While we’re at it removing the head cover, let’s check a few other things.
The customer was asking about some bolts rattling. When you remove the head cover, you really should take a look at the tappets and cam chain too.
Before that, though: remove the cam holder, protect the area, enlarge the pilot hole, and then helicoil it. If the threads go in crooked, it’s really bad news. I’ve seen cases where the helicoil went in at an angle and the cam holder ended up with a stripped hole. If you can’t do it right, I think it’s better not to do it at all. Fixing it afterward? That’s a real headache. Can it even be fixed?
Make sure the threads are straight and the seating surface is flush with the head. *If you just go in thinking “this looks about right,” you’ll usually mess it up.
When you’re tapping threads on a drill press, be careful too. Basically, a drill press bed moves up and down (and can even tilt if you’re not careful), so there’s play in it. Shallow threads are one thing, but if you’re off by even a few degrees on deep threads, it’s a real nightmare.
When cranking it over, the feeling is really strange. The top idler is completely shot. If we’d left it alone, it probably would have skipped a tooth.
I wonder why the Z has so many idlers. Are the other two okay? That’s what I found myself worrying about.
We have a decent supply of shims on hand, so we can adjust it with what we’ve got. We’ll check the cam chain play and close it up. Too tight or too loose won’t work.
The cam chain doesn’t stretch evenly, so you need to be careful about that.
The pedal uses ball bearings, so we lubricated it with grease.
When you step on the rear brake, I thought it would feel a bit more “shushy.” So we went with sintered pads.
They won’t fit as-is.
And that completes the job.
