How to adjust your valves:  From Guy B. Young II as posted to the COG list.
 

First off you have to get to the valves.  The first thing I am going to
tell you is how to access them - AKA - how to get the valve cover on and off.

The second thing is the way *I* do the valves.

From the BOC:
Written by Rich Reed

  With its shaft drive and electronic ignition, routine maintenance on the
Concours has been reduced to a little more than periodic fluid changes,
tightening of fasteners, and adjustment of controls, all of which are well
within the capability of the average motorcyclist. However, every 10 000 kM
(6 250 miles), the valve clearance needs to be checked. This activity is a
little more involved, so many ZG1000 owners have opted to turn their mount
over to a dealer for a day or two to complete this task. The thought of
actually going inside the engine and messing with the valve train may be a
little intimidating. Plus, gaining access to the valve cover alone looks to
be a Herculean task.
  This is not necessarily so. With a little prior planning, patience and
some know-how, even the most fumble-fingered among us can accomplish a
valve adjustment. The rewards are many: while in there you can inspect,
clean and just get to know your bike. You can save a bundle: most labor
charges for adjusting valves are for just removing the tank and fairing
pieces. And, you'll have the satisfaction of working on your own bike. What
follows was written with the "first timer" in mind, although experienced
hands may gain a tip or two.
   The source of all knowledge on the Concours is the Kawasaki shop manual,
and this article is meant to supplement that information, not to replace
it. Although it is expensive, purchasing the shop manual is highly
recommended. It can turn out to be one of the most valuable accessories you
will purchase for your bike. In addition to your bike's tool kit, you'll
need: 10mm socket, ratchet with long and short extensions, "stubby"
flat-tipped screwdriver, torque wrench calibrated for less than 100 in-lbs
or 10 N-m (you can rent this), a good metric feeler gauge set, a drip pan
(cheap aluminum-foil turkey roaster works real good), hardware bags (or
Zip-Loc style sandwich bags or plastic yogurt cups with lids, etc), a
flashlight, and something to set the gas tank on (piece of old carpet, a
door mat, or an old tire).
   Nice to have but not necessary: 17mm socket for turning the crankshaft,
needle-nose pliers for removing gas line clamps, vacuum cleaner with narrow
extension, shop towels, Armour-All or equivalent, and a 12mm box- end
wrench (easier to use than the tool-kit's open-end).
   You will also need some liquid gasket sealer. The shop manual does not
specify any brands.  Our experience has been only with Kawasaki Bond,
available from dealers, and it is VERY expensive - but it will last longer
than the bike, to be sure. You may need, but won't know until the time
comes, a valve cover gasket and a timing cover gasket. The valve cover
gasket should come off easy and is reusable. It is potluck with the timing
cover gasket.
   Set aside a goodly amount of time to do the job, especially if it is
your first time. It also helps to have a clean, warm, well-lit work area.
And finally, you will need an assistant for about 5 minutes during both
disassembly and assembly. Basically, follow the procedures in the shop
manual. The following information is provided to help make life easier. Do
not remove the upper fairing, only the two lower halves and the belly pan.
Remove the mounting bolts on the left upper fairing mount.  Use the bags
and tape to keep hardware and body pieces together, or re-install screws
and bolts when practical.
   Remove both left and right fairing duct/seal assemblies (the rubber
gizmos mounted to either side of the engine). Note location of the rubber
gas tank pads, then set aside. Before removing spark plug wires and coils,
use the vacuum to clean out sand and gravel sitting on top of the engine.
Once the coils and wires are out of the way, vacuum up any remaining dirt,
including down inside the spark plug holes.
    Remove the breather system as a unit: remove the four (2 ea cover) 10mm
bolts. Do not disconnect any hoses except the skinny little one at the
vacuum switch valve (the metal thingie connecting the three big hoses). Pry
the breather covers loose by lifting up on the hoses, then work the entire
assembly forward, extracting the breather hose out of the airbox. Carefully
remove the reed valves in each breather port. Note position of reeds for
reassembly. Set entire group aside in a secure area.
   To help break the seal of the valve cover to the head, hand-thread one
of the breather cover bolts into the valve cover. You can use this as a pry
point. Wrap a rag around the jaws of a pair of pliers, grasp the bolt, and
pry the cover loose. Once loose, use the flashlight to carefully and
thoroughly inspect the gasket. It either has to stay with the motor, or
come off with the cover.
   The next part is the hardest. Have your assistant hold the left upper
fairing away from the bike about 3/4". Lift up on the valve cover. Imagine
a point about six inches aft of the valve cover. This is your pivot point.
Work the cover to the left and aft, pivoting counter-clockwise around the
imaginary point. Be careful of the gasket. By working carefully and
patiently, the valve cover will end up free of the bike, with the cam chain
(fat) end pointed aft, and the skinny end pointed forward.
    Inspect the cams, rocket arms and valves for any obvious wear or
damage. Also eyeball the cam chain, tensioner and guide. Look in the pools
of oil for metal or dirt. Examine thoroughly the rubber gaskets around the
valve cover and each spark plug hole, and replace any damaged ones.
   Follow the shop manual procedures for checking valve clearance. Use the
box end wrench and the stubby screwdriver for adjustments. For the
beginner, and for some old hands as well, the "Go/No-Go" method is easiest.
Since Kawasaki recommends adjusting to the loose side of the spec, pick a
feeler gauge at or near the upper limit (0.18mm for inlet, 0.23mm for
exhaust) and another one 0.02 - 0.03mm less than that. For a properly
adjusted valve, the smallest gauge will easily fit between the adjusting
screw and the valve stem, while the bigger one won't.
   Once done, reassembly is pretty much the reverse order of the above.
Follow the shop manual's directions for liquid gasket placement. When
installing the valve cover, have your assistant once again hold the fairing
away from the bike, while you rotate it in position around the imaginary
pivot point. Before seating the valve cover, inspect the placement of all
gaskets and knockpins using the flashlight. Torque the cover bolts to 87
in-lbs. This is a "light" torque, ergo the recommendation to use a torque
wrench. Hand tightening usually results in over torqued bolts and damaged
gaskets, or worse, damaged cam journals.
   Before installing, give all hoses and wires a shot of Armour All to keep
them rubbery and happy.  Use a liberal dose of Armour All as a lubricant
when installing the breather hose into the air box.  Before making
electrical connections, inspect the connectors for corrosion, cleaning if
necessary.  Install the right coil (#2 - #3 cylinders) first. Don't forget
the ground wire when installing the left coil.  And don't forget the rubber
pads when installing the tank.
   The job is done. Celebrate with your beverage of choice (don't forget
your assistant). While not particularly a hard job, it is a sizeable, and
important, task. You'll find the more you know about taking care of your
Concours, the more confidence you'll gain in it, and yourself. Comments on
this article, both pro and con, and suggestions for improvement are invited.

