Cam re-fitting

[tdm34]

Hi all, I'm going through a deep service/ upgrade of my '87 FJ12, the bike has only done 20,000 miles from new, and one of the things I'm doing is the valve clearances, yesterday I checked them and all 16 are out of tolerance having all closed up,
tightest inlet was 0.05mm and the tightest exhaust one was 0.11mm. I'm going to remove the cams to measure the existing shims.

My Issue is the cam replacement procedure as written in the two manuals that I have.

According to the official Yamaha FJ11 workshop manual when replacing the cams you install the I3 & E3 cam caps first but don't tighten up the bolts, then you replace and tighten caps 2,4 and 1 in that order, then tighten cap no3.
In the Clymer manual they say to install and tighten Cap no3 and then tighten Caps 2,4 and 1, does it matter? or is there a difference between the FJ11 and FJ12 cam replacement method?

Second issue, is the camchain tensioner method, It's exactly the same between the two manuals except for the in the Official Yamaha FJ11 manual it says refit the tensioner with the one-way cam facing down, and in the Clymer manual it says the one-way cam should be facing upwards.

Anyone shed any light on this difference

Regards Rob.

[Firehawk068]

No need to remove the Cams to get the Shims out.

There is a special tool that bolts onto certain threaded holes on the cam-cover gasket surface.
It holds the buckets down after you rotate the cam-lobe off the shim, then you can remove the shims for measurement or replacement.

If you have already removed the Cams or the Cam-Chain Tensioner, then I would go by the official Yamaha procedures.
There have been some known instances where the Clymer-Manuals have some stuff listed wrong.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-FJ1100-FJ1200-XJR1200X-XJR1300-VALVE-SHIM-REMOVAL-TOOL-YM-33966-YM-04110-/291732066565

[Old Rider]

Hi all, I'm going through a deep service/ upgrade of my '87 FJ12, the bike has only done 20,000 miles from new, and one of the things I'm doing is the valve clearances, yesterday I checked them and all 16 are out of tolerance having all closed up,
tightest inlet was 0.05mm and the tightest exhaust one was 0.11mm. I'm going to remove the cams to measure the existing shims.

My Issue is the cam replacement procedure as written in the two manuals that I have.

According to the official Yamaha FJ11 workshop manual when replacing the cams you install the I3 & E3 cam caps first but don't tighten up the bolts, then you replace and tighten caps 2,4 and 1 in that order, then tighten cap no3.
In the Clem manual they say to install and tighten Cap no3 and then tighten Caps 2,4 and 1, does it matter? or is there a difference between the FJ11 and FJ12 cam replacement method?

Second issue, is the camchain tensioner method, It's exactly the same between the two manuals except for the in the Official Yamaha FJ11 manual it says refit the tensioner with the one-way cam facing down, and in the Clymer manual it says the one-way cam should be facing upwards.

Anyone shed any light on this difference

Regards Rob.

Hi and welcome !
As Firehawk068  says there is no need to take the cams off that is just very much extra work.
But if you decide to do that the right way  when assembly them is to  first put on cap E3 and I3 and just screw the bolts a little down with fingers and then make sure they match with the timing rail . Then you start with 2-4-1 tighten the bolts just in small steps that is because the cam can snap if you tighten them to much
FJ 1100 and 1200 is similar.
The one way cam on the tensioner must face down.

If you are in a hurry you  can use a ziptie that is bent like the one I'm holding in the picture to hold open the valve while replacing the shim.
I have done it many times before and on my current cylhead i have to use the ziptie in stead of the orginal tool on some of the valves because
the treads is stripped in a hole so its impossible to use the original tool.
And it does NOT bend the valves at least it has not bent any of my valves wish was checked with dialgauge for runout / bend  when i rebuilt my engine.
I have done it many times before on other bike too with no problems.
But remember to be very careful and do it on your own risk. I recommend watching this video before you use the ziptie method.
here is a link to a guy showing how to do it with ziptie   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s52nTRD6ayc

Good luck!

[tdm34]

Thanks for the answers, I'll follow the official Yamaha manual as you'd expect it to be right. I actually have the proper shim tool, but it didn't seem to work properly, and if I take the cams out and put a blob of white paint on the timing index marks it'll make it easy to time it back up, the access makes the job simple not like my last bike, it was a Hinckley Triumph Trophy 900, the spine frame and radiator get in the way of everything...

One thing I discovered about the bike was that a previous owner had fitted a VHR ignition advancer.

I'm really going through this bike, improving stuff, I've got 17" wheels, 320mm Rotors FZR fork bottoms and 4 pot calipers, a full Hindle Stainless 4-2-1 exhaust, a factory pro jet kit and Foams, YSS rear shock, Hyperpro front springs, when I dismantled the FZR front end, it had racetech springs and gold cartridge emulators, I'm looking at using the latter as well. Avon Storms which are brilliant tyres, i've had them fitted to the Triumph, and my favourite bike which was a Honda CB1300F, which I had to sell because I couldn't bring it to the USA from the UK when I moved over here last year, if I wait until late 2027 I will import one under the 25 year rule.

Plan to have it finished before the end of the month, and see if there's any Fellow FJ owners close to Akron for rides...