Kawasaki C14 Concours / 1400GTR Valve Adjustment Research Part 2

The last post included online research on getting into the C14 to resolve an oil leak and check the valves. Inline four cylinder engines are a nightmare for valve checks with everything buried deep in the bike between the frame and lots of valves to check. Getting into this has me dreaming of a Moto Guzzi or BMW with sticky outie cylinders that make this sort of regular maintenance easy. On the upside, the C14 only needs the valves checked every 25k or so.

Of course those twin options don't have anything like the performance of the 1400GTR. I had to remind myself that this is a performance machine. I enjoy being on the fastest thing in a hundred kilometers and you have to put some time in on it to keep it purring.

The Concours Owners Group is well worth connecting with if you find yourself with-Concours (I joined and got the t-shirt). You get gems like this from COG's tech pages. Corrections to the shop manual - pretty handy!

First time valve check:

https://forum.concours.org/index.php?threads/first-valve-adjustment.53783/https://forum.concours.org/index.php?threads/first-valve-adjustment.53783/

"The job is not difficult but is tedious and no short cuts are advised." - indeed.

Shims: https://fortnine.ca/en/pro-x-valve-shim-refill about $15 each (!)

 9.48mm diameter shims

Can't buy them at the dealer which leads many people to wonder how the dealer does valve adjustments (or if they just say they do) when a job like this can cost well over a grand with 8+ hours in it.

Valve Clearance Check Video #1 from Moto-Resto Machine & Repair on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RvQjEvCSGvI?si=L56j3YAc2c4cIye7

Keep the slider handy to dodge around how his dog is doing or when he's going to get groceries and you get the whole process.

The series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvQjEvCSGvI&list=PL1oMvckfLIJGzkYHWXiDk8kN_IOBSI3jT

Chattier and off topic more than I like in a video, but he does get into the thing. Valve cover comes out the right side after removing a f**ton of bits and pieces. Bag 'em and tag 'em indeed! Looks like the radiator and fuel tank don't go anywhere (you access the top of the engine from the sides).

Lots of people saying it's time consuming but not difficult. Pace yourself and stay organized seems to be the most common advice.

• do this in stages
• don't rush
• take notes and many photos so you have an outside chance of getting it back together again
• have a big sheet to put bits on
• have ziplocks and a marker handy - bag 'em and tag 'em
• first time is likely 10+ hours, second time is half that, but after the first one they seldom go out again (!)

I'm OK if this is the only time I ever do this on a C14. 😊

Other Concours 14 Engine Technical details:

Items ZG1400CA ∼ CD, ZG1400DA

Ignition Timing 10° BTDC @1 100 r/min (rpm)

Spark Plug NGK CR9EIA-9

Cylinder Numbering Method Left to right, 1-2-3-4

Firing Order 1-2-4-3

Valve Timing:

Inlet:

Open 17° (BTDC)

Close 75° (ABDC)

Duration 272°

Exhaust:

Open 52° (BBDC)

Close 22° (ATDC)

Duration 254°

Lubrication System Forced lubrication (wet sump with cooler)

Engine Oil:

Type API SG, SH, SJ, SL, or SM with JASO MA, MA1 or MA2

Viscosity SAE10W-40

Capacity 4.7 L (5.0 US qt)

Adjustment Shims

Thickness     Part Number    Mark

1.750             92180-1212    –25

1.775             92180-0221    –23

1.800             92180-1211     –20

1.825             92180-0222 –18

1.850             92180-1210 –15

1.875             92180-0223 –13

1.900             92180-1209 –10

1.925             92180-0224 –8

1.950             92180-1208 –5

1.975             92180-0225 –3

2.000             92025-1870 0

2.025             92180-0209 3

2.050             92025-1871 5

2.075             92180-0210 8

2.100             92025-1872 10

2.125             92180-0211 13

2.150 92025-1873 15

2.175 92180-0212 18

2.200 92025-1874 20

2.225 92180-0213 23

2.250 92025-1875 25

2.275 92180-0214 28

2.300 92025-1876 30

2.325 92025-0215 33

2.350 92025-1877 35

2.375 92025-1058 38

2.400 92025-1878 40

2.425 92025-1982 43

2.450 92025-1879 45

2.475 92025-1983 48

2.500 92025-1880 50

2.525 92025-1984 53

2.550 92025-1881 55

2.575 92025-1985 58

2.600 92025-1882 60

2.625 92180-1059 63

2.650 92025-1883 65

2.675 92180-1194 68

2.700 92025-1884 70

2.725 92180-1195 73

2.750 92025-1885 75

NOTE  There are two kinds of marks [A] [B] in the shim.

Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Finished! (finally)

 It took the better part of four months over the winter thanks to lots of work travel stretching things out, but the C14 is back together again and runs like a top. The engine doesn't feel as tight, which makes sense as all the valve shims needed were to resolve the overly tight valves.

The Bay of Fundy near Saint John (latest work trip)

It still does the clatter when you first start it (it's to do with the cam chain tensioner needing oil
pressure to fully engage - it's part of the engine design). The bike has always done that but now that I've laid hands on the thing itself it's helpful in understanding how it all works. Knowing how complicated just the top of that motor is gives me a new sense of satisfaction hearing it run well.

I'm back from yet another work trip but managed to take the big Kwak for a spin last weekend and it pulls like it always has (which is to say like a nuclear missile). Today I'm going to finally do the oil change it was owed last fall and we should be on track for regular use this summer.

The question now becomes do I sell it on during the riding season or keep it having done this soul crushing maintenance job. Based on what I saw in there I'm betting I was the first to do it (at 45k kms). Considering the complexity of this job, I can understand why.

Part of that decision will come down to whether or not I've solved the Tiger's fueling issues. If I have, I might sell the big (and expsnsive to insure) Kawasaki and do the summer on a dependable Tiger, though the C14 is a much more comfortable two up appliance if anyone wants to come for a ride with me.

A confirmed fix on the Tiger's aging fuel injection system would make me consider going to one bike this summer.

COG Chalkdust Details

 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.

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.

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.

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.

Going Aftermarket with Kawasaki GTR1400/C14 Tire Pressure Sensors

I soldered a new battery into the rear temperature sensor on the Concours when I changed the back tire last year after picking up a puncture. The front was starting to get sluggish when connecting wirelessly, suggesting the battery was dying and the front tire was due a change, so I did that one in the fall. Unfortunately the sensor didn't pick up signal after reinstallation. Rather than beat up that old sensor again I started looking for alternative options.

I love a good hack, and Big Red walks you through one here on how to take aftermarket tire pressure sensors, program them to your stock Kawasaki and then use them instead of expensive stock items. The coding unit is $230, but works on anything, meaning I'm not beholden to a dealer for tire pressure sensors on the cars in the future either. A pack of 2 sensors is $95, so all together a full sensor replacement on the bike including the tool needed to program them was $325. The stock sensors are $258 each, so an eye watering $516 for the pair. $200 cheaper and I have the tool that's usable across a wide range of vehicles. That's my kind of hack!

How did it go? After all the frustrations with the Tiger and Triumph, the C14 reminded me how nice it is to work on a bike that's supported by its manufacturer, riders and the aftermarket.. When I compare the thriving online communities at COG and other online forums that support Kawasaki ownership, I can only think, 'way to go team green.' By comparison I read a post on one of the Triumph forums that said, 'these forums are dead. Everyone is giving up on these old bikes..." Except the bikes in question are not that old.

When I walked into my local Kawasaki dealer and ordered parts for my mid-nineties C10 there a few years ago there was never an issue. If I hop into an online forum for the Kwak I see an active community full of ideas and support.  Most of the Hinckley Triumph forums for anything over 15 years old are derelict. The posts on them are at least five years old giving you some idea of what trying to keep an older Hinckley Triumph on the road is like (ie: impossible - the manufacture considers them disposable bikes). It makes me question owning another one, which is a real shame because I wanted to believe in the brand, but they only market their history, they don't honour it by supporting owners in keeping old Hinckley machines in motion.

Back in the land of the living, Big Red's walkthrough was spot on. I popped one side of the new front tire off the rim and removed the 14 year old sensor. I couldn't see why it wasn't getting power - my soldering looked good - maybe a bad battery? No matter, new parts are going in.

If you know Big Red's Mazda 3 2004 sensor hack matches Concours ones, then the rest is straightforward. I set the MaxiTPMS unit to the Mazda settings and then put in the ID number from the old C14 sensor. The wireless upload only took a few seconds.

I could also check the sensor once it was programmed, which gave me some piece of mind before putting it all back in the tire. Though an alternative is to set the sensor when it's installed, which is also an option (the programming unit could still see and modify the sensor in situ). This also means I can test and even reset sensors without having to pull the tire in the future!

The whole process was straightforward, aided by a warm March day where I could leave the tire in the sun while I set the sensor. Warm tires are much easier to stretch over the rim!

