So i'm waiting for carb parts and decided to check valves. I have the manual so i followed the directions to a T. Put the motor at TDC by the mark in the window. The cams didn't align like the book said they should.valves accoring to that were way outa spec. "measure the valce clearance of the valve for which the cam are turned away from." Rolled her over again till i got the cam to look like the pics in the book and had .10 for both intake and .15 for the exhaust. What do these numbers mean, other than i should keep a close eye on them. Since they are at the minimum clearance does that mean i'm already due to adjust here shortly. The bike has 1400 easy miles on it. had the valves supposedly checked at 650 miles. No evidence of the valve cover being removed. Pissed 70 bucks and two weeks of the riding season away there.

 

What year is your bike?
I had my 98 KLX300 apart recently (same specs) and my valves were close to where yours are, right at the tight end of spec. Mine measured .102 and .127 intake and .152 on both exhausts.
After a discussion with board members here and the local Kawasaki mechanic, I ended up shimming the intakes and leaving the exhausts alone.
Now both intake and exhaust measure .152.
Instead of buying a whole kit of shims, the mechanic at the local Kawasaki dealer (shout out to Ron at Angel's World of Cycles, Belle Vernon, PA) swapped my shims for the ones I needed.
Good luck. I'm sure others more knowledgeable will chime in.
Rob

 

ok, my jaw dropped on how lucky you got with that one. I need to look up that shop.

I would change out all the shims to meet at least half way and not as tight as you are mentioning.

 

Make sure you followed the directions in the manual. It should tell you not only what to line up, but when in the timing sequence to line the "T" up. The cam lobes should be pointing to the front and back of the bike. These bikes are four strokes so the flywheel goes around four times to get back to the same spot on the cam timing.
My local little shop charges me like $2 a piece plus my old shims. Kind of a half swap OK with me.
Dan

 

Went into FAQ section, found the valve article and got everything to match. took alittle more time. intake . 13 exhaust .16. So i put it back together and ordered a shim kit. My nearest dealer is 3 hrs away. I'll check after a few hundered miles to see where they are. The bike ran great last year when i put it away. Snows goin fast and the temps are in the 50's and i just wanna get the bike to start.

 

That shop I used to work at does the exchange deal if you're a regular customer there. You can buy one shim or just exchange it with another size as long as it mikes out to the proper spec. They won't accept one that isn't in proper condition. Once in awhile for one reason or another, someone will bring in a shim that is buggered up. No deal.

 

On a DOHC engine like the 250, the valves are running directly on the cam lobes via lifters. So if they are tight, the valves are held open. This is a bad condition on the exhaust valve, which will burn up if it is not seating all the way closed. So if you change your shims go to the loose side. Valve train does not change much on these bikes normally, unless you have the exception motor that a few have.
The four cycle engine rotates twice before the cam lines up correctly, each stroke is a cycle.

 

Not sure how a shim gets buggered up, but I would totally agree with the companies policy on that.

The shops that I have dealt with in the past want $7 each shim. No exchange. Fortunately, I have been able to alternate shims most of the time to meet specs on the ninjas. My issue is that not all ninjas use the same size shims.