Timing query

[97steamer]

While I've got the valve cover off I noticed something strange. According to my Haynes manual, when the timing rotor position T1 is positioned correctly the arrow marks on the cam sprockets should face inwards and be level with the surface of the head. However, mine are facing outwards and are not quite level.

The bike has been running very well (despite 3 tight inlet valves) so I can't imagine anything is majorly wrong but what gives? Is the Haynes manual wrong or is my timing 180 degrees out or what? And if it is wrong, should I put it right? Advice and opinions gratefully welcomed.

[BruKen]

:D Have you tried turning the motor 1 revolution to see if they then all line up?

Maybe mine's a silly question  :idea: but it sounds logical :oops:

[97steamer]

Thanks Bruken. I just popped out to the garage and turned the engine through several cycles to have a look. At one point when both arrows were facing inwards and 'roughly' level with the head surface, the T1 mark is 'almost' in line with the ignition sensor but not like the pic in the manual. How crucial is it to be exactly right?

[Mustang]

when this is like this



these should be like this



and if they aint , make it so

[BruKen]

To be fair, cos Mustang is such a stickler, if your cam chain is slightly worn you'll never get the arrows to be 100% parallel. In that case get them as accurate as possible while mainting 100% accuracy on the timing mark. It is more important that the cam sprocket teeth are in sync rather than one tooth out. Also when re-assembling and aligning the marks make sure the cam chain is on as tight as you can get it and still be able to work it. If, you've taken the cam caps off then when reassembling the the inlet cam sprocket will often jump a tooth while tightening up to torque spec. Double check and triple check and then MAKE SURE your cam chain tightener is put in correctly in sequence or it will almost certainly cause the cam chain to break.

[97steamer]

Thanks all. Very useful. Had an interesting day in the garage today. As all my out of spec shims were on the intake side I thought I'd whip the cam out more for practice (and to learn). It was actually easier than I expected but I made a few stupid errors and had some tool issues which cost me a lot of time.
My T30 Torx socket was too deep to fit under the main frame member to get at the cam cap bolts for middle cylinder. There was no way to get a torque wrench in there. As a result I had to 'judge' the torque on reassembly. Solution - get a lower/smaller Torx socket.
I carefully set aside all the cam caps and shims in an egg box nicely marked up and then when and kicked it across the floor! Solution - be more careful/organised in the garage.
As a result of previous balls up, I had the camshaft back in and the tensioner only to discover that I'd put the original shim back in cylinder no.3!! DOH! Still it was good practice to go through it all again - lookin on the bright side :-)
At one point I was so focussed on getting the timing marks correct, I didn't notice that the cam chain had fallen off the crankshaft sprocket. It was only because the chain looked slightly saggy across the cam shaft sprockets that I checked everything again.
Anyhow, the upshot was that I got it back together, hit the starter and she fired right up and sounds soooo much better. Four out of the six intake clearances were out of spec but they're now all at the .015 mark which I hope will give me a fair few miles before needing any more work (and by that time I'll be using Mustang's tool).

Thanks to all for the advice  :lol: