Wordpress – Mechanical Sympathy

Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Part 3.2: frame reassembly after a valve job

Some pictures to help me put this complicated 3d puzzle back together again properly.

https://www.kawasaki.com/en-us/owner-center/parts/5128/2010/ZG1400CAF

https://www.kawasaki.com/en-us/owner-center/parts/5127/2010/ZG1400CAF

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Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Part 3.1 – References for putting the plugs back together again on top of the valve cover

Tools for finding what goes where (it’s spaghetti in there!).

The comprehensive disassembly video shared previously: https://youtu.be/5JP0_Kv7x5w?si=Ictk8g8qK3e_hB3m

Pipe in the foreground right is the routing for the coolant line to the overflow tank.

White plug in black reed valve centre plug.

https://youtu.be/RvQjEvCSGvI?si=CCvs4HMMJBEHfooM

Big grey plug under the throttle cables

Wobbly and somewhat non-linear, but another disassembly video:: https://youtu.be/b-HDezrXSc0?si=hlvAZWdhF7Qg7hoC

Black wire from throttle bodies to cam sensor on valve cover.

Definitely white plug in black reed cover.

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Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Part 3 – Putting it back together again

It’s a slow process putting all this back together again. Even with a prolific number of photos and copious notes here on the blog I’m finding this a fiddly and frustrating process. My current plan is to get everything plugged in, top up the radiator and run it to make sure it’s back together right before trying to button it up (there are a f(@# ton of buttons).

The latest fun has been plugging the plethora of plugs over the valve cover back in.

I’ve got a couple of plugs (21) left after connecting everything else. The question now becomes, are they oxygen sensor plugs not used on a 2010 Canadian market bike?

Got the plugs in, except for those two top left of the rat’s nest.

Here’s a close-up. That white one has me baffled but perhaps it’s the front cam sensor.

Tomorrow (assuming the late March ice storm we have in store doesn’t throw us back to the stone age), I’ll check for oxygen sensors on the exhaust, and if not there I’ll know that one of those plugs is probably unused.

Other things to check are the front cam sensor (7-R on the diagram) which was very difficult to reinstall with a new o-ring. That plug is probably dangling down the front and needs to find a mate on top of the motor. If that’s my missing plug and the other one is an unused oxygen sensor then I’m about there.

After that gets settled I’ll do one last look around for anything I might have missed before topping up the radiator and seeing if this thing’ll run. If runs like a clock I’ll reroute the wires properly and should have it back to a point where I can start reinstalling all the fairings – which is a whole separate pain in the @$$, but at least one I’ve done before.

Then things get philosophical. Work has picked up and I don’t have the patience or headspace to spend hours each weekend keeping these old bikes in motion. The temptation is to get $10k (CAD) between them and then buy something that can go when I need it to without so much TLC.

I can save the wrench turning for when I retire. I enjoy working on them but trying to do a job this complex when I’m having to leave it for weeks on end while I’m travelling makes a difficult job more so. Had I the time and space to do this daily when I wasn’t juggling a demanding job, it’d have been an entirely different experience.

I’m loving the travel opportunities and my work is something I enjoy, but the deep bike maintenance doesn’t fit with it at this point in my life.

Haliburton was magical…

Flying out to the maritimes is never a bad thing…

…but those weeks away mean I’m coming back to an incredibly complicated job sometimes 20 days after I last touched it.

I’ve never made enough to be sentimental about vehicles and keep everything I buy (I’d rather put those resources toward travel anyway). Time to simplify the bike stable to let me focus on riding when I can squeeze that in. I’ll save the time suck that is older bike ownership for when I have more time to suck.

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Tiger Success (!) and first ride of 2025

Last fall I took the fuel injection apart on the 2003 Triumph Tiger 955i. It wasn’t fueling properly and was unrideable. I barely got any mileage on it last season, so I replaced every o-ring in the system and got a new fuel pump for it. It also got new throttle and clutch cables last year. If this last hail Mary attempt to resolve the atrocious fuel injection on this old bike didn’t work, it was out the door.

The good news is it fuels nicely again for the first time in a year! I’ve still got to tune it and get the idle right, but it feels fantastic. Look back over the posts in December and earlier to see the details and where to get parts. If you’re trying to keep an old Triumph 955i on the road (Triumph doesn’t support them with parts any more), try this, it seems to work!

Battery needed a kick, but once charged up it ran like a top.

The clawed hands of winter still twist into the sky.

First chance to try out a new Shark helmet. My first and I’m not disappointed.

Still got snow on the borders.

The Grand River is swollen by the spring runoff – that’s the camp ground underwater on the other side.

That grin is involuntary. The first time you lean into a corner after a long winter on four wheels is magical.

Amy knows how it feels…

Nice to have one road worthy. The C14 valve job continues when I have time, but work has picked up and I’m travelling again, so my weekends are seldom my own.

Here is the radiator loosened so I could get to the front cam sensor to change the o-ring. The Murph’s Kit came with an oversized one. That was 40 minutes of sweat and swearing before I gave up and stepped away (again). This was a giant time suck at a time when I don’t have a lot of… time.

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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.

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Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Part 2.3 – confirmed gaps, next up is cam removal and shim measuring

I was busy at work with conferences, but got back for a Sunday afternoon in the garage. I’m trying out a new kerosene heater that seems to have solved my cold weather issues.

