Am I an Idiot or is Kawasaki?

Line the timing marks up on the flywheel.

I did and it sets the cams up like it says in the manual. But when measuring it just does not make sense.

Thanks for that I missed that text. I was paying attention to the picture too much. Thanks for the clarification. I know what needs to be done now. The valves are too tight.

You always check the clearances with the pointy end of the cam lobe facing away from the bucket.

Exactly away or at 45 degrees outward? Exactly away the piston is not TDC I don't think.

lcgordon711 wrote:

Exactly away or at 45 degrees outward? Exactly away the piston is not TDC I don't think.

You line up the marks on the engine case. When you do, your lobes will point up and outwards. If theyre inwards, youre not on the right stroke. Do one more turn of the engine. Ill send some screenshots of my 09 kx450 manual if you want. Its a lot more clear than the klx one for some reason.. the heads are identical.

If the timing marks line up on the flywheel and the lobes are facing inwards rotate it one more time again lining up the timing marks and now the lobes should be facing out.

Here... this is pretty clear.

Acidreamer wrote:

Here... this is pretty clear.

Acidreamer wrote:

Here... this is pretty clear.

You ever put that rubber gromet on the spark plug port on wrong? I did on my 09 once.. Oil shot out the drain hole on the cylinder all over the header lol. That was a mess.

Acidreamer wrote:

Here... this is pretty clear.

dirtmike86 wrote:

You ever put that rubber gromet on the spark plug port on wrong? I did on my 09 once.. Oil shot out the drain hole on the cylinder all over the header lol. That was a mess.

Lmao yea. After i did that it ruined it and had to replace it or it would keep leaking oil.

Thanks guys really appreciate the help. The manual was confusing a little bit. I totally get it now. I figured it needed to be turned again. I thought the Line with the T was only when the lobes were in but I guess I'm remembering wrong.

I did this same thing on my bike (08yz 450) following the manual with no trouble at all.

One more question does anybody know if the shims that come from factory the same size on every bike or are they different?

lcgordon711 wrote:

One more question does anybody know if the shims that come from factory the same size on every bike or are they different?

Not sure. I doubt it. Shouldnt be relevant for an adjustment tho. Meausre them if you need to find the thickness.

The shims are recessed to fit on the end of the valve stem so they arnt slidding around inside the buckets. Id buy new oem to be safe. I also dont really understand your question fully.

My question is shims come in different sizes right? That is how you adjust valve height by replacing with a smaller or larger height shim. Do all bikes come with the same height shim? If so I would not need to take the bike apart to get the measurement of the shim that is in the bike currently. I could just do the math from my feeler gauge findings and order now.
Thanks hopefully this clear it up.

Yes iam sure they all (meaning the klx 450s) Came with the same size. But are you the original owner? Are those the stock cams? If you have to adjust the shims then just take it apart.. Youre going to have to anyways.

Pretty sure nobody has been in the motor. I can get in to check just nice to leave the motor together for the week while the parts are coming in so it does not get dirty and I don't have to put it back together and then back apart. No worries ill just get in and check them

lcgordon711 wrote:

Pretty sure nobody has been in the motor. I can get in to check just nice to leave the motor together for the week while the parts are coming in so it does not get dirty and I don't have to put it back together and then back apart. No worries ill just get in and check them

You can put rags over it while you wait. Use microfiber. Regular shop rags or paper towels will leave fibers behind.

Thanks will do

No, they are often different sizes from bike to bike and valve to valve. You’ll need to measure your clearances on each valve, then pull the cam and remove any buckets that were out of spec. Then measure the shim (or read the number of still legible), then compute what replacement shim you need. Sometimes you’ll need one that isn’t made so find the closest one offered.

Despite being built on a production line, tolerances stack and each bike may need slightly different shims. It’s also worth noting that between 02 and 07, I had two CRF450R’s that were out of spec right off the bat.

Take it apart, measure, do the math and then get the correct shims or just buy a complete shim kit so you are covered.

Paw Paw

I had an issue like this with the powervalve gears on my KX500, the punch marks were in the wrong place and if I’d used them as the manual stated to it wasn’t going back together.

Then again they couldn’t even get the punch marks for the rear axle blocks correct either, if you used them your wheel would be way out of true.

Thanks guys ill just take them apart this weekend and make the order. We have 2 450s to do so I need to see if its more cost effective to buy a whole set or buy single ones.

Nytsmac I was taking the powervalve apart on my buddies 03 kx250 and I swear the order they said in the Kawasaki manual to but it back together was wrong. I know I did it a different way and the way they said it seemed to not work.

Not sure about your local dealer but mine does shim swaps for free. Bring in yours for the ones you need and no cost. A lot cheaper than buying them

Thanks for that I will check at my local shops.

Acidreamer wrote:

Not sure about your local dealer but mine does shim swaps for free. Bring in yours for the ones you need and no cost. A lot cheaper than buying them

You have a good dealer as that's pretty rare.

Acidreamer wrote:

Not sure about your local dealer but mine does shim swaps for free. Bring in yours for the ones you need and no cost. A lot cheaper than buying them

mx317 wrote:

You have a good dealer as that's pretty rare.

Iron pony is apparently “one of the best in america” so i guess..