Problem with "KL" shims from Z-1

[Guest]

Not here to post a negative about them, they seem to make all of you happy. BUT,....I needed some Suzuki GS850G valve shims. I called as they did'nt have the thicknesses I needed listed. The guy told me at first they were out of stock and no idea when they'd be in. He then thought & told me to look at their "KL" shims. (Both these & the GS shims list there as "29.5mm). There is a little drop down for each size that states these also can be used as the Suzuki shims and even use the Suzuki part numbers as reference. Great price too!, $4 & change each. So I ordered 7 shims to have backup.

When they came in I measured each thickness,..spot on for all. So happy was I! When I loaded the one shim I needed to finish, it wouldn't drop into the bucket. Since I had ordered 2 of the size I tried the other one, same issue.

I then measured the diameter of the "KL" shims I got. They were all about 3 hundredths of a mm too wide. Sound small but they don't fit; there is no clearance past the dam of the Suzuki shims-tight fit. . I needed that one 2.40mm so I devised a way to slowly hand grind the shim (4 hours turning by hand on emery cloth keeping it squared with a jig I cooked up! Like grinding a mirror for a telescope I guess) to get it to fit so I could finish. Not bragging, I'm old, cranky & retired so WTF.

If you are thinking of subbing these KL shims for the Suzuki one, unless you are as nuts as I am & willing to do an inordinate amount of work or have some special machine tools, I would advise not to. I need to get the remaing six shims back for credit, I hope they will do it. You seem to indicate they are they right kind of people, I hope so. No reply to email so far so I will call tomorrow.

BTW neither the Suzuki nor the "KL" shims are really 29.5, my stock suzuki ones are 29.37 diam & the KL came in at nearly 29.40. Not any more tho for one of them.

For what it's worth, this was the experience I had.

[bigsixman]

suzukizone, I have had very results in my dealings with Jeff and Rob at Z1. I would like to feel that when you make contact with them, they will make it right with you.

Thanks for informing the rest of us about the Suzuki shim issue.

[chuck hahn]

GHOSTGS1 ( ray) is the operator of the forums SHIM CLUB...go thru him and youll never have a problem. What you do is let him know what you need and he sends them. You swap out when they arrive and send your old ones back to him. No charges other than your postage for sending Ray your old ones.

See this thread for details.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?122394-GS-Valve-Shim-Club&highlight=shim+club

[suzukizone]

GHOSTGS1 ( ray) is the operator of the forums SHIM CLUB...go thru him and youll never have a problem. What you do is let him know what you need and he sends them. You swap out when they arrive and send your old ones back to him. No charges other than your postage for sending Ray your old ones.

See this thread for details.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...ight=shim+club

Of course, as with most things with me, I saw this great resource AFTER I had purchased the shims from Z1. Although, I did get the link from another thread here that one didn't mention the swap. I go back to the days when many DEALERS would do a free swap for shims. Days long gone.

Hopefully with the Suzuki shims I have in stock and my slowly diminished riding, I may have done my last valve adjustment. The clearances were hardly out this time & I got all spot on. Who knows.

Anyway I just posted this, not as a bash of Z1 but as a heads up BEFORE I hope they take that cross-reference info off the web page. Will give them a call today.

Thanks for your response.

DH

[bwringer]

I've used K&L shims (both from Z1 and other vendors) many times with no problems.

They don't have the slight chamfer at the edge like the Suzuki shims, but this only occasionally causes a little extra finagling to get them in the buckets.

[suzukizone]

I've used K&L shims (both from Z1 and other vendors) many times with no problems.

They don't have the slight chamfer at the edge like the Suzuki shims, but this only occasionally causes a little extra finagling to get them in the buckets.

I'm as confused as the rest of us.

1. Spoke to Jeff @ Z1. He said the same. He measured the KL shims against the Suzuki stock ones he had & did find the KL dam was slightly larger AND as I had found it varied by 1 or 2 hundredths of a mm.

2. In past all shims I used whether new or "experienced" were stock Suzuki ones. They always dropped in just fine, these KL ones I got would not & I did not want to apply any pressure out of fear of locking them in or damaging the buckets. I repeatedly put Suzuki shims in place, although they were not the right thickness I wanted they dropped in like it was home. I did this comparison over & over and over a couple of days because I could not believe it myself. I also tried rotating the KL shims so they would possibly fit in that way as they are not true round. The Suzuki ones are dead round.
Now this was only in the #4 intake position as all other valve clearances were set up fine. Unfortunately the camshaft cover is on & all bolted up so I can't do a lingering series of tests of other positions & all the KL shims compared to the Suzuki shims.

3. I did measure the remains 6 KL shims I record & every one consistently is reading one or two hundredths wider than every one of the Suzuki shims. I have both brand new Suzuki shims & used ones. They are all very consistently just a bit under the diameter of all of the KL.

4. Jeff did mention he had found there was a variation in the width of the KL shims of one or two hundredths. I hadn't even mentioned that to him on the phone as I thought he might think I was nuts.

I am trying to lay this out as best I can, I did not just quickly hit a problem and toss off a complaint. I have done the valve clearance check & adjust on this bike & other numerous times. Never came up-was never with aftermarket shims. Just saying'.

I really want the rest of the shims to work, that's why I bought the extras. Wish I knew about the Shim Club before, I'd never be aware of this KL issue.

Could it be there is some problem with a recent batch of KL shims & I just happened to get all of mine from that batch? Could that one shim bucket has "shrunk" or distorted for some reason so any other position would not have a problem as Jeff & all of the responders say? If I had realized I was the only person this ever seems to have happened to", I'd have left the cams exposed & done more checking.

Anyway, as I say, this is my story, i Managed to get that one shim to fit. (Funny after I did "resize it, it did fit properly-does that say anything? you decide). I feel that Jeff is continuing to try to research at his end & will work out something, I need a set of wires for the plugs so I'll still shop with him for that.

I'm done.

Thanks again,

DH

[steve murdoch]

Thanks for the follow-up, DH.

[Grimly]

I suspect there will be emails flying between Z1 and their shim supplier, right now.

[RustyStuff]

Weird, I'll have to check my shim's I just ordered to see if they are right. They weren't the "KL" shim's though.