THE MOMENT OF TRUE.

It was a rainy day, so I locked myself in the garage and made progress on assembling the engine.I turned the crankshaft until it reached the “T” mark.
 
That's when I adjusted the pickup shaft to its corresponding mark.
 

Cylinder head gasket and cylinder head in place.
 
 
Following the workshop manual, we first tighten the screws to 2.5 kg in the order indicated and then retighten them to 4 kg.
 
Before installing the camshafts, I measured the thickness of the shims to know what size I would need if I had to change any when adjusting the valves.
 
 Following KAWBOY's advice in another thread, I mounted the exhaust camshaft shaft on its mark with the crankshaft set to the “T” mark.
 

I have the user manual handy to check measurements and markings, but I must admit that I am assembling the engine from memory, intuitively. I am surprised at the level of knowledge I am acquiring by repairing this motorcycle.

 I was carefully examining the motorcycle so as not to overlook any details during assembly when I noticed a mark on the side of the cylinder head, below the spark plug hole on cylinder 1.


  Someone had marked the initials JP.


 


  There are no marks on the right side of the cylinder head. 


  


 I wonder if it's the signature of a tuner or mechanic who customized the cylinder head.  


Has anyone else come across something like this?  


Until today, I wasn't sure which of my two sons to leave Christine to when I die. 


 It will be my eldest son, as fate would have it, JP are the initials of his name.
 

Until today, I wasn't sure which of my two sons to leave Christine to when I die. 


 It will be my eldest son, as fate would have it, JP are the initials of his name.

But, but, but DADDIE, what about ME? 

Good work, keep it up!

A productive Saturday afternoon.
 With the “T” mark on the crankshaft in position, it was much easier for me to place the camshafts in their designated marks.I didn't have to turn the timing chain link by link until I found its position.

 


I tightened the screws on the camshaft housings and they slotted into place like a cake in a mold.
 

 Without turning the crankshaft, I installed the timing chain tensioner.

The previous times I had adjusted the engine, I hadn't done this and had problems with the chain teeth jumping when the engine was running.When you follow the instructions correctly, things usually turn out well.

   


Using the valve adjustment table in the manual, I turned the crankshaft at its markings to calculate the thickness of the shims in case they needed to be replaced.

 
 


I spent 60 euros on this damn tool to make changing shims easier, and I haven't been able to figure out how to use it.

I ended up using the 5-euro piece of brass to hold the shim slots in place.
 

 

Without rushing, with patience, and a box full of shims of various thicknesses, I managed to adjust all the intake valves to exactly 0.15 mm and the exhaust valves to 0.25 mm.

 

 

 
 I turned the crankshaft about 15 or 20 times at the timing marks and each time I checked the valve clearance... I think that for the first time, not counting when it was manufactured, this engine is at its timing point.