TOPIC:

Thanks Kawboy. Here is hoping for a really tight valve.

The fellow that is helping me has a little shop just down the road. He is normally Harley guy but has done lots of work on metric stuff over the years. Far better equipped than I and unlike me, knows which end of a wrench to use.

What we both don't get is I've been obviously driving and starting this thing all along. What is stopping it now? We just had the stator side apart and that is it.

Can this be the famous KZ vaporlock?

Since it wasn't starting and the compression was so low, we've opted to take the carbs off and remove the valve covers.

The carbs aren't apart but don't look nearly as dirty as we expected which means nothing for the guts.

Under the valve cover we discovered that the cam chain has almost an inch of play. I'm guessing that's not normal lol.

We have no idea what kind of cam chain tensioner is being used. I've taken some pics so as to be helpful









Carbs off

We are a little lost at this point. I have 0 experience and my friend is a Harley guy for the most part. Neither of us have ever taken apart or adjusted, checked valves etc on one of these. We do have service manual so its a good start.

Since I have a DG on the way, I guess I should order jets. Reading the FAQ I see most commonly I need 100s or even 96s. I tried to order them through my local Kawi dealer from Dynajet but they came up empty for KZ1300. Can anyone recommend and online source?

Thanks again!

Tensioner is definitely not stock. Possibly a manual one, but I don't know for sure.

I wouldn't be overly worried about that slack in the cam chain. It's a bit much, but I wouldn't call it excessive. If you want to get rid of it, turn the motor over by hand (clockwise on the right side crank bolt) and re-tension the tensioner.

If you have a manual, checking clearances is easy. Basically, you're going to line up the marks on the rotor (right side of crank) with the split in the crankcase, then the manual will tell which valves to check, and what the clearance between the camshaft lobe and the valve shim should be. It sounds complicated, but it really isn't. Just time consuming, with all those valves to worry about.

Don't be too intimidated. Yeah, the motor is a bit complicated, but only because it has so many cylinders. Apart from that, it's actually pretty sraightforward.

Can't help you with jets, but I personally would hold off until you get the engine figured out, especially if money is tight. If only because you have no idea how deep into the engine you'll end up having to go. But, just my two cents.

Also, if you DID hydrolock it, it would be somewhat obvious. Basically if you tried to turn it over, and it wouldn't. Almost like the battery is dead, or the solenoid clicks, but the motor doesn't spin. This is because fuel doesn't compress, and you basically use the starter motor (which has GOBS of torque) to bend over a rod.


I'm hoping it's not. That's worst-case-scenario stuff right there. Let's hope for the valve.

I'm looking at your 3 pic and I see UGLY. The nylon gear in that pic is part of the cam chain tensioner system and it's not suppose to have multiple teeth on the same tooth. The cam chain has been flopping around and it's cut the teeth. You need a new gear. Bad news is the head has to come off to replace. Good news is the gear is still available from Kawasaki at around $55 Canadian.Some members have opted for the aftermarket LISKA steel gear at around $110 U.S. I hesitate to use it because I'm hearing reports of noisy for the first 200 miles and then they quiet down. That suggests to me that something is wearing in and mating. Would that be the gear wearing in or the cam chain?

The tensioner looks like a modified stock tensioner. Some people have drilled a hole in the back end and tapped then inserted a LONG FULLY THREADED BOLT with a lock nut . Then manually adjust it and LOCK the bolt in its place. Yours looks like it just has a bolt in it, Where's the adjustment? I would suggest you search EBay for "KZ1300 tensioner" and you should find an APE tensioner for around $45 U.S. I prefer the manual one over the modified ZXR 1100 one. (to each his own)

Checking the valve clearance- If the cam lobe is pointed up then the base circle of the lobe is sitting over the valve bucket shim. At that point you can check the clearances with feeler gauges. I just prefer turning the crank over until I have the cam where I want it and check the clearance. The manual tell you to align the crank at 3 different points and then you can check a number of clearances at each point. I just prefer putting the cam where I want it and checking. I think it's easier.

Hope this helps, (sorry to see the nylon gear in bad shape)

KB