I'm thinking of contacting a company called Precision Shims Australia to see if they have some to suit my K100.
Can someone tell me what the exact diameter measurement is. A combination of crook eyes and cheap measuring equipment doesn't help me much.

Also if anyone has heard of/dealt with these guys, would be helpful to know the results, think they are in Melbourne. (the shims seem cheap compared to BMW and Munich M/cycles).
Thanks
RT

RT, I'm pretty sure they are 29mm diameter. Last time I needed some I went and saw my mate who runs the workshop at a local suzuki dealer. He pulled a box from under the bench that had dinosaur bones written on top of the box and he gave me the three I needed. When I got home, one of them was 29.5mm diameter and wouldn't fit. But, on the up side, some jap shims will fit.

They are 29mm RT and Kawasaki Z1300 and Z1000 Z900 all fit.  Some will tell you yhr Yamaha made shims that were 29mm also but they have a 1.5mm chamfer on the perimiter and on the Kawasakis they would occasionally pick one up sideways and spit it out through the cover and head so I dont recommend using them.
The BMW cams touch all the way to the edge of the shim so they would be a likely candidate for doing it.

I thank the collective geniuii once again. If I may impose one more time, does anyone have a really good Vernier caliper to reccommend (has to be digital for me, being a Science Dropout, better looking chicks in Economics classes).

RT wrote:I thank the collective geniuii once again. If I may impose one more time, does anyone have a really good Vernier caliper to reccommend (has to be digital for me, being a Science Dropout, better looking chicks in Economics classes).

Just buy one of the cheap digital calipers from China on Fleabay.  That's what I use and it is surprisingly accurate.

I'm with Duck on this, re micrometres. I bought a $19 China-made version from tool discounters, Harbor Freight in Tacoma Washington, over seven years ago and except for replacing the watch-type battery twice, it's not let me down.

Of course, it could just be giving me the numbers I want to see...

Damn, is that why my valve clearances never change!?

Two Wheels Better wrote:Damn, is that why my valve clearances never change!?

No, it's because K bike valves are pretty static.

As most here probably know I have a Z1300 Kawasaki or as in US a KZ1300 since new in 1979. I also spent many years dragracing a Z900 in various forms from street driven to top fuel bike.
The Kawasaki had a habit of wearing the shim in the centre more than the outer edge and so using a vernier all you did was to measure the outer edge and that rarely changed and if you put a shim in that was worn in the centre with the worn side down it would sometimes crack.  I learned the hard way as most of us do and measured them with a micrometer so that I could measure the centre of the shim and not its nominal size, if it showed any sign of wear in the centre it would go into the bin.
As I said previously the BMW 29mm shims seem to wear right across the face and so should by theory wear evenly but they dont, probably due to the spring pressure being higher when the cam lobe is centre on the shim.

Conclusion Use a micrometer it will give you real readings as to the state of the shim and if it is suitable to use.
Being that the BMW K100/75, BMW F series and Kawasaki all have interchangeable shims and considering the age this is more likely to happen due to people using from an old stock of shims of unknown source.
You can get a good micrometer on fleabay for much the same price as a set of verniers
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-25mm-0-001mm-Electronic-Digital-Micrometer-/290512465552?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item43a3e46e90.

duck wrote:

Two Wheels Better wrote:Damn, is that why my valve clearances never change!?

No, it's because K bike valves are pretty static.

That was written with some dissimulation, or feigned-ignorance, tongue-in-cheek style.
:joker:

Well I have purchased a set(X2) and have to recommend the service from these guys. No attachments to me
just found them quick and reasonable.
Precision Shims Australia in Croydon Victoria, Chris Bullen. 

The shims were $9.90 each which is ok for me, you may have them cheaper but I'm happy with them.

So all shimmied up here, replace Wazs' that I used and ready for the rest of the fleet.

RicK G wrote:They are 29mm RT and Kawasaki Z1300 and Z1000 Z900 all fit.  Some will tell you yhr Yamaha made shims that were 29mm also but they have a 1.5mm chamfer on the perimiter and on the Kawasakis they would occasionally pick one up sideways and spit it out through the cover and head so I dont recommend using them.
The BMW cams touch all the way to the edge of the shim so they would be a likely candidate for doing it.

Many years ago I bought a second hand GPz1100, It spat a shim and (luckily only) bent one valve. It turned out that the shim had been pushed on to the top of the valve on its edge and drove the valve into the crown of the piston. No one that I spoke to at the time had ever heard of it. I guess this would explain why it happened.

What range of shims should be worth keeping stock of?

Once you get them right they rarely need adjustment but 4 sizes either side of 2.50mm would see most adjustments out.
P.S. always keep a record of the shim sizes and measure with a micrometer not verniers.

Thank you very much

I have purchased shims for my Laverda from Precision Shims.  I found their service to be exemplary. I would definitely go to them again.