]

If it's cams, it would have run crappy from the get go, as mentioned.

 

[scootergmc]

One time I reinstalled a tank and unknowingly bent the fuel line incorrectly and had the same symptoms. It idled fine and revved in the garage, but got on the road and under a load it had all sorts of issues.

 

[ucmgrad]

Scootergmc - Now that I've been thinking about it, I replace the rubber hose from the petcock to the fuel filter and I'm pretty sure I cut it a little longer. I wouldn't be surprised if it's kinked, I'll be sure to check that first!

 

[bobl]

Also check for a kinked vent hose, if one is fitted.

 

[ucmgrad]

Update 5/2/2020:

Here are the things that I checked/fixed:
~Shortened the fuel line from the petcock/filter, it was a little long (Thanks Scootergmc), made sure the vent tube was not kinked.
~Re-gapped all the spark plugs to .029 (middle of the range per FSM)

Now here's the big one:
Both the intake and exhuast camshafts were off a tooth :nchantr
The intake looked to be off -1 a tooth and the exhuast +1 a tooth. So I re-did the timing and handspun the motor again and everything lined up this time.

Now here's my dilemma:
I ran the motor as it was before for about 20-25 miles as it running shitty (again my fault) : |but now the motor starts up much easier, but there seems to make a lot more engine noise (I'm assuming valves) and the bike will occasionally "pop" from the exhaust. I didn't do that before but I'm assuming this occurred because of how I ran the bike for so long before. I posted a video so I can get some feedback and advice.

My commuter has over 100k already, do I run it as is into the ground? Are the valve clearances too loose and maybe I should tighten them up a bit?

Video below:

youtu.be/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE4TfBG-Kxk&t=6s

Link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE4TfBG-Kxk&t=6s

 

[Blankpage]

The few times I adjusted the valves on old bikes I was always paranoid that I'd get the valve timing off by one tooth. You need to clearly mark that before dismantling stuff. Don't know it you could bounce a valve off a piston by being off one tooth, might depend on the bike.
I always opened up to max allowed gap while having it all opened up. Seemed silly not to.

 

[scootergmc]

Update 5/2/2020:

Here are the things that I checked/fixed:
~Shortened the fuel line from the petcock/filter, it was a little long (Thanks Scootergmc), made sure the vent tube was not kinked.
~Re-gapped all the spark plugs to .029 (middle of the range per FSM)

Now here's the big one:
Both the intake and exhuast camshafts were off a tooth :nchantr
The intake looked to be off -1 a tooth and the exhuast +1 a tooth. So I re-did the timing and handspun the motor again and everything lined up this time.

Now here's my dilemma:
I ran the motor as it was before for about 20-25 miles as it running shitty (again my fault) : |but now the motor starts up much easier, but there seems to make a lot more engine noise (I'm assuming valves) and the bike will occasionally "pop" from the exhaust. I didn't do that before but I'm assuming this occurred because of how I ran the bike for so long before. I posted a video so I can get some feedback and advice.

My commuter has over 100k already, do I run it as is into the ground? Are the valve clearances too loose and maybe I should tighten them up a bit?

What were your gaps after you shimmed? And remember that CCT comment from earlier? :afm199

 

[ucmgrad]

Scootergmc - Another rookie mistake - I didn't check the gaps post adjustment. I knew I forgot something. So I've already returned the manual cam chain tensioner, I might as well replace the stock unit with a new one so I'll be ordering that one soon. I know for sure the timing is now correct this time around. I'll double check the gaps and report back on what I got.