Once I had it into double digits Celsius I finished multi-checking the gaps:

Confirming the first round of measurements:

SPEC: exhaust valves 0.19 – 0.24mm Intake valves 0.12mm to 0.17mm.

red = tight, white = spec, pink = on the cusp of tight:

Cyl 1 Cyl 2 Cyl 3 Cyl 4

EX 0.18 0.18 0.2 0.19 0.19 0.19 0.19 0.21

IN 0.15 0.14 0.13 0.13 0.10 0.13 0.11 0.12

Things are pretty tight. CoG has good resources on shim details. Tomorrow the cams come out, I measure what shims I’ve got, do some maths and order new shims for the tight valves. This means that perhaps next weekend I can turn a corner and actually start putting this thing (which is looking like a disassembled Concorde) back together again!

Unfortunately, I’m doing this just in time for the Americans to turn on us for no reason and make everything more expensive. Putin must be loving this, but then he did pay for it… but I digress.

Hopefully I’ll have some time tomorrow to take out the cams and measure the shims in my warmer garage.

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Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Part 2.2 – the cams are coming out

I was (of course) hoping that the valves would all be in spec, but after a first round of measurements that is (of course) not the case, so this open heart surgery is going a step deeper: the camshafts are coming out. No point in getting in this far unless I sort everything while I’m in here.

Concours 14/1400GTR exhaust valves need to have between 0.19mm and 0.24mm of clearance. The intake valves need 0.12mm to 0.17mm. Looking at the notes below, I’m out of spec (tight) on most of them, making me wonder if anyone has ever been in here before. This one has 45k kms on it but it was semi-dormant when I found it. Most of the mileage was done in its first five years then it sat a lot. Alas, this is probably the case for most bikes.

Looking at this with red being too tight, white being in spec (anything on the edge I made pink), it’s clear that C14s get tighter as they go:

Cyl 1 Cyl 2 Cyl 3 Cyl 4

EX 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.19 0.19 0.19 0.19 0.22

IN 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.09 0.11 0.11 0.12

Now that I’ve got a round of measurements, I’m going to do it all over again (that’s what the pink notes are at the top of the handwritten bit above – the second round). Measure twice cut once and all that.

I hope to have confirmed everything ~~this week~~ and then I’ll order shims to get everything in the sweet spot. Or not…

It was -35 with windchill (-22C actual) last night. Will be again tonight, so I’m not going into the bloody garage!

Incredible that 5% of one millimeter is the resolution this machine works within, but what amazes me more is that even at a fraction of a millimetre I’m still sticking a bit of metal (like a caveman) in to measure these fine details. Why don’t motorcycles make use of the mechanical precision used in car engines for the past quarter century and automatically adjust valves? Good question.

Like a caveman…

The middle ones are tricky to get to and the covers and various plumbing don’t help even on the edge cylinders. That Moto Guzzi is looking more and more appealing, though it won’t be the rocketship that the Kwak is.

Cam timing cover off to spin the motor and line up TDC for cylinders 1 and 4 which lets you check all the clearances.

Note the mark on the left side of the wheel where the cover gasket goes on – that’s your timing mark.

The plumbing over the cams is something else.

The 0.127mm feeler gauge doing the business between the cam and that shim underneath. Replacing the shim with a smaller one puts the gap back in spec.

Using the bent and tapered bits I double checked each space. And will again before I commit to buying shims.

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Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Part 2.1 – checking clearances

I put together a page with the details I’ve gleaned from COG’s documentation and the shop manual to keep track of my measurements. I’ve got two sets of feeler guages because I’m suspicious like that and always want a second opinion. It’s particularly important in this case because having to go back in there again if a mistake is made isn’t (at all) what I want to do.

With cylinder one top dead centre (TDC) and the cams both pointing out to offer access for the guages, I had a go at number one cylinder yesterday.

Cams up and out on cylinder one (left side of motor) – it took me a few turns of the engine to get it lined up right and start getting good measurements. It doesn’t hurt to do this two or three times so you’re sure the came is at maximum gap and you’re getting good numbers.

This cover on the lower right side of the engine is removed with 8mm bolts. It’s a 17mm M8 that you throw a big rachet on and turn the engine. Direction of travel is noted on the timing wheel as are marks for TDC for cylinders 1 and 4. You can do half the valves with C1 TDC and the other half with C4 TDC.

Cam timing cover came off with minimal fuss and just a drop of oil.

My suspicion of cheaply made tools causes me to have backups. In this case the tappered ones are metric first and offer a finer degree between fits.

I’ll do the rest today. As many said it would be, Cylinder one appears tight. Exhaust valves should have between 0.19-0.24mm of clearance. I can just get a 0.18 in there and the 0.203 wouldn’t fit in either cylinder one or two’s exhaust valves.

Ran the propane heater for 20 minutes before getting started. Made for a much more comfrotable experience.

Keeping things in order – the valve cover bolts numbered and in their ‘custom’ holder.

With the forray into ‘vintage’ motorcycles last year my sockets were muddied with imperial and whitworth bits. They’ve been relegated to a lower drawer. I think I’m sticking with metric bikes for the forseable future. If I take another dive into vintage it’ll be when I’m retired and have the time to navigate all the complexities.

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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.

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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. 😊