I installed the new sensor which fits snugly in the rim. All the parts including the tool from Autel felt like quality pieces that will last. With the tire reinflated I put the wheel back in and torqued everything to spec while also making sure everything was grease free (especially the brake bits).

I took it up the street with the intention of riding around the block because that's how long it usually takes to get the dash reading the wheel pressures, but this new sensor had it showing in seconds - before I even got a hundred yards up the road. I checked it against the digital tire pressure gauge and it's right on the money in terms of accuracy.

It felt good to have a win in the garage after banging my head against the Tiger for so long. Speaking of which, I recently attempted to plastic weld the part they won't supply any more and as I was putting it back together the wiring broke off on the fuel level unit (because I've had the tank off so many f***ing times!).

I'm so bloody minded I'm going to try and solder the wire back on even though it broke in the worst possible spot (right at the unit so there isn't much to work with). The stock unit probably isn't available and is a salty $155 even if it is.  I'm doing this in part just to see if the latest attempt at keeping the old thing in motion works. The plastic welding on the idle speed control valve (which they don't even list in parts now) went well and the piece seems serviceable. I want to see if it works.

If I had more time I'd see if I could find an industrial CAD shop who could 3d scan it and then get me a file that I could use to 3d print a replacement. What would be even nicer would be if Triumph shared that CAD file with us all since they aren't bothered to produce the part anymore. With a bit of collaboration, the aftermarket could help keep older Hinckley Triumphs in motion.

As much as it pains me, I think I'm going to take Triumph's hint and let the Tiger go... which is something I never thought I'd say. So much for my goal of hitting 100k with it.

Links

Big Red's how to: https://zggtr.org/index.php?topic=25416.0

The parts you need: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07YYDDXXH?smid=A2S0RW9CKA3NU3&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp&th=1

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09QC4T48J?psc=1&smid=A3AMY38QRT4FIZ&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

What not to do...

$258 each for stock: https://www.blackfootonline.ca/sensor-tpms-315mhz-21176-1179

$175 US + shipping + customs on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175070359610

It is actually nuclear powered - the plutonium goes in under than panel, like on Doc Brown's DeLorean...

Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Part 1 - getting in there

It took 2 sessions about about 5 hours to get
to the point where I can actually remove the
valve cover and check clearances.

This is not the work of an afternoon. To get into the valves on a C14 takes patience. In addition to the advice about staying organized and documenting the process, I'd suggest a 'move the ball down the field' approach. As long as you get a bit more done each time you'll get there, but don't be in a rush and expect to have to come back multiple times. With this approach I didn't get as frustrated as I sometimes do in the garage. It being the middle of Canadian winter with no chance to ride any time soon helps too. Nothing stresses me out more than watching one of my few riding opportunities each year pass me by because I don't have a bike ready to go (though I hope the Tiger is).

I'm finally at a point where I can actually remove the valve cover. I won't lie. Yesterday as I was wrestling the air suction valve gear out of the ridiculously tight space I was wondering who the masochist was who designed this and had a little day dream about cold cocking them.

It's cold in the garage when it's double digits minus outside, even with the heater on, so hand cramps were an issue as I worked stuck fasteners loose. Whoever was last in there tightened the frame bolts well past spec, and even the small bolts holding in the air suction valves were a fight, having to be turned out a quarter turn at a time with a hex key.

Here's the order of operations so far:

Getting Cylinder Head Cover Access

Fairings

I've been into them before for various reasons. They're complicated, but came off with a minimal of swearing.

Once I had them all off access to the valve cover became seeable, but so is the mad amount of plumbing that surrounds them. Getting the fairings off is the tip of the iceberg on this job.

Frame connectors

There are some easy to get ones that you can remove once the fairings are off. 12mm bolts and a 5mm hex that connect the motor to the back and front of the frame. Whenever you think that's enough, Kawasaki Heavy Industries overengineered another piece. This thing really is built like a nuclear sub.

With those off I took the coolant reserve tank out of the way (two 10mm bolts). So far I've gotten deep into this with just 10 and 12mm sockets and 5mm hex bolts (not counting all the fasteners on the fairings). The mechanical fasteners are considerately consistent (unlike Triumphs). I'm going to have to source other fairing fasteners as the cheapo Amazon ones I got all broke when removed.

There are two more frame connectors (because more of everything was how the Conours was designed), one on each side and held in by two 12mm bolts and a 5mm hex bolt. Whoever did these last tightened them to within an inch of their lives, but I got them out. The three fasteners are visible once you've got the fairings off, but once you've got them out the piece itself needs to be slid out from the plastic radiator shroud. I've been warming things up with the heat gun to prevent cracking as I bend plastic and rubber things.

The right side one is easy to access and if you've taken the fairings off, easy to remove. The pipe you see left of the top arrow is the air suction system. Getting that out is a right *@&#er.

The left side one not so much. Note the heat gun blowing warm air on the rubbers and plastics to make things easier to remove (helps with the electrical connectors too of which there are many).

With the frame pieces off it was a matter of removing the pipes and connectors that crowd the top of the valve cover. It's tight in there and even disconnecting electrical components was a real struggle with my non-Japanese sized hands.

You can't fit a 3/8 rachet and bit in that gap, so the air suction valve covers (which you can't even see in this because they're  buried under piles of electronics, coolant pipes and anything else they could stuff in there), need to be removed with tiny quarter turns with a 5mm hex key. Take your time, try not to get frustrated. You eventually get in there.

The ultimate goal it to get the rubber cover over the top of the engine out of the way.

First look at the valve cover, but lots of other gubbins have to come out before I could get that rubber cover folded out of the way.

Air Suction Valve

This consists of a rubber hose going up into the airbox above and connecting not one but two air suction valves (more is always better, right?). These are held in by 5mm hex bolts that nasty to get out - so nasty that I'm heading out to Canadian Tire to look at low profile rachet options (the 3/8 bit on the rachet won't fit in there and doing these by hands is painful).

With the air suction valve(s) - there are (of course) two of them, out you can see the cover, but that cam sensor in the middle of this pic has to come out too (8mm bolt holding it it).

Cylinder Head Cover Removal

• Remove fairings
• Remove Air Suction Valve (see Air Suction Valve Removal)
• Stick Coils (see Stick Coil Removal in the Electrical System chapter)

The stick coils for the spark plugs are in there tight too and require some careful convincing to come out. I'm probably the first person in here certainly since the bike started getting underused ten years ago and possibly ever.

With the Inlet Camshaft Position Sensor removed the valve cover was finally free and came off (out the right side) revealing the fantastically complicated top end.

Next up will be turning the engine around with a rachet and getting an idea of where the valves are in terms of clearances.

Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Part 2.4 - Cams out, shims measured!

 After what seems like weeks of disassembly (because it has been), the C14 valve job is finally turning the corner back towards reassembly! I'm pushing to get it around the corner because even with all of this documentation I still want to have muscle memory of how it came apart when I put it back together. Today the cams came out along with the shims and everything got measured, so it's time for some maths!

The process of taking the cams out is pretty straightforward, but like everything else has twice as many fasteners and bits to it than you'd expect.

These oil pipes all have to come out. They're only held in by o-rings but were a struggle to release (you can imagine the heat cycles the o-rings in there have been through). What seemed to work best was (very carefully) getting a slot screwdriver down at the base and gently freeing it.

Caps off revealing the cams. With the tensioner removed (notice the slack in the chain) you can slip the cams out from under it.

The oil pipes (top right), cam chain tensioner (bottom right), intake (bottom) and exhaust cam shafts, and then the four caps and hardware (top left in the order they came out with fasteners included).

...and finally, I'm at what this whole production has been about: the shims under the cams. The caps are suctioned in with oil, but if you give them a turn by hand the magnet picks them up easily - the shims are underneath.

What the gaps are supposed to be: SPEC: exhaust valves 0.19 - 0.24mm Intake valves 0.12mm to 0.17mm.

red = tight, white = spec, pink = on the cusp of tight: most are tight so will need slightly shorter shims to make a bigger gap, but we're talking fractions of a milimeter here.

              Cyl 1                  Cyl 2                Cyl 3                Cyl 4

Gap   0.18   0.18         0.2    0.19       0.19    0.19       0.19   0.21

Shim  2.27  2.22          2.29  2.29       2.30    2.30        2.30    2.23

Gap  0.15   0.14         0.13    0.13     0.10   0.13         0.11   0.12

Shim 2.25  2.20          2.22  2.20       2.30    2.25        2.20    2.25

Here's the calculator (I just threw it in a spreadsheet):

They look like they do them in 0.05mm sizes. Let's see if I can do this in my head.

