Brought my '06 ZX14 home this past January, haven't driven it an inch. Gaw I love upstate - central - NY.

On a whim I emailed the PO and asked him when the valves where checked last. Bike's got almost 22k on it. He got back to me. Never. D'oh! So I guess it isn't too bad that I won't be riding it for another month or so. Give me time to break it open (hopefully not literally) and explore under the hood. At least the shims are the same & in the same range of sizes as my ZRX, won't have to go scrounging for new ones.

Been studying any & all valve clearance posts here, any pointers would be great. Takes me about an 1.5 hrs to do the ZRX. I'm sure it'l be substantially long for the '14.

I look and think it may be easier to drop the motor and do the valves than trying to do it in the frame.

Naw, it's ok in the frame. I just did mine last month. valves are valves, you've done one... just double check or in my case quadruple check your measurements and everything will be fine. I had a problem converting evidently. But it's all good now.

Well so far so good. Only took 1.5 hrs to get the plastic off. then another 1.25 hrs to get the valve cover off.

Anyone know WHY IN GOD'S NAME there's that little sheet metal "L" bolted between the reed covers and the frame!?!?!?!???? Allen wrench on the reed bolts, 1/6 turn, repeat like forever. I can't see ANY good reason to put that thing back in. Got some block off plates ordered for the re-assembley.

After almost 22k these are my measurements, book calls for Exhaust .0087 - .0106, Intake .0059 - .0079.

Bike: 2006 ZX14-------Cylinder #1---Cylinder #2---Cylinder #3---Cylinder #4
Date: 2011-03-06
Mileage: 21,648-------Left--Right---Left--Right---Left--Right---Left--Right

Exhaust Gap Before:--0.009--0.009--0.009--0.009--0.009--0.009--0.009--0.009

Intake Gap Before:---0.005--0.006--0.006--0.007--0.006--0.007--0.006--0.005

2 valves are tight, and all but 2 others are on the cusp. Thinking while the cams are out might as well go down a shim in those. Thoughts?

Well, this is a royal PIA trying to post a graph. Any way of including a pic? Got one here: http://s149.photobucket.com/albums/s77/jbozrex/ZX14/?action=view¤t=ZXValveClearences.gif

Ah, there we go.

* Last updated by: JBoz on 3/6/2011 @ 11:56 AM *

Make zero shim change on the exhaust.
Change all 5's and 7's down to match 6 across the board like the ex. 9's across the board, make the intakes the same number.

Too Tight:
1. No to low compression.
2. Too short a stay on the valve seat ~ becomes hot.
3. Valve begins to cook and crack or burns part of the 45° face away.

Too Loose:
1. Short is the flow.
2. Carbon is the build.
3. Too cool to burn off carbon ~ becomes a fuel sponge and hangs in the craters or the building structure of the carbon.

* Last updated by: Hub on 3/7/2011 @ 11:16 AM *

Hey Hub, you obviously know your stuff, I'm a Techical field manager for Toyota (yeah cars not bikes, but the principles are constant) and have never questioned your logic, just curious as to why you use your own language?
Intend to offend I do not, just my curious cat looking for adventure

Hey Hub, you obviously know your stuff,

I'm a Technical field manager for Toyota (yeah cars not bikes, but the principles are constant) and have never questioned your logic...

...just curious as to why you use your own language?
Intend to offend I do not, just my curious cat looking for adventure

If you and I talked, we could technically forgo the other crap I bang out i.e., hub-rubbish. But most are not up to our level. They know little things like the little things I know about fuel injection. Rather than sit in a class being bored falling asleep, I try to write the logic so silly, it makes sense you can't be fooled getting written up for the Toyota problem.

Especially the ladies. Figure they see me dick slapping everyone in sight, they know someone screwed up the logic or the tech, or it's rain on year parade here it comes!

* Last updated by: Hub on 3/7/2011 @ 1:18 PM *

Makes perfect sense Hub, thanks for taking the time to explain. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.

If I want a long lasting, shred the rear tire off, beat everyone heading to the meet, I'd meet factory spec on the [say nothing] tight side. So if spec says; Make the swedge pin between .002" and .007" in clearance and you'll be fine.

If I want a long lasting swedge pin, I'd be installing the .002" clearance, not in the middle like 4 or .005" inch numbers. No, I'd be diving in the dangerous you do not break that swedge in real carefully so it's near .003."

See where if I moved to .005"; I would have .002" before I am out of spec. If I began at .002", now how long would I last like 3-4-5-6-Breakout, right? If am at mid-spec, do the math says 5-6-Breakout the tools and new swedge and pin is pin.

