TOPIC:

Hi all,

I've just got my first inline-6 bike, a 84 ZN1300 voyager, it has almost 60k miles on the clock and has been siting for at least a year. PO claim the bike was running, but fuel pump has failed so no start. I belived him because his registration was still valid in 2017. My plan is to transform it into CB1100 style. I have striped off all the fairing and audio systems, removed all the rust in the fuel tank, pulled off the air box, fuel line and injectors. Before I install new fuel pump, regulator, clean injectors etc, I followed the KZ1300 FAQ's instruction and changed the CCT to a ZX11 unit. and this part of FAQ scares me to death:

Judging by the different motors I've put these ZX11 tensioners on I'd say if you put one in and it extends a couple of clicks your
idler gear is like new. If it goes 3 - 5 clicks you have minor wear, 5 - 8 clicks you should be right at what you should consider to
be replacement time, 10 clicks for sure it's time, but you might can put a few more miles on it if you need to, and over 10 you'reasking for trouble.

When I installed mine, I used a screw driver to poke into the CCT hole to probe the depth. The depth is at 16 clicks position. Does it mean that piece of pastic idle gear is almost gone? Do I must change it right now?

I don't have the ZX11 tensioner so I can't comment on that, but perhaps this is also a good time to check the valve clearances. It's only removing the head cover - oh well... 32 bolts, but straight forward. Once the top cover is removed you can see this plastic gear from the top and evaluate. Two birds with one stone.

Stan's right. The only smart thing to do here is pop the valve cover and have a look around. Not sure if the cam chain is stretched? Measure it. The length between X number of pins is ... in the service manual. Grab a flashlight and have a look down the rear cam chain cavity and visually inspect the nylon gear. While you're in there, check the valve shim clearance.
Assess the issues and have at it.

Thank you all for the quick replies!
I was hazitaging to open the head cover and look at the valve clearance, but it looks I have to do it before I even try to start the bike. If the gear is worn out, how difficult is to replace it? I know there's the liska steel one I can replace with. what should I remove to get to it? I have no experience dealing with such big engine fixes so quite concerned.

I just pulled my cam cover yesterday. Here's a tip: when you go to take the forward coil off, you'll find you can't push the front coil bolt straight down through it's hole in the frame gusset as the coil has a 'interference' fit with the upper rad hose and it's too close to the aluminum coolant neck to move. But the coil will 'swing' to rider's left just enough that you can pull the front coil bolt out of it's hole.

This will make more sense when you're in there looking at it.

To replace that gear you would need to remove the cylinder head. The radiator, fan, exhaust pipes have to come off. I's a big job and might seem scary at first, but done meticulously it's not that bad. There a a few things with which you have to be careful as they are not obvious but important. Most time you would be spending on cleaning up surfaces for new gaskets. The cylinder head gasket, if purchased original from Kawasaki, is expensive but I would suggest going that route. I got mine from them and it's perfect, while those gotten from eBay I had to return. Once the head is off, replacing the gear itself takes a minute.

I wouldn't panic though yet. You will know what's going on after removing the cover first.