Cylinder 1 Exhaust 1 needs a 2.20 and a 2.15 (I'm going smaller because everything was tight and a smaller shim means a bigger gap). 2.20mm would mean the 0.18 gap becomes a 0.25 gap (too wide). A 2.25 shim only gets me 0.02 back and makes the 0.18 a 0.20 gap (in spec but up the tight end). C1 Exh 2 2.20 gets me 0.20 (spec but up the tight end - but maybe that's as close as I can get).

Exhaust

C1 E1: 2.25 (0.20 gap)      C1 E2: 2.20 (0.20 gap)

C2 E1: 2.25 (0.24 gap).     C2 E2: 2.25 (0.23 gap)

C3 E1: 2.25 (0.24 gap).     C3 E2: 2.25 (0.24 gap)

C4 E1: 2.25 (0.24 gap)      C4 E2: 2.20 (0.24 gap)

Intake

C1 I1: at spec                    C1 I2: at spec

C2 I1: at spec                    C2 I2: at spec

C3 I1: 2.25 (0.15 gap)       C3 I2: at spec

C4 I1: 2.15 (0.16 gap)       C2 I2: 2.20 (0.17 gap)

Shopping Canadian is Harder Than it Should Be

The kits aren't helpful - I'd be paying for a pile of shims I don't need and they only come with 3 in each size, so I'm stuck there too. They also only come in 0.05mm gaps. Following the above logic I should buy 2.25 x 7, 2.20 x 3 and 2.15 x 1. Let's go have a look at a Canadian option: https://fortnine.ca/en/pro-x-valve-shim-refill 

At $15.78 a pop I'm looking at a salty ~$170+ plus taxes, but (of course) they barely have any in stock so even if I wanted to pay through the nose it's still a no go. Looking through other makes on there, they all look to be out of stock. So much for buying Canadian.

Let's try another one: Parts Canada: 

0926-1391: 215mm x 1  0926-1392: 220mm x 3  0926-1393: 225mm x 9

...but Parts Canada doesn't sell online and seems to work out of people's garages which doesn't fill me with confidence.

This got the thumbs up on the GTA motorcycle group:

https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/parts/pro-x-valve-shim-p?v=9115

And they're on it - and even have half sizes! So now I can touch up my gaps better.

Here we go again:

Exhaust 

C1 E1: 2.225 (0.225 gap)   C1 E2: 2.175 (0.23 gap) 

C2 E1: 2.25   (0.24 gap)     C2 E2: 2.25 (0.23 gap) 

C3 E1: 2.25   (0.24 gap)     C3 E2: 2.25 (0.24 gap) 

C4 E1: 2.25   (0.24 gap)     C4 E2: 2.20 (0.24 gap) 

Intake 

C1 I1: at spec (.15)              C1 I2: at spec   (0.14 gap)

C2 I1: 2.20 (=0.16 gap)        C2 I2: 2.175  (=0.17 gap)

C3 I1: 2.25 (=0.15 gap)        C3 I2: 2.225  (=0.16 gap) 

C4 I1: 2.15 (=0.16 gap)        C2 I2: 2.225 (0.16 gap) 

14 out of 16 valves need shims.

2.225 x 3, 2.175 x 2, 2.25 x 6, 2.20 x 2, 2.15 x 1 (total of 14)

Under $30 US. Even with the conversion, shipping, customs (and now tarrifs), I'll still be miles ahead. The site is a joy to use, they sell individually AND at a higher resolution than anything I could find in Canada. I'm book marking https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/ 

I'm going to calibrate the digital measurement tool I'm using by checking that the existing shims are 9.48mm diameter. It seemed close by eye but at fractions of a milimeter eyes aren't much good. I found the number changed depending on how I hold it, so if I can figure out which is the most accurate way, I'll use that when I do the confirmation measurements (measure twice cut once etc).

Where the cam chain tensioner is, in case the super close up in the shop manual proves unhelpful (as it did with me). 2 x 8mm bolts and it springs free. Reinstallation involves taking the tension off so you can align the chain.

New caliper is consistent which makes me trust it more, so I went with the new numbers.

New caliper. It consistently reads the same, which the other one didn't. It give me more confidence in the results. Here are the new numbers with Rocky Mountain's best shim fits:

I like to get my head around the maths so I backed up all the new measurements by visualizing the gaps they would produce - all nice and well within specs.

Just put the order in with Rocky Mountain. With FexEx and customs I'm under $75CAD all in. So I'm getting the right sizes and just what I need for well under half what it would have cost me to buy less accurate choices that aren't in stock anyway in Canada. How do we get this so wrong?