The Hot Cams Kits just don't do the job, they are 90% out of the range you will be needing.
it seams like it is simpler to buy a kit, but really it's a waste of time and money, as will will ALLWAYS have to get one that doesn't come in the kit.
Hey MOB,
I have to disagree on the Hot Cams kits being a waste of money...they're actually quite handy if you do valve checks and adjusts often enough. You can buy two different range kits, and if you want you can buy specific sizes in refill quantities.
I used to try to adjust valves to some sort of level of perfection that wasn't actually required....it was a personal preference, nothing more, but it became increasingly more and more frustrating waiting on specific shims from the Kawasaki dealer with a set of cams laying on my bench that I wanted to put back in the darn bike. It's nice that the OEM shims come in the more refined 0.001" increments, but they're not
always needed. Our local dealer(s) don't stock all the sizes...just a small handful.
Since the valve specs on most bikes are in the 4-5 thou range, the Hot Cams shims, which are in 0.002" increments, will be just fine for adjustments, assuming the valve is at the edge of the spec.
In my experience, I usually find between 4-8 valves that can be adjusted. Usually, half of them can be adjusted by simply moving existing shims around. In the end, I rarely ever need more than 3-4 "new" shims from a kit (or the dealer, whatever).
To add to this...I have made the second valve adjustment on two Kawasakis (one Z1000, and one C-14) that had previously had their valves adjusted at two separate Kawasaki dealers. Guess what I found inside them? Hot Cams shims...lol. No joke. (<---BDF likes this:)/
All I'm trying to say is...don't dismiss them as being completely useless...if I can find a shim or two that I need in the kit, so that I can snap the valve cover back on the bike in the same day...then having that kit is like money in the bank for me, and makes for a much more seamless job. A valve check and adjustment is a big enough job without having the bike down for several days while you track down the shims you need.
Do enough valve adjustments, and eventually you'll end up with a pretty decent supply of various sizes...assuming that you keep the OEM shims you remove, and refill the Hot Cams shims as you run out.
As always, YMMV.