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I bought a 1979 or 1980 A-1 Z1300 this summer. Nice and original condition, but rather well worn, so I have begun dismantling the engine. A rumbling noise from engine made me suspect the primary and secondary chains to be a bit worn. And yes,after removing the sump it was possible to get to the chains and measure the slack whitch was about 19 -20 mm ( the limit is 21 and 22 mm slack acording to the Service Manual ).
This is the first japanese engine I have worked on. I have build many engines but all british or italian. This 1300 is very interesting and complicated and I must say, it's damn heavy. I had to use a crane to lift it from the frame.
Also when splitting the case you have to turn it upside down. Here I was a little worried if the weight of the engine would be to much for the long cylinder stagbolts , so I taped a piece of wood on top of the temporary mounted cylinderblock to relieve the weight from these bolts. as you can cee on the pictures.
I have ordered new primary and secondary chains plus camshaft and timing chain from Helmut in Germany. He has assured me they are japanese made ( and no cheap chinese stuff ).
I must apologize for my avatar which show my other bike. I have no decent pics of the Kawa.

I like your idea with the wood block to protect the cylinder studs. Well done. Glad to see you got to the chains before they were due as well.

That is looking all rather familiar! I have done that a few months ago. New chains was definitely a good idea as mine were on the limit as well and the new ones made a massive difference.

I am just wondering how you will get the primary chain off the crankshaft without removing the pistons... unless you will leave the pistons in and unbolt the 'big ends'...

I worked my way in from the rear of the engine to the front, taking entire driveshafts out one by one, making sure I knew where all the shims fitted. Then putting it back together again in reverse with the new chains..

Good luck!

Paul

Thanks Paul, yes I have removed the pistons, I only fitted the cylinderblock temporary to protect the long cylinder bolts. The pistons are in fact oversize, so I am sure the bike has seen many kilometers. Dont know how much, the speedometer says 50.000 km, but could well be 150.000 or 250.000 km
Apart from the chains everything else fortunately seems to be in good condition. Only the nylon gear for the camchain guide is worn and in need of replacement.
I think I will change it to a steel gear from Liska.

Well, now it is going the other way with the big Z. I have just recieved 4 new chains from MCG . Primary and secondary chains, camshaft chain and timing chain. The Hy-vo chains have Morse stamped on the links and the timing chain has D.I.D. So sure is the very best quality.

As McBoney says a very big difference with the new chains. Slack with the old chains was about 19-20 mm, now it is only about 5 mm. Very important of course is to time the primary chain, 7 links between the marks the book says. The mark on the crankshaft pinion is unfortunately very small, nearly invisible in fact. So I really hope I have it right, or else .

The crankcase could do with a repainting, but I know from past experience that if I dismantle all, to clean, strip and paint and make everything look like new. it will take a looong time before the bike is back on the road, so I will concentrate on make it mechanical sound. As I regard the Z 1300 as a true classic, I will keep is very original with only a few improvements. Maybe a hydraulic clutch.

Nice !! Another one getting new chains.