If I stuck my dick in a way-back-machine, I could shewing my dick over my shoulders say hello ladies to my new frien.

A novice knows very little about bikes, admits it and has a lot of good questions like Rook [back in the day]. Now, he's more off and running. See how obnoxious I can made my posts? This one is more technical, because it shows how you can make something last long if the engineering calls the clearances. And I have no clue if they could figure out about that way-back-machine is it flops on your back after you turn the machine off.

Am I reading you right that you're advising to go tighter with shims rather than middle? I was under the impression it was better for longer service intervals to go on the looser side since valve systems tend to tighten over time. Or maybe I just misinterpreted what you said which is very possible with this damn sinus influction I've got goin on. :)

No, I meant, the factory says 'stay in the middle so you do not burn or build carbon.'

If I go tight, It is back to not having the better heat balance being in the middle. Yes, I tighten valves for speed.

Think of it like this. Use the exhaust valve:

1. If I am tight ~ I open the valve sooner and lost power being that the pressure was diminishing as it was. But to break that bubble sooner, that tight valve comes around to open the limited stroke open sooner.

2. If I am loose ~ I stay closed longer on the exhaust side and can take advantage of the push of that hot bubble before the valve opens. Oh, but then I am lagging waiting for more exhaust to escape, but then on the other side of the exhaust opening, It looses degrees of opening to expel the spent sooner.

3. If I remain factory middle number(s), I both have a clean valve, a correct valve opening for max performance. So no, I do not want to be tight or loose. I want the middle number. I could race with tight numbers, gain a few mph, but that is for that day's race and not some go on the street now with a [somewhat] excessively tight valve.

OK - thanks for all the info! this tight/loose range within spec is what's bugging me a bit, Hub. Wouldn't you want the clearance to be towards the higher end so that as the valves seat farther it stays in spec longer?

Most of those exhaust valves read .009" which is just within spec of .0087 of being too tight. If I bump up 1 shim size, .05mm or 0.00196850" that'd give me a gap of .0109 or so. Of course those thousandth's of an inch are impossible to measure with a hundredth's feeler gauges. so that gap I'm getting is somewhere between .009 and .010. Just working this around in my haid here. So, yeah, if I bump those up 1 size they'll most likely be over spec.

Wow. just double checked the manual & yep, the specs are .22-.27mm (.0087-.0106") exhaust and .15-.20 (.0059-.0079"). That covers just one shim size, .05mm!

So, yeah, best leave the exhaust alone & try to get the intakes to .006 like The Man said. It take a while to get thru the thick skull.

Just double checked my ZRX clearance specs & sure enough they're a little more forgiving in range (a whopping .06m instead of .05!) but they're a tighter range. .18-.24mm and .13-.19mm. Huh. Different engine, I know. I'm happy they're the same shim diameter & range for sure.

Still working up the nerve to pop that intake cam out. It's still sitting there under a clean rag, wondering what it did wrong, waiting for me. :)

Well, first thing is to remove the tensioner. Reset it and lay it off to the side. Now, here is where we will get a few, "oh, it's just a bike/throwaway, screw the tooth timing."

As that cam sits there, the tensioner is out. You already found TDC where the timing marks are for both cams. I'm so rusty, I think I would run the exhaust past it's timing mark. Then, fist the center of the chain so I can take the slack out of the slipper.

If I did it right, this would push the exhaust back to it's timing mark. I now remove the intake's cam caps; roll the intake on it's chain [w/out] slipping a gear to tooth. This exposes the shim buckets. If I just want to forgo that kind of slow roll, you can mark your cam to tooth so you both re-time the chain to the cam sprocket(s) and then time the intake back to it's timing mark.

Then push the slipper in as I move the crank a little to take up the slack. Cam caps are on so the cam can move and now be remeasured one more time. And you know the go-no-go with the feelers. You do not force that 10 in. You should slide the 9 in and the 10 hangs the moment you bend that blade just a touch. If that 9 buckles at the feeler, you are under .009" and close to 8 or too tight.

I think the more you can slip the 9 in loose and the 10 is a no-go, you are a thick 9. And I think it is a combo of the seat bedding into the head, the seat losing or having that 45° angle pounded out fatter. If we look at the valve stem side, we mushroom that, we are loose in the shim setting.

You time out of a gear, it makes a new wear pattern = New noise. Time your chains to sprockets. I do not have a high-spot in my chain after 3 tire changes. I've timed my rear chain each time on assembly. Think about it.