Help with 04 RMZ 250 timing and valve clearance

[chriskramer07]

Ok, so the bike runs if i bump start it. I can kick the bike hot and get it going but when I was riding it, its very boggy on the low end.

I took off the valve cover to check the valve clearance. When I went to put it at TDC its hard to tell when its there because in the window for the crank there is not the tick marks you normally see. There is only a neon looking paint marker line. Has anyone had the same type of marking?

If that is where my top dead center is my timing is WAY off. Compression feels really low as well very easy to kick. do not have a compression gauge yet but hopefully get one soon.

I got the bike in a trade. The guy I got it off said it needed a piston and valves. He works at a shop as a mechanic so I paid for the parts and a little bit for labor to just have him take care of it. The only thing that was wrong was the o ring on the drain plug of the carb was bad and leaking but I fixed that.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris

[chriskramer07]

Anyone?

[petek]

I have the same year bike with the same issues.... While searching this site, I've learned that the 04 has cam gears that can slip on the cam shaft (re time gears to cam and weld In place).. No further details on that. Also learned that the Cdi box behind the front number plate goes bad. 04 is a one year only cdi. There are performance units on eBay for $90..

I think I'm gonna drain the fuel, put in basement and start from the beginning.. No since kicking it over.. It won't fix it

[airbus_a300]

make sure all your timing marks are correct, in your flywheel you should have 3 marks. two of them are close together and the other one is about 90° away if you rotate your engine counter-clockwise the first mark is your ignition timing mark (about 8° BTDC), and the mark next to it is your TDC mark (thats the one you need). to align the camshaft marks you should have both punch marks facing up in both cam gears and a punch mark in your Intake cam pointing at 3 o'clock and in your exhaust cam at 9 o'clock, valve clearances should be 0.10-0.15mm INTAKE and 0.17-0.22mm EXHAUST. hope that helps

[airbus_a300]

as petek said i've also seen lots of cases where cam gears slip from there original position, since they are only press fitted assemblies, to have an idea of how the should be make sure the hole in one of the cam lobes is aligned correctly with the hole in the cam gear

[chriskramer07]

Ok thanks for your replies. The part that is confusing is that i am not seeing the 3 marks on the window for the crank. In fact I'm not seeing any of them. The only mark I see is a neon looking paint mark. I ended up taking it in... Hope to here something from this guy next week.

Thanks again! I will keep you posted

[Cody Atkins]

So after you set cam timing do you turn the flywheel to set the ignition timing I've heard leave at Tdc but I'm pretty sure the manual says align the ignition timing mark on the flywheel with the hole notch on the left case by the way it's a 2004 Suzuki rmz 250

[notoriousE-R-I-C]

This threads from 2012.
Take the spark plug out and put a screwdriver down the spark plug hole. Spin crank. When the screwdriver reaches its highest, you're at TDC. Now check your valves. Touch nothing else. Until you need to remove the cam chain tensioner.