I bought a 74 Z1 about 2 years ago in San Antonio. Riding it back from San Antonio I noticed quite a bit of vibration. It’s like a 2.5hr. ride my hands kept going numb. I was thinking maybe the tires were so outta balance was the problem, of course it wasn’t. LOL I knew when I bought it I would be doing at least a top end job within a couple years. About 6 months ago the bike developed a whine not when it was cold but after getting on it abit. I had to build a workshop to rebuild the bike, was keeping it in my dinning room have no garage. That took a couple months and the last couple months I’ve done the top end job. Now some history on the bike: Welded Crank,lock-up clutch,.010 over stock cam's, bored sleeved 76mm pistons, total seal custom rings,29mm smooth bores jetted, Head is ported, HD valve springs,dyna coils and ignition,oil cooler,custom paint job w/14K gold leaf flames. Oh I found the vibration whom ever replaced the rings put a .039 ring in the top of the piston but the groove was a .047. I also found the idlers mainly the top in bad shape. The guide was broken but I found a little of it sticking out and got a pair of long hemostats and removed it. The top was there with an allen wrench screw and the bottom was still there. I cleaned the oil pan, screen and the oil is now clear of all the glitter. The chain had been riding right beside the broken guide just adding glitter to the oil. I replaced the guide and the allen screw with the pan head screw it should have. I lapped the valves replaced the seals and reshimmed to get .15mm. The bike started right up on the 2nd kick. Wonderful sounds strong but there’s still something wrong. All the 650’s and 1000’s I had done top end jobs on were all stock. I didn’t realize that with all those larger parts and HD valve springs the cam chain that is like a bicycle chain maybe worn so bad that it may need replacing. I think I may have lost the cam guide again. In hind sight removing the engine and flipping it over and splitting the cases would have only meant a few more hours. Does anyone know how many miles a stock cam chain will last with a 1200cc big bore kit installed on a 1974 Z1? With the aftermarket cam’s and HD springs? I’ve order a new chain and a chain splitter so I’m going to replace it and I will look to see if the guide is still there. Or I maybe I'll be removing the head as well, to replace the guide. Does anyone know how reliable the master link and Tsubaki cam chain perform if installed perfectly. Because the way I ride there has to be no chance the master link will fail! Thx in advance for your comments and advise! Oh and I adjusted the manual tensioner before my first ride I got to about 70 when I felt a loss of power,I stopped,it stalled. It did restart and got me home just fine and the tensioner had more slack. I readjusted it but I think it's at the point of maximum stretch. update:I replaced all the rubber and the top idler and all the dampers. The idea of a master link on my cam chain is all new to me. If I'm not happy with the result from the splitting and reriveting I won't run it.
south texas
Hmmmmm....I`ve had/drag raced/street ridden KZ`s most of my adult life...I know them backwards and forwards and would NEVER put a master link on a cam chain....I know it`s the easy way out....But to answer you question, there`s know telling how long it would last because theres nothing to go buy....Not anyone I know can answer it either.....But if that clip flings off there will be a mess to fix.....
That kit you have is a great one to put in a Z bike....REALLY wakes them up....The manual cam tenshioner is very tricky to get adjusted correctly.....Too loose and it will make all kinds of noise and too tight it`ll wear out the rollers and guids and possibly break them which it what you are doing I feel......I would just tear the motor down and check everything out very close....You have too many good parts in there to mess around with a $25 cam chain.....I have a complete MK2 bottom end if you want to go bullet proof.....
Keep us informed....
The .015 is the clearance for??? valve lash??? And what cam make is .010 over, I don`t get that one....The end of the cam should have some markings there.....
That kit you have is a great one to put in a Z bike....REALLY wakes them up....The manual cam tenshioner is very tricky to get adjusted correctly.....Too loose and it will make all kinds of noise and too tight it`ll wear out the rollers and guids and possibly break them which it what you are doing I feel......I would just tear the motor down and check everything out very close....You have too many good parts in there to mess around with a $25 cam chain.....I have a complete MK2 bottom end if you want to go bullet proof.....
Keep us informed....
The .015 is the clearance for??? valve lash??? And what cam make is .010 over, I don`t get that one....The end of the cam should have some markings there.....
Your cam chain is like your drive chain. If you do not match tooth for link on the reassembly, you now create another pattern. It may high spot and someone set the chain on the lose side.
It comes around on the high spot and digs in the slipper then shaves material off. If the original was removed via, timed to each other, you have less of a chance of starting a new wear pattern if you timed your 3 points:
1. Cam to intake sprocket.
2. Cam to exhaust sprocket.
3. Crank sprocket to chain link.
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It comes around on the high spot and digs in the slipper then shaves material off. If the original was removed via, timed to each other, you have less of a chance of starting a new wear pattern if you timed your 3 points:
1. Cam to intake sprocket.
2. Cam to exhaust sprocket.
3. Crank sprocket to chain link.
I'll let everyone know soon!
Thx holeshot and hubz14 for the replies. I corrected the post to reflect .15mm valve clearance and the .010 over stock cams. The new cam chain will arrive today and I will replace it with the riveting tool from Z1enterprises (Chain Rivet & Breaker Tool MP08-0058). I’ll let everyone know how well that works out. If I’m not happy with the results I will buy another and split the cases. My question was if anyone had used this method and is it reliable? As for matching the chain back to the cam sprockets that is NA. As for the timing marks and the 28 pins I always put the slack in between the cams only way to get the idler in there. I will be taking a look at the front cam guide to see if the slap did any damage to it.
Thx holeshot and hubz14 for the replies. I corrected the post to reflect .15mm valve clearance and the .010 over stock cams. The new cam chain will arrive today and I will replace it with the riveting tool from Z1enterprises (Chain Rivet & Breaker Tool MP08-0058). I’ll let everyone know how well that works out. If I’m not happy with the results I will buy another and split the cases. My question was if anyone had used this method and is it reliable? As for matching the chain back to the cam sprockets that is NA. As for the timing marks and the 28 pins I always put the slack in between the cams only way to get the idler in there. I will be taking a look at the front cam guide to see if the slap did any damage to it.
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