shim or no shimed valves

[Guest]

Does anyone know what year the Katana's went from shims to no shims? I have a 96 750 kat. The dealer tells me that it depends what your VIN # is. He also told me that the valve adjustment intervals are every 3500 miles.

Thanks
Scott

[benchfalco]

mines'a 93 it has shims --- there are a lot of differences with the 93

[pmkls1]

The best way to tell is just take off the valve cover and take a peek. If you havent checked the lash in a while it is probably a good idea to set it anyways which would require the valve cover to be removed anyhow. I was under the impression that the valve adjustment intervals were more like 7000 or 7500 miles though......

[md86]

mines'a 93 it has shims --- there are a lot of differences with the 93

Huh , MY 93 has screw and locknut adjusters . Yours a 600 ? I read that the 600's were shims , 750's were screw and locknut .

[Süsser Tod]

My '91 750 has screw and locknut adjusters, and 98+ have the same setup, 600s and 750s.

[benchfalco]

Huh , MY 93 has screw and locknut adjusters . Yours a 600 ? I read that the 600's were shims , 750's were screw and locknut .

yes, mine's a shimmed 93 600 --- I should have mentioned that

[Süsser Tod]

So I guess only the early 600s had the shims???

[Anonymous]

yup but now most of the newer bike are all shim type witha few exceptions the shim type deal stays in adjustment longer.

[Mr. Clean]

yup but now most of the newer bike are all shim type witha few exceptions the shim type deal stays in adjustment longer.

BUT, there is always a "but", the early 600 shim type Kats (and 90-92 GSXR 750) shim type valve train are not considered to be as durable as the forked type (screw and locknut) valve trains. Yes they stay in adjustment longer, but not a strong.

[Anonymous]

yup but now most of the newer bike are all shim type witha few exceptions the shim type deal stays in adjustment longer.

BUT, there is always a "but", the early 600 shim type Kats (and 90-92 GSXR 750) shim type valve train are not considered to be as durable as the forked type (screw and locknut) valve trains. Yes they stay in adjustment longer, but not a strong.

true and a good point but the new engine and parts in the newer engine are lighter and spin more freely so there not a super demand for the strenght on alot of the parts anymore there barely torqued in compared to the older kats and stuff its pretty scary consider the newer motors spin faster and make double the power

[The CyberPoet]

My notes for the Kats say:
All Kat 750cc OEM engines: nut adjuster

Kat 600cc OEM engines:
88-91 = screw
92-97 = shim
98+ = screw

This information may be incorrect (it was provided by others long, long ago), but it's probably accurate.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet