Continuing July 2017
My delayed shims order finally arrived and as everything was prepared and waiting I installed them according to my calculations expecting all to be good. Well not, I first had to learn a few lessons again...
As mentioned earlier I did put some markings on the cam chain and sprockets when it was at TDC to prevent timing issues after reinstalling the camshafts. I managed to install it back with the markers aligned, it went much easier than expected. Next was to measure the valve clearances again and there it went wrong as I forgot to install the cam chain tensioner and when I rotated the crankshaft with a wrench the chain jumped a few teeth so I had to redo the alignement but wasn't able to get my markers aligned anymore.
So I installed the chain tensioner again following the documented procedure and started the counting-pins-procedure to get the timing right. As Stu and Freddy debated
elsewhere on this forum I too had the issue getting it exactly as shown in the Haynes manual. At the end I couldn't get it any better and I took the decision that the manual was incorrect which was confirmed by their remarks.
Anyway with everything in place I started measuring the clearances again only to find they were all still way off. I was about to learn an important step again... As I couldn't explain my measurements I started all over again and measured those new shims expecting to have made an error. But no, all were of the correct size and location which became very frustrating. I left it for a few days during which I did some reading on The Net and stumbled across an article mentioning
you have to turn the engine over (by hand) several times to allow everything to settle.
So back to the garage again where I started measuring the clearances, turning the crankshaft while doing and re-measured all of them again while rotating the crank in-between and found the clearances to become better after two full measurements. So I then turned the crank maybe ten times or more, measured again and finally they were all within spec! Anyway, like I mentioned earlier I had a learning experience, again
Next I rebuild everything back to its origin place, using a brand new OEM gasket but without any liquid gasket. I only used some when installing the rubber camshaft plugs and also on the upper chain guide as it kept falling out of the head cover. I'm happy to share that until today (few months later) there's still no sign of oil leakage around the cover. Finally after filling it up with oil I hit the start button and lo-and-behold it started right away, doh!
The last adjustment to do was syncing my carbs which I succeeded in without any issue. And then all I had to do was rebuilding the bike to its final state finally able to mount the bike again to take it for a spin around the garage block. The difference was huge and over the next days I started the engine a few times after it cooled down while checking the temperature of the down pipes so I can now share that all my cilinders are firing at once when starting.
This brings me to the end of my work done in July.
Pictures still to be done though...