Alcohol + unfamiliarity with a task = poor decisions & reasoning

I'm a diesel mechanic by trade & I would never work under the influence of anything except for a morning coffee. If I'm working on something I'm unsure of, I find I need the concentration to read manuals, make observations & to diagnose the problem.

 

I only had 1 bud light so I was not under the influence. It was only a joke so take a chill pill and relax. My god!

 

You need to measure the valve clearance before you take the caps off, you will need a vernier caliper to measure the old shims if the numbers are worn off.

 

Yeah, that's what I thought, but the one tool I don't have is a caliper. I can bring my shims to work on monday and check them out. I'm the original owner of the bike so the shims have never been changed. I have looked threw the manual, is it possible that all bikes left the factory with the same shims? If it is, what would they be? I know the owners manual says to check at 7500 miles, but I still think it's a good idea to check at 2500 miles as long as everything is apart as has been said in many threads before. Thanks for your input.

 

If you are transporting the shims to work make sure you don't mix them up. Atleast on cars they are all diffrent sizes and need to be put back in the same places.

 

I highly doubt it. At least on the KLR650 engines (of which I'm more familiar than the KLX250), the initial shim thicknesses aren't consistent, and even vary in a given bike (the intakes are dis-similar from one another, and the exhuasts are dis-similar from one another). I don't see why the KLX engine should be any different. Even with new parts, there are some variations in how much clearance any given valve has when in place, and I'd guess they check the actual clearances during initial assembly.

 

DO NOT MIX THE SHIMS...They are different between the intakes and on the exhaust, and are factory assembled for your engine and not all of the KLX engines. (as mentioned above). There is a plus/minus factory tolerance for each engine. That is why I check all of my bikes valve lashes at 600 miles. I always found that there is an adjustment needed after break-in. (although, normally minute, but still there)

Good luck on the kit and assembly.

 

Thanks, I only had a few minor problems getting things apart, I'm sure I'll run into a few things putting it together. Should not be to bad.

 

The only really annoying things when putting it together is the circlip and getting the piston rings compressed and into the cylinder nicely. Everything else is just the reverse of how you took it apart. (Direct quote from Kawasaki service manual )

 

I haven't done any searching yet, but I think dan888 used wire ties to get the rings compressed. Could have been someone else. This will be my project later tonight is searching for different methods to get them compressed. When I did pull off my cylinder, I did stick the piston back inside several times just to see how hard it would be with just using my hands. It wasn't hard at all, but the 351 will be bigger.