https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_UyK8y5a8OdxYLE8g0sduBOc4eIFI0kI/view?usp=sharing
COG Chalkdust DIY: https://concours.org/Tech-Pages well worth the cost of joining. You get gems like this:Valve Adjustment Tips
I’ve adjusted the valves on several C14’s now, and on just about every one, the valves on the right side, closest to the cam chain seem tighter than the rest. On other brand motorcycles they usually tell you to loosen the cam chain tensioner before checking the valve clearances, but I haven’t found any reference to do that in the manual for the C14. I decided to go ahead and loosen the cam chain tensioner and recheck the them. When I did, it made just enough of a difference that it allowed a .006 inch feeler gauge to slip under the camshaft for the #4 intake valve, when previously it wouldn’t fit (no-go). The reason this happens is because there is some clearance between the camshafts and the camshaft bearings that is normally filled with oil when the engine is running. When the engine is off and there is no oil pressure, the tensioner pulls on the cam chain, and thus draws the ends of the camshafts down by about a thousandth of an inch so that they contact the bearing, and this makes the clearance on the end valves appear to be tight. So my advice would be next time you do a valve check, remove the cam chain tensioner before you check the intake and exhaust valves on the #4 cylinder. Just be sure to reset the tensioner and reinstall it before you hand rotate the engine to do the other valves, so that the chain doesn’t slip on the lower sprocket when you turn the engine.
Another source of oil leaks in the left forward side of the head is the exhaust cam position sensor. This sensor is installed in the front side of the head and secured with a 10mm bolt. The sensor has a small O ring installed on it that is intended to prevent oil from leaking out of the head. The problem is when the bike is shut off, oil pools in the front left corner of the head when on the side stand, so this sensor as well as the valve cover gasket in this area is totally submerged in oil for long periods of time. If there is even the tiniest fault or gap in either the valve cover gasket or cam position sensor, oil will find a way to migrate through it. What Kawasaki should have done is provide an oil drain back hole in the front side of the head so that oil wouldn’t pool in this location when the engine is shut off. The O ring on the exhaust cam sensor also appears to be a bit undersized, and doesn’t always provide a tight enough fit to prevent oil leaks. And since this sensor is right under the left forward side of the valve cover gasket, it can sometimes make it hard to tell if the leak is coming from the gasket or the sensor. The best way to determine where a leak is coming from is to first clean the entire area, and then see if you can observe with a bright light where the leak returns from. Another old trick is to clean up any existing oil and then spray some talcum powder around the suspect area, and then look for traces of the leak in the powder.
Folks on the COG forum have discussed the cam sensor O ring topic at length, and after some measurements of the O ring were taken, a suitable substitute for it has been located that will provide a better fit than the original. I located a place on-line that sells this size O ring for 93 cents each. If you go to http://www.theoringstore.com and search for V2.40X016.3 it should bring up a page with an O ring in the proper size. The dimensions of the O ring are 2.4mm by 16.3mm and it is made of Viton which is good to about 400 degrees F. Another source located is through McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com) and their part number is 9263K686. The only downside to purchasing them from McMaster-Carr is you have to buy them in packs of 20 for $12, so you might want to share a few with any other owners you meet at COG rallies if you order a pack from them.
The first time you remove the plastic side panels to do any maintenance on your C14, I would highly suggest taking a few digital photos that clearly show the position and routing of all the wire harnesses around the engine bay and the side fairing stays and engine braces. While there are some reference drawings in the service manual that will help, good photos will be much more useful when it comes time to put everything back together. This is especially true when doing a valve adjustment, since you have to remove the right and left side fairing stays as well as move multiple wire harnesses and the rubber engine blanket out of your way to access the valve cover. Having photos that shows how it was all arranged (from several angles) before it was taken apart will be a big help. This will help insure you don’t later have problems with harness chaffing, and everything is back together the way it came from the factory.
Valve cover leaks / Exhaust Camshaft sensor O ring
Many owners have reported oil leaks around the left side of the valve cover when the bike is left parked overnight or longer on the side stand. The oil leak is usually not enough to be seen on the ground and is only noticed after the bike is started, when the heat from the headers causes any oil that got onto the pipes to smoke. Just a few drops of oil is all it takes to cause enough smoke to be noticed on startup. Normally once the bike warms up a bit, the smoke clears and the problem doesn’t return until the bike is parked again.
The cause of this small oil leak can come from a couple of sources. The first one is obvious, and the valve cover gasket itself can be to blame. However, getting to and replacing the valve cover on this bike is more than just a small undertaking, and sometimes the gasket itself is not the real cause of the leak. Also worth noting is that the valve cover design uses shouldered bolts that butt up against bosses in the head when tightened, thus the actual amount of pressure the bolts can put on the valve cover to squeeze the gasket is a fixed amount, and over tightening the bolt will only result in pulling the soft aluminum threads out of the head. The torque spec on the valve cover bolts is only 87 in/lbs or about 7.2 ft/lbs. Owners would be wise to resist the temptation to try to fix this leak by attempting to over-tighten the bolts. Closer inspection will reveal that there is a rubber washer, (covered with a metal hat) under the head of each valve cover bolt. The purpose of this washer is to insure that the amount of pressure put on valve cover gasket is uniform when the bolts are tightened, and it also serves to add pressure to the valve cover gasket by taking up space between the bolt head and valve cover, thus causing more downward pressure to be exerted on the gasket. Over time, these rubber washers can become deformed, and this will reduce the amount of pressure put on the gasket. Some owners have suggested putting small “shim” type washers under the heads of each bolt to increase the pressure, and while this may work, if the washer thickness is not very carefully selected, it may put too much pressure on the valve cover gasket and deform it and ruin it over time. A better solution would be to simply purchase new rubber washers at a cost of under $4 each (P/N 92055-0187 ). There are a total of 6 of these washers needed so total cost to replace them all would be around $25. A new valve cover is about $40, and this could also be replaced if desired, but unless the valve cover gasket is noticeably deformed or damaged, it should be reusable without issue.
Folks on the COG forum have discussed the cam sensor O ring topic at length, and after some measurements of the O ring were taken, a suitable substitute for it has been located that will provide a better fit than the original. I located a place on-line that sells this size O ring for 93 cents each. If you go to http://www.theoringstore.com and search for V2.40X016.3 it should bring up a page with an O ring in the proper size. The dimensions of the O ring are 2.4mm by 16.3mm and it is made of Viton which is good to about 400 degrees F. Another source located is through McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com) and their part number is 9263K686. The only downside to purchasing them from McMaster-Carr is you have to buy them in packs of 20 for $12, so you might want to share a few with any other owners you meet at COG rallies if you order a pack from them.You will have to remove the right side plastic to access the bolt to remove the exhaust cam sensor, and access in this area is tight. Removing the radiator mounting bolts and pushing the radiator forward will give you better access. You might also want to tighten the exhaust header nuts while you are in there. When installing the sensor with this new
O ring on it, you will probably notice that it can be a bit difficult to get the sensor back in and this is due to compression required on the larger O ring. Be careful that you don’t cut or nick the O ring on the sharp machined surface of the head when installing it. You may need to lubricate the O ring some to get the sensor in, and a little persistence and force will probably be needed. Just be patient and persistent and you should be able to get it to fit, and once you do, it should no longer leak and you shouldn’t have to ever mess with it again for the life of the bike. It’s also worth mentioning that the intake cam position sensor uses this same O ring, but due to its top mounted position on the valve cover, it does not seem to have a problem with leaking.
