Actually had time to get some plastic off today. Rook, I glanced through your tutorials. Thank you!! At first glance this may not be as bad as I thought. What I was wondering is, what else should I replace while I have her opened up. Obviously plugs and valve cover gasket are getting replaced. Should I go with an OEM gasket? What brand/type sealant should I use on it. Does the crank sensor cover need a sealant? If I can't use auto feeler gauges, what gauges should I use? Get them from a bike shop? Any other suggestions? What brand shim kit should I get? I go with the side of caution usually so if something needs checked and isn't too expensive I will probably just replace it.

What I was wondering is, what else should I replace while I have her opened up.

You might as well change plugs. I did that with the valve cover on but the plugs are easy to reach with it off. Just take care not to drop any dirt that might have accumulated in the top of the motor. I doubt there will be any except for carbon. Mine were not rusted at all.

I have never heard of anything but OEM gaskets for the head cover. You can't go wrong sticking with that. The main gasket was updated and apparently, it is better. My replacement gasket has not leaked.

Replace the spark plug well gaskets. Might as well, they are inexpensive. Cheap insurance.

Replace the ring-os on top of the cover. Those were also updated.

You can replace the bolts if you want. I do not recall if the SM says to do so but I think it is standard procedure to replace all bolts that have been torqued.

I would use the OEM specced ThreeBond sealant mentioned in the tutorial but I must admit, I have 5 or 6 varieties of ThreeBond for various parts and they all seem to be the same stuff except for color. Hub suggested an inexpensive silicone engine sealant that is linked in the valve cover tutorial. It probably would work fine. I would trust the ThreeBond products are top notch but the cheaper ones could be just as good. My only concern would be how well other engine sealants might remain adhered. Whatever might get squeezed inside the engine case will hopefully stay stuck there until the next time the gasket is removed. The OEM sealants do seem to stay stuck where they dried but they are not hard to remove when you want. Do not use ordinary silicone sealant for showers or countertops. That would be a nightmare to remove when the time comes.

Does the crank sensor cover need a sealant?

That's in the crank sensor cover tutorial. You can replace the O-ring on the cover but I reused mine a few times now. You are supposed to apply a specced sealant to the seem in the engine cases where the cover adjoins and on the sensor wire grommet. I think I recall being told this is not really necessary. I'm sure you could use the same ThreeBond specced for the valve cover. LOL I think they spec a different one for the crankshaft cover. Whatever it is, I used it.

If I can't use auto feeler gauges, what gauges should I use? Get them from a bike shop?

There are feeler gauges up the wazoo online. I got my straight tape set online. Let me know if you need to know the range of tape thicknesses. I think that's in the tutorial. I could check for you though. That's important. You will need thin tapes. The angled tape set I have came from Advance Auto but a) the range of sizes was on the big side and b) the tapes I could use were only a few. Angled tapes fit in there better straight IMO but the set of straight tapes I got online had a much better range.

What brand shim kit should I get?

I did not get a whole kit but that would save you WEEKS waiting for parts to come from Japan. OEM parts seem to be horribly slow in recent months. I used Hotcams shims. They work great but there is a good chance you will need to order other shims after you measure them and find they are off by a few 100ths of an inch. I imagine if you bought a Hotcams kit, you would have what you need and not need to reorder. I have heard of some brand other than Hotcams recommended but I don't recall what they were called. OEM shims are exactly as marked. They are always perfect. I used these for the clearances that required the smallest adjustments. Hotcams were not close enough. I was being extremely precise in my adjustments though---going for minimum specced clearance, some needed just a very small adjustment.

I go with the side of caution usually so if something needs checked and isn't too expensive I will probably just replace it.

I'm the same way. Anything that might be replaced or is suggested by the SM will be in the tutorals. Don't hesitate to ask though.

I'm in the process of updating all the tutorial pics that pertain to valve clearance ajustment. There are quit a few that link off of others but I'm hitting them all as quick as I can.

* Last updated by: Rook on 1/7/2018 @ 8:45 AM *

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I think the reed valve covers on the PAIR have a rubber gaskets in the head cover. All that stuff was stuck in there with carbon. The SM does not suggest replacing any gaskets when the PAIR is removed as far as I can recall. I have had the covers off twice and not replaced those square gaskets....they must come out though.

I would get blockoff plates if you want to eliminate your PAIR. ...if you can do that on the GEN2. You must be able to. You could not tune with the PAIR functioning. I would ditch it. The rubber heat shield, too. And the heat shield wings if the Gen2 has that. You might consider permanently removing the LH side subframe too. There, you lost three pounds!

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It may be that the Gen2 PAIR is blocked for tuning but must remain on the bike to avoid a code. You'd have to check that one.

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What do you think of this kit? https://www.motosport.com/hotcams-valve-shim-kit?mmy=kawasaki%3Bzx14%3B2011&mmy_source=pdp

I was looking around at bike bandit. It looked like I would have to buy individual shims except for a couple sizes. At 10.95 per shim that would get expensive really quick. This kit is $90.

I order what I need (and some extras) from Rockymountain ATV

Pro-X valve shims at 1.99 each and also available in 1/2 sizes

Rockymountain ATV/Pro-X

Hotcams thickness is not exactly as marked. If you get a kit, you stand a good chance of coming up with something that will work. I would be inclined to try the ProX instead of Hotcams. Half sizes can be important. I used OEMs when I needed those.

If ProX shims accurate as OEM, those are the ones to go with.

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Thanks guys. I'm gonna go with the pro x kit. I might wait til I check the clearances before I buy them but at 26k I'm guessing I have some that are out. I'm having trouble finding an oem valve cover gasket but I'll figure it out.

I'm having trouble finding an oem valve cover gasket but I'll figure it out.

If you are finding items out of stock, that probably means they will take about a month to be delivered. This was my experience last year and I have heard others say the same about OEM parts in the last few years. Check with the supplier. There have to be head cover gaskets available but they may have to come from Japan.

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I have the HottShims kit. Recall that i needed multiple same size Shimms and the kit only has 3-4 each size. So i ordered about 8-10 from Kawi.

Dennis Kirk sells shims in packets of 3 for a lot less jack than the dealer. Although I catalog and reuse the shims that get taken out, some sizes are more useful than others and I regularly replenish those with DK's offerings.

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When I adjusted my valves, if I remember correctly something like 12 of them needed adjusting but I only had to buy 4 as I just had to take the shim out of 1 spot, put in another spot take that shim and use it somewhere else, etc.

I bought the hot cams kit figuring the next time I do valves I didn't want to have to wait for the shims to be ordered in however I have yet to open the kit...

OK I got it done. They were in spec. I took my time and measured each one several times. Engine was clean!! Didn't see any scoring or any wear. Plugs looked fine. Can I assume now that they aren't going to move after 32k miles? I'll post some pics when I can. Thanks for the help guys. Now to put the rest of the jigsaw puzzle back together.

I would assume they will stay for a long time. I guess I'd check agin in 20 k miles or so...since you have at least 26k now. If it was just at 8000 or so, I'd say go in there again 15000 miles.

* Last updated by: Rook on 6/12/2018 @ 11:03 PM *

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Getting her out today for the first ride of the year! Very late! I'm usually out by late April but I just had too much going on and I will actually have to work later this evening. Hats off to Rook and thanks to everyone for all the good info. This forum has been my go-to for everything. I would not have been able to do most of what I've done without it. I've learned so much and have been able to keep my bike in great shape, not to mention the ton of money I've saved thanks to everyone here. This forum is an incredible knowledge dump! Hopefully someday I'll be able to contribute half as much as I've received. Thanks again! Happy Fathers Day!