You should not need to do that at all. The cams have timing marks, so long as the engine is set at TDC and you check the timing marks on the cam sprockets are correct, when you put it back together, just be sure you are still at TDC (via the crank mark) and double check your cam marks. This is FAR more accurate than taking a picture.

BTW, use a lot of oil and or assm lube for everything, you can't use too much and be careful when you remove the head, the buckets under the cam sometimes fall out, and if you are not sure where they came from you could end up putting the wrong bucket on the wrong valve making two of them out of spec. Best to do a quick valve check while you are in there anyway to be sure.

Otherwise it isn't that hard, remove all plastics and tank, remove carb, remove engine mount, drain coolant remove thermo housing and cooling hose (IIRC), remove head (I didn't remove the radiator but I think I loosened it for some space IIRC), remove block, clean all old gaskets off, remove one piston cir clip, slide wrist pin out, remove piston and then reverse. Just be sure to oil or assm lube the wrist pin, piston, rings (be sure to set the rings in the right spots and the piston arrow facing the front of the engine), lube cylinder bore and then lube it again, lube cams and head and follow the torque and torque sequence per the manual.

Don't change the oil before you do this, once it is back together, change the oil, then run it in and change the oil again, this will be sure you got any little gasket crap out that may have dropped in. Also, rags are your best friend, put them inside every single opening to prevent mini disasters...also do not forget to have some fresh coolant on hand for the refill.

 

you can have it to the crank in 15 mins if you've done it before.
1. tank, shrouds, carb, hoses, oil, plug wire.
2.valve cover, cam chain tensioners, exhaust.
3. camshaft keepers, cams, head bolts. DO NOT LET THE MAIN BOLT WASHERS FALL!
4.Pull head, remove piston c clips and voila! Yer down to bare bones.
Put it all back together. will probably take 2-3 hours total. i suggest breaks after every task so you have a fresh head. give it 4 hours. Rejet fat n rich and use non synthetic oil, pretty much use the most basic 10-40 you can find. run it for about 15-30 minutes idle. shut if off cool completely, run it again for about an hour under 5k rpms. let it cool completey. Run again varying rpms, nothing extreme. Drain oil, put some good in and yer all set.

About the cams, you dont need to take a picture. lol. on the left side of your engine there are two caps, take them both off you want to the top cap to have the marking line up TDC. then when you put it back together, you start with the exhaust cam, make sure the marking is dead even with the cylinder head with the chain tight with the crank. Then mark 32 links over to the marking on the intake cam. that should also be flat with the head. there should be a little slack in the chain between the two cams.

 

How many of you break in using the "run it hard" method?
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

I'm a "tweener". When "running in" rings (I hate to call it "breaking in"), I'm a moto-tune-type operator. There's just not much to hurt. Heavy throttle helps seat the rings, and hard engine braking helps suck any junk out of the combustion chamber.

But, if it is truly a brand-new engine, I take it pretty easy for a while to hopefully allow whatever scharf there may be get knocked off the gears, etc. But, by 100 miles the engine will have seen some 100% throttle...but, not right off of idle...I continually increase the throttle as the rpms increase.

Certainly not a scientific approach to the task, but, I've NEVER had an oil-burning vehicle in my life, nor have I had any vehicles that had anything that would remotely be considered to be "abnormal wear"...although my company vehicle, Ford Escape, had the transmission overhauled at 42,000 miles, and I had a 1990-something Honda Accord V6 have a new auto transmission put in at less than 3000 miles due to a "machining defect". I don't think either were related to "run-in" problems.

 

cars, bikes, toys,,,,even RC stuff in my house broken in hard.
My son bought a brand new CHevy Colorado with a 5.3 V8 and wouldn't let the dealer run the thing. He watched it come off the delivery truck and took it to the track to break it in. Warranty helps though in his case. Seriously though,,, if you built it right, whats the difference??? if you change the oil right away, you are going to get rid of any flashing debris that comes off a new cast part the same if you run it hard or soft. So you might as well run it hard. if you didnt build it right it's going to break anyway no matter what.

 

Joe I did this a year or so ago, it went pretty smoothly. I did mess a few things up though along the way, but it all worked out. keep a cool head, get the manuals and read through them ahead of time.

read about my issues here:
https://www.kawasakiforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=28665

have fun, its easy
~Steve

 

revtor that looks like ~a 1979 KLX 250

 

yeah man... not actually sure of the date, but I just love how spartan and bare the older bikes look. It's the essence of dirtbiking for me. engine, knobbies, suspension.

(Mines actually an '06)

 

That's the way I did mine 5 years and nearly 15,000 miles ago. Its been flawless from day one.

 

15-30 minutes to swap the cylinder but it'll take 4-5 hours to rejet it!