===========================================================================

The actual adjustment procedure:

The valve adjustment procedure for the Concours is covered on pages 4-19 &
4-20 of the official Kawasaki GTR1000 Service Manual.  On page 4-19 there
is a very important statement, which reads:

"Measure the valve clearance for the valves whose cam lobe is pointing away
from the rocker arm."

This tells you that when a particular cylinder's valves are ready to be
measured or adjusted, the exhaust cam lobes will be facing the front of the
engine; the intake lobes will be facing the rear of the engine.  When the
lobes are in these positions they will be facing away from the rockers.  At
no time should the clearances be adjusted when the lobes are facing each
other.

With that said, now comes the "confusing" part. There are a couple of
illustrations on page 4-20 of the manual showing the positions of the marks
on the two cam sprockets.  In the first illustration (with the cam marks
facing away from each other), they tell you that the Inlet for 2 & 4, and
the exhaust for 3 & 4 can be adjusted when the #4 piston is at TDC (end of
compression stroke).  They should have been more explicit and told you to
put the crankshaft at the 1&4 TDC timing mark with the cam marks in those
(outward) positions.

With the crank and the cams marks aligned as they show in the top
illustration, it's important to note that both the intakes AND exhaust
valves for #4 can be adjusted now.  Both of these lobes will be facing away
from each other.  They also tell you that intake 2 and exhaust 3 valves can
now be adjusted, which you can do.  You can do these now, but I don't. I'll
get back to that later.

In the bottom illustration (with the cam marks facing towards each other),
they tell you that the Inlet for 1 & 3, and the exhaust for 1 & 2 can be
adjusted when the #1 piston is at TDC (end of compression stroke).  Once
again, they should have been more explicit and told you to rotate the
crankshaft one complete revolution (CCW) and put the 1&4 TDC timing mark
back in alignment with its reference mark.  This will put the cam marks in
the inward position.  Remember, the cams rotate 1/2 the speed of the crank,
e.g., one full revolution of the crank will only turn the cams 1/2 revolution.

Note that both the intakes AND exhaust valves for #1 can now be adjusted
since both of these lobes will be facing away from each other.  They also
tell you that intake 3 and exhaust 2 valves can now be adjusted.

If you follow their procedure by the book (with assist from my notes) and
adjust the valves when they say to do so, you will have done all the
valves, basically with one rotation of the crank (after the initial set up).

The procedure I use takes a little longer but I feel it is worth the extra
steps to make sure all the lobes are in the exact same position when I make
the measurements and adjustment for each cylinder.

Let's go back to their two basic positions of the crank (both rotated to
the 1&4 TDC mark), and the position of the cam marks.  In each one of these
position the cams lobes are away from each other, first #4 (adjust both
intake and exhaust), and after the one rotation of the crank, #1 (again,
both intake and exhaust).  I forget about any adjustment to #2 and #3
valves for the moment.  I simply start off by blindly rotating the crank to
the 1&4TDC mark and look at the lobes.  Either #1 or #4 lobes are going to
be facing away from each other.  I adjust that one first.  I rotate the
crank around once back to the 1&4 TDC mark. The other ones lobes will be
away from each other and I adjust them.  It makes no difference what order
you adjust them in as long as the TDC mark is aligned to its reference and
the lobes are facing away from each other.  I don't pay any attention to
the cam sprocket marks.  The only time you REALLY have to pay attention to
them is when you pull the cams - for whatever reason (cam chain, guide
replacement, etc.)

And guess what, you can do #2 and #3 the exact same way because there is
also a 2&3 TDC mark on the end of the crank.  Try it.  Just (blindly)
rotate the crank to the 2&3 TDC mark.  Look at the lobes on #2 and #3
cylinders.  One of them will be facing away from each other.  Rotate the
crank one revolution and align the 2&3 TDC mark again.  The other
cylinder's lobes will be facing away from each other.  THAT is how I do the
#2 and #3 valves.  Yes, it takes me longer, but I now know that all valves
have been adjusted with their respective lobes in the exact same position.
==========================================================================
 
 
 
 

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