Concours 14 valve clearance/adjustment video #2

[@odyshopody9387]

Literally step by step. Perfect - no excuses now for the rest of us to do the same. I've never trusted when i hear people say the dealer inspected and all the valves checked out ok.

[@MotoRestoFL]

Some may be that, however, I checked these at around 20k and they were barely within then. This check and shim swap I checked my records and they were very close to where they were then. But too close for my comfort. I suspect mine was on the tight side from the factory which isn’t unusual with a (sorta) flat tappet setup. My theory is that they thought they’ll loosen up. I did a GPz top end (‘82) and upon recheck at 350 miles, a couple had gone bigger in clearance. Similar shim under bucket setup. Anyway, thanks for watching and comments.

[@Speedytrip]

Sweet baby jesus, hydraulic lifters like on a 1992 nighthawk would have made a LOT of sense on this bike :) Nice work, what a project!

[@MotoRestoFL]

This one's a major pain in the ass to do, for sure. Many folks never do it, and I mean never-ever do it and they run just fine. So who knows. I'm not sure Kawasaki stuck that every 16 or 17k miles deal into the service recommendations to aid US dealers in getting money for service, since the euro version is 25k when converted from kilometers. In other words, it might be all bullsh#t in the end.

[@kerrywood8979]

Man I love my Connie 14 but it is a PITA to work on. It's even worse than my 2010 Goldwing. Sure makes me appreciate the simplicity of my old Yamahas from the 70s.

[@MotoRestoFL]

They sure stuff sh*t in there, that's for sure.

[@floridamusings5244]

Great video, I don’t have the garage, tools or skill set. But the information is great so I understand the pricing…anyone in Miami that knows of a reputable shop / private mechanic?! The shop I took her for a general check and rear break /oil change was $300. Priced ok,so I may use them, he was going to send me an estimate.

[@MotoRestoFL]

Seriously? I did my own from day one. $300 bucks is crazy.

[@floridamusings5244]

@@MotoRestoFL glad you have that skill set….! No garage and my tools are limited. But maybe I will get more knowledge and confidence.

[@richardstoffel6585]

I want to do this, but haven’t done it before I’m kinda like 😬. Lot of shops I don’t really trust either. 🤔 I might try to tackle with your vid very informative

[@MotoRestoFL]

Thanks. The three biggest take-aways: 1. methodically bag, tag and label (wires/plugs). 2. It's easy to drop knock pins or stuff into the engine from the top. Have a magnet handy to aid in removal of sensitive, small parts like when pulling the cam caps up and a locating pin comes with, flies off and dings around under the cams, almost falling down into the engine. 3. Follow service data. It's a little screwy with this bike because it references other sections like, "remove head cover (see yada yada) and remove blah blah, see another section of the manual. Print 'em all out and organize. Once you do it the first time, you'll be like, nah, that wasn't that bad. cheers.

[@DEXTERSONEMANBAND]

This is such a pain …. I admire you…. Watching this mess of wires, tubes etc I wanna run and sell the damn thing right away!!! Mine is 2021, purchased in 2022, only 6k miles so far but watching this scares me….

[@sgnt9337]

I felt same way.... 8500 miles at this point :(

[@Team-fabulous]

Did mine last year. A big job. 27500 miles and every shim was tight. I measured the replacement shims as close to the slack tolerance as possible, I even had my wet stone handy incase I needed a nym off one. I found the camshaft position sensors can be difficult to remove and easily broken if not careful. I see youve a Shoodeben sticker. I got Steve's mountain runner flash and it made a big difference to the bike..

[@MotoRestoFL]

Interesting idea... I need to order a set of precision ground stones from 26acremaker.com (but they're very expensive). I had not thought about stoning shims. I know the material states to never grind them, but I figured that was because they must be case hardened. I replaced the O-ring in the cam sensor several years ago, the exhaust sensor, which typically leaks. I hadn't had any problems with the intake side sensor coming out. I have the MR flash also. Started off a number of years ago with the EVO flash, then went up there for an update when he was still a bit closer to me (1.25 hours then, now he's several hours away) and he installed a Beta of what is now the full MR flash. Later, I shipped the ECU to him for the full Monty. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@Team-fabulous]

@@MotoRestoFL I roadraced back in the day and when doing engine work I was obsessed with valve clearances with performance camshafts looking for the best dwell and duration, I think I wore off my finger prints once grinding shims🤣🤣🤣. I live in Northern Ireland and sent my ecu to Steve in florida, it was back in a week and I'm very happy with it. Those are great videos you have up. It's a daunting job but once you get stuck into it, it becomes quite enjoyable I found but thank god iv another 25000 miles before it needs done again..

[@MotoRestoFL]

@@Team-fabulous amen. Me too.

[@richardstoffel6585]

Can I bring my Connie to you? Lol

[@redraiderrider3289]

Ramble ramble....."service data"...... Ramble ramble...... "service data".... Rinse, repeat. My god.

[@MotoRestoFL]

It’s a tutorial series not TickTock. The operations are based upon the exact procedure in the service manual. Because on this machine doing this service, following the instructions is imperative. You’re more than welcome to put up your own video and I’ll highlight your work on my channel. Send me the link and I’ll do that.

[@stoundingresults]

No wonder these concours are moderate priced in the used market. Too much hassle adjusting valves.

[@MotoRestoFL]

Any shim engine is a royal PITA because unlike the old stuff it’s shim under bucket which must include cam removal to change. Shim under the cam atop the buckets can be changed with the cam installed using the correct tool. But again, our modern machines don’t have that option. Stem and nut adjustable is so much easier.

[@johnrowley4993]

My GTR (UK) had done just over 50k miles. Thanks so much for this series of videos, they’re a great help. As part of a major service I took the radiator off and it makes a lot of difference affording more room to work Thanks once again

[@MotoRestoFL]

@@johnrowley4993 That's not a bad idea, John. If I ever do another one, I'll probably do that as well. Plus, you can get at that one cam sensor to change out the O-Ring with a slightly oversized one. The place here in the colonies I get my soft parts is Murph's Kits and he includes the slightly oversize O-Rings for both cam sensors in his valve clearance package but they can be bought individually. In case you were unaware, the general consensus is that these O-rings leak because they're just a bit too small. I did my exhaust sensor the one on the radiator side years ago, with the rad in situ, it sucked. Cheers.

[@ShawnKitchen]

It appears that ultimately, it would be easier to remove the engine entirely and do all of the checks and maintenance on a stand. Yes, more work overall, but in the end much easier access.