Timing help please? 05 Blade

Good morning all, would somebody be able to tell me if I am a tooth out please? I'm doing my valve clearances and I've got it back to this point but now I'm not 100% sure. I've been doing this in my lunch breaks and started before Christmas so I can't remember if that is what the marks were like when I took the bike apart. The inlet is where I believe it should be.

Any help much appreciated! Thank you in advance.

 

Any chance of a better pic of the exhaust mark on the sprocket against the face where the cam cover sits,

 

Have you found & downloaded the workshop manual?
You'll find really clear instructions there.

 

I have a Haynes manual, but if I can find the workshop manual then I'll have a read of that too. I just can't work out if I move the Ex round another tooth if it'll sit past the flat surface that it's supposed to line up with.

@Black & White the Ex cam doesn't sit flush like that as far as I can tell, it's sitting slightly above.

@Selmer50mark that is the best photo I can get. The frame, loom and radiator pipes are all in the way if I try and get a photo from any other position. The photo of the ex is taken with the flat surface level so you can see the Ex and mark are slightly above where the picture above says they should be.

 

The red arrow points to the flat surface the cam cover gasket sits on, the green arrow is the line that's supposed to line up with it.

I was hoping someone was going to see this and say 'it's fine' or 'mine is the same' or 'that's how mine looks' but I've got the feeling I'm going to have to take it apart and move the Ex cam clockwise a tooth and see how that looks when I get it back together again.

 

I personally think its ok, by the pics, if you moved it by 1 tooth I think it would be past the gasket face. Hard to tell

 

They're almost impossible to line up perfectly, especially if there's a little bit of chain stretch. It's a compromise - a tooth either way to where it's closest.
Make sure the side of the chain opposite the tensioner is tight though.

 

Is there not a punch mark on the other side of the sprocket that you can see easier?

Feel for you though mate, its daunting, I know when I do mine I'll be taking dozens of pictures and marking things up as much as possible.

Good luck.

 

As others have said they look okay but the exhaust is hard to tell for sure because of the lack of a direct line of sight. Assuming you have the holders all bolted back down, check your intake clearances on 1 & 3, they should be in spec.

Did you remove/wind in the cct? If so reinstate it.

If that feels ok the only way to be certain is to turn the engine round by hand a couple of times slowly and see if everything’s moving ok. If it is then check all your clearances to make sure they are all in spec.
if that all seems right then you’re good to go.

 

Thank you all for the advice, I really appreciate it.

The cct was fitted and I turned the engine over twice yesterday, everything went back to the same place and I don't think it felt any different from before I removed the cam shafts but I can't shake this 'feeling' I have so I think I'm going to remove them and start again. If I end up at the same place I am now then I'll be happy I think.

I'll keep this post updated, hopefully some time on Thursday

 

As the cam chain starts to stretche the cams become slightly retarded , this is normal.

 

You might be slightly more reassured if you turn the engine to where the 'ex' lines up and then see how you feel about where the 'in' is and then imagine it being a tooth forward or backward and see if that's nearer or further from the top face of the engine case.

Double check all you cam bolts are tight down, the cam buckets are in place correctly, the guides and tensioner is in place, the tensioner is tensioning, the other ends of the cams are where you expect them to be an so on... basically anything that could cause it to look wrong.

 

Thanks dern. I've got the T timing mark lined up and the In' is in the right place so that leads me to think the Ex is potentially in the wrong place? But I will give it look and see what I think

 

With the T mark in the right place you need to get the exhaust cam in the right place first and make certain you have the cam chain tight at the front of the engine.
This part is essential because you need the slack on the intake side ready for the CCT to do its job.
If you don’t the cams won’t line up once you have rotated the engine and taken up the slack.
If you’re struggling with this bit you might want to take the clutch cover off as it is a bit easier to check the slack.
Only then can you put the intake cam in place.
Cam holders back on, unwind the CCT, manually turn over the engine slowly to check for free movement, bring it back to TDC and check both cams are lined up still on their marks.
Assuming they are now okay go through the valve clearance check procedure again to ensure they are all in spec.
Job done.

 

what dern said put the exh in place see how the in looks

 

So I had another look and play this morning, after moving the cams around a few times and not being happy I decided to start again. I made sure the crank timing marks were lined up, as it turns out I think I was slightly out so I adjusted it slightly and hey presto, everything seemed to line up a lot easier...

I appreciate the second photo is a little harder to see but I think I've got them lined up better and after turning the engine over everything still looked good and I'm a lot happier. Just hope I haven't done any damage to the engine when I turned it over previously...

Now the next question.......at 43k do I replace the cam cover gasket? It looks in good condition but it's the mileage that worries me.

Thank you all for the input so far

 

Mine is on 55k and it’s still in excellent condition, check it all round to make sure there’s no splits or cracks or signs of perishing. You’ll need a spot of threebond at each of the semi-circle points on the head, as per instructions in the manual. Apply this to the head and keep the cover clear of the head until you’re in the right position before lowering, otherwise you’ll wipe the sealant everywhere except where it’s needed. Good luck with it, if you’re forcing it you aren’t lined up correctly but it’s really tight for space so it’s a fine line.

 

I have bought a new genuine gasket just in case but the old one looks good on first look, shall I replace it anyway or is it really not worth it? I have some gasket sealant as well so I'm good to go I think. I'm really not looking forward to putting the cover on as it was awkward to get out and I'm not sure I can get it back in without spreading sealant all over the place.......any tips?

 

If you’ve already bought the gasket you may as well fit the new one.
I was surprised by how easy the cover went back in.
It helps to watch the video Dern linked to.
Assuming you have the radiator, throttle cables etc clear then slowly manoeuvring it in, making sure to keep it square to the opening is the key. Don’t let it down more than you have to until you have it all the way in. Keep an eye on those half circles as they are what will catch.

 

Have I missed something? I don't see a link to a video anywhere. Very happy to watch it though as I really wrestled with the cover to get it out