A few weird problems

[jakeolsen]

What are the shims? Is this something I have to buy before i can fix it? How would the carb rebuild kit be part of the problem?

[Steve]

Look in the service manual, you will see that "shims" are used between the cams and the buckets that actually push on the valves. They come in different thicknesses so you can adjust the clearance to the proper specs. Best to NOT buy any shims before you see what you have in there now. Chances are that you would buy the wrong quantity of the wrong size, so there is no sense in wasting your money. Open the top of the engine, measure (and record) your clearances, inspect (and record) your shim sizes, see what you can move around and what you need to buy. There is a "shim club" going on the forum that will exchange shims, but I don't know all the details. Contact Ghostgs1 for details. If you choose to buy your new shims and build up your own collection, Z1 is probably the best place, they are about $5.28 each, last time I looked.

The carb kits could be part of your problem because many times they contain parts of questionable quality. Although the numbers on the jets might be correct, there is no guarantee that they are accurate. I used to say that the only useable part is the bowl gasket, but some have found problems with them, too. Your best bet is to clean your stock jets and re-use them. If your bowl gaskets are shot, you can get new ones from any of the on-line sources or your dealer for about $4 or $5 each.

.

[Big T]

Jake,

Just remember, we actually are trying to help you out with your problem.

It just seems as tho we're picking on you. We're not

But, you do need to take the advice to eliminate possible causes

So,

1. Adjust valves
2. Clean and reinstall original main and pilot jets
3. Check carbs for cleanliness

And, to show us how wrong we are, post up some big pictures of your carb interiors and your spark plugs

[jakeolsen]

I am not saying anyone is wrong. I will post up some pictures though. if you'd like. I will work on this stuff tonight and see where it gets me. I will start by getting the original jets soaking. Report back when I've got something to report.

[jakeolsen]

Ok I can update a little more now. I got the valve cover off pretty easily, and the gasket is absolutely destroyed. I new there was a slight leak coming from the left side, but when I took the cover off that whole front well was full of oil. Actually the left side had oil up to the gasket in both wells. The other side had very little oil. What would cause this? I am going to try to get clearance measurements, but I am currently trying to get the screws off of the cover so that I can turn what I need ot to take the measurements. Every screw is so rusty! As with the carbs I am going to definitely be replacing all of the screws. I will take a few pics in a little while. Right now I am going to order a few things.

[jakeolsen]

Ok. I'm gonna go to bed, but before I do, here is a little bit more information.

I seem to be missing a few of my feeler gauges thanks to my curious son, so I will pick up a new set tomorrow, but here is what I know do far:

Intake Exhaust
1. .051 <.038
2. <.038 <.038
3. <.038 .063
4. .063 <.038

I will look for a metric set tomorrow, and I can then give more precise specifics. I'll also pull the shims tomorrow. So far it seems like most of my valves have very little clearance. I would take this to mean they have not been adjusted in a while, maybe ever.

[Larry D]

Have you been using this as a guide ? It's for an 850, but, it still applies.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/gs850valve_adjust.pdf

[jakeolsen]

Yes I am using that as a guide. That is how I got the measurements.