z1 tappet shims

[DoctorNick]

The tappet shims I bought from z1 don't look tempered. is that okay?

[lurch12_2000]

the 4 new 2.55 ones I recently put in mine were from Z1 and looked just like those

[Nessism]

I think those shims are made by K&L. Seem like reasonable quality to me.

[jknappsax]

Mine too! They looked different, but I'm sure they're tempered. The ones I got were packaged with the label K&L, who make a lot of rebuild kits for carbs, calipers, petcocks, master cylinders, etc. for vintage Japanese. Z1 has a great reputation, and I can't imagine them selling junk shims. Or am I being naive?

[psyguy]

i bought some from z1 recently
after 2000kms they look like on day 1

[greg78gs750]

look? you cant tell anything by look. not sure what the hardness specs should be on these, but you need to test them (the rockwell "c" scale is probably the one to use) to know for sure. z1 shims are fine.

[doctorgonzo]

I installed 4 from Z1 yesterday. Unfortunately, I needed more. The PO had the bike for 8000 miles (of the 28,000 on it) and had never done the valves. When I checked them yesterday, exactly TWO of the eight were within spec. I had ordered a couple of 2.65 and 2.60 from Z1, but needed one more 2.60 and 2 2.55 to be able to get them all within spec. I left it apart and I'm going to stop by the dealer tomorrow and hope they have a dusty box of shims somewhere in the back. If not, I guess I'll put it back together with a couple out of spec, hit the shim trade thread, and revisit it in a couple weeks. Here's a question. Will the gasket need to be replaced EVERY time you pull the valve cover, or is there a good chance that with only a few hundred miles on it I'd be able to reuse my gasket.

[Nessism]

Gasket should be okay. Some members here grease the gasket to keep it from sticking for that reason.

[doctorgonzo]

Gasket should be okay. Some members here grease the gasket to keep it from sticking for that reason.

Thanks Nessism, as always, GS Members to the rescue.
I got lucky on the sheared bolts too. Not gonna need the Heli Coil. There was enough nub left to spot weld a nut on them to get them out.

[jknappsax]

Realgasket.com makes orange silicone gaskets that can be reused. I'm waiting on a shim to finish up setting my valves, then the realgasket goes on. You only tighten the valve-cover bolts until the gasket is compressed my 1/3. The hardest parts of regularly checking your valves are, 1): getting the bolts out (the PO snapped one off on my GS 1000, and I'm not sure if I can get it out, but it wasn't leaking before, so I think I'll be OK), 2): getting the old gasket off, and 3): having the right shims on hand.

[doctorgonzo]

Realgasket.com makes orange silicone gaskets that can be reused. I'm waiting on a shim to finish up setting my valves, then the realgasket goes on. You only tighten the valve-cover bolts until the gasket is compressed my 1/3. The hardest parts of regularly checking your valves are, 1): getting the bolts out (the PO snapped one off on my GS 1000, and I'm not sure if I can get it out, but it wasn't leaking before, so I think I'll be OK), 2): getting the old gasket off, and 3): having the right shims on hand.

Yeah I think PO snapped off the bolts trying to over torque it to fix a leak. The old gasket was hard as a rock. I'm replacing with stainless liberally coated with anti-seize, so should be good going forward. I'm glad I finally got to this, I could only slide a .04 under 1 and 4 exhaust, all the rest were too tight.

[Dogma]

look? you cant tell anything by look. not sure what the hardness specs should be on these, but you need to test them (the rockwell "c" scale is probably the one to use) to know for sure. z1 shims are fine.

If you don't want to destroy one with a hardness tester, see if you can scratch the edge with a file or steel scale. You shouldn't be able t make a significant scratch. It's an old machinist thing I've seen our guys in the shop do.

[Erich Z]

I'm about to do my first valve job on the 450, how would I know which shims to order ahead of time?

Or do I have to wait til I get in there to find out, then order them and wait a few days til they arrive?

[lurch12_2000]

I'm about to do my first valve job on the 450, how would I know which shims to order ahead of time?

Or do I have to wait til I get in there to find out, then order them and wait a few days til they arrive?

When you say valve job, are you talking valve adjustments? Yes, you'll have to get in there to measure and then get an idea what you need to order. So you would have to wait 3-5 days for them to arrive with the bike out of commission and exposed head covered up. I ordered mine through z1enterprises.com for under $4.75 a shim and $6 shipping total for all 4 I received.
Note: I would order 1 extra, slightly smaller, so you can have some flexibility on moving shims around. Let's say you need (2) 2.55 and (2) 2.60 then order a 2.50 as an extra. Even though you might not need it this time around, other than a placeholder, you'll probably use it for the next time.

[doctorgonzo]

Update, and "don't give up" inspirational story (ha!)

Went to the dealer, they had a few 29.5 shims, but not what I needed. They gave me a number for an indy mechanic who used to work for them and now has his own shop. He had everything I needed, and they were used so I got them $3.00 each. Finish valve adjustment tonight. The moral of the story, don't forget local "shade tree" type guys who just might have what you're looking for thrown in a drawer somewhere.