Valve Timing; I am soooo confused

:S
Hey everyone I was wondering if you could give me some more advice please. As you may be aware I am in the process of restoring an '82 A4 1300. I am in the process of removing the engine to dismantle the last of the frame etc so I can send it away for powder coating. While I have the rocker cover off I thought I would check the idler gear (which is near perfect ) and check the valve clearances at the same time. I have read and re-read the manual and it seems to be straight forward. That appears to be the easy bit (reading the manual). When I physically go to check the clearances there are some discrepincies with what should be happening and what is happening.
Firstly when I go to align the "T" mark with the notch in the upper pickup mount I see that there are two "T" marks spaced about 20 - 30mm apart. The second "T" mark has a "F" mark about 10 -15mm prior to it. So the question is which "T" mark to use.

Secondly when I align the "T" mark up and have the dots on the camshaft aligned appropriately the piston on the left hand side is not at TDC as specified it should be. It still has about a third of the way to travel up to reach TDC.

I have tried using both "T" marks to try and figure this out but neither one aligns when the left hand piston is at TDC and nor do the dots on the camshaft.

The engine rotates freely, with pistons going up and down with no issues, cams rotate freely and appear to operate as they should be.
I was wondering if it were possible if the key in the alternator rotor may have sheared and the rotor moved out of it's original place.

I am seriously confused, can anyone shed any light please.

I have added some photos of the "T" marks in question.

Thanks in advance

man that sounds weird, i'm use to working on my '79 A1 model, with yours you have that top timing window, had to look it up in the rear supplement section of my manual, the "F" mark is for the low rpm ignition timing, and above 3000 rpm, the timing mark must be between the advanced timing mark on the timing rotor, a pair of vertical lines, now I know why there is white "paint" on your marks, so you can see them easier when using a strobe light, learn something every day. So with yours you have to have the "T" mark on the alternator rotor at the top, it also says to check if the mark on the exhaust cam is lined up with the mating surface of the cover, if not turn the crank another turn until the "T" mark is lined up again, and the cam mark is lined up, same procedure as mine just different spots for the mark, my mark lines up with the join of the bottom cases. On a side note, I bought a full set of stainless allen key head bolts for all the side covers, put them all in but had some spare, they were counter sunk screws, list says it was for the "inspection cover" ... had me beat where they were from, now I know, the timing cover little plate that I ain't got, clears that mystery up




so I guess the "outer" marks are for timing when using the strobe light and the "T" mark in nearest the motor would be the one to use for top dead center, my best guess, hey you are in Brisbane, i'm in Ipswich, I have a spare photo copied manual if you want it, I have an original one I use now, only problem with the photo copied one is that the wiring diagrams are all black and white, no colour, hard to trace a wire when you don't know what colour it is

Hey KZA13,
Thanks for your reply and the offer of the manual, I was fortunate enough to get a proper manual with the bike when I bought it. I'm in Springfield so not far away from you at all. I have also got a set of stainless allen bolts for all my covers and engine also. Going to get an engine mounting set sa well. Mind you I gave a fair bit of work to do before I get to use them.
Thanks for your assistance.

Hi Torque59,

I have a manual for the 82 model and it refers to two additional marks the "1" mark and the "2" mark. There's a straight forward description of the process to work one's way through measuring the various valve clearances. Does your rotor have the 1 & 2 marks?

If you manual does not address the 1 & 2 marks you can find the discussion on page 341 of the KZ1300 A1 Service Manual that can be downloaded from this site.

Bill

Please be aware.

Z1300 KZ1300 A1 & A2 same ignition system

A3 Different ignition

A4 & A5 different again

this affects ignition timing.

Pete F

Hi Pete,

While Torque titled this thread valve timing the process he's looking at has more to do with checking and adjusting valve clearances. I think. Talk to me Torque.

Do the various ignition systems make a difference with adjusting the valve clearance?

Regards

Bill