Having decided to do no further work on valve clearances it was time to put everything back together and see if the bike would run. Compared to bolting in cams and resetting the engine timing, reassembling the rest of the bike was not that hard, with a few exceptions.
I decided to change the valve cover gasket because it had never been done. The new gasket was floppy and wouldn't hold its shape, so it kept falling out of the valve cover when I flipped it over to put it back on the engine. The Clymer manual specifies not to use any sealer on this gasket, except for a dab on each one of the four semi-circular tabs. So I was momentarily stuck as to how I was going to get the gasket to stay in place. Eventually the problem was solved with a lot of masking tape. After that I very carefully bolted the cover down in a crisscross pattern starting from the inside. The torque wrench wouldn't fit in some of the spaces so I did the best I could with the bolts that couldn't be torqued to spec.
I then bolted the signal generator cover back on using a new gasket and no sealer, noting the locations of the two long bolts and locating dowel. The locating dowel goes through a hole in the plastic cam chain guide which aligns with a hole in the engine. None of it was lined up quite right and there was some messing around to get the dowel in correctly. The disassembly procedure calls for removing the cam chain guide which I thought wouldn't be necessary, but might have been a good idea.
Next issue was reinstalling spark plugs. I purchased four new iridium plugs (NGK CR9EIX), checked the gap (0.7mm - 0.8mm), put a small amount of anti-seize on the threads and dielectric grease on the tips. Due to some bad experiences stripping threads on the Bandit I'm extremely paranoid about stripping threads and cross-threading, especially on the cylinder head. So it took several hours and lots of turning, backing out, turning again, backing out, etc. until I was able to convince myself I wasn't cross-threading the spark plug holes, which I was never really sure of. Since the plugs are installed using the plug socket they can't be turned directly with fingers, so it can be hard to feel if they're going in correctly and it's impossible to see the plug threads. Cross threading the plug threads would mean pulling the head, and after three weeks of adjusting valves that thought was demoralizing. The Yamaha service manual specifies the plugs should be tightened to 9.4 foot-pounds. Being paranoid, I went with finger-tight plus a half turn, still wondering if I'd cross-threaded the plugs.
Eventually all four went in, cross-threaded or not, so I set about reinstalling the AIS. First I installed the blocky AIS valve and wasn't able to get the tubing in. So I took out the valve and installed the tubing, then I couldn't get the valve back in. After another few hours of messing with it I looked up Pat's AIS removal procedure and found Pat had removed the valve from the top of the engine, not side or front. So I removed the ignition coil for cylinders 2 & 3, installed the tubing, then the AIS valve last. The right side valve cover coolant hose had to be removed to get the AIS system back in.
AIS valve reinstall
When the AIS was finally back in it was time to reinstall the radiator and attach the plug wires. Neither presented immediate difficulties.
Before reinstalling the tank I removed the air filter and blew it out with compressed air, as per procedure in the Clymer manual. The airbox cover screws are a little hard to get to but not difficult when compared to the AIS. Also both of the black triangular side covers have to come off to remove the rubber airbox cover. The side covers are pressure-fit into the airbox cover on the top, and there is a plastic post that fits into a hole in the frame on the bottom.
The tank has two identical-looking breather hoses that attach to it toward the back. I marked one of them with a white dot to note that it was the hose on top, but now couldn't remember what I'd meant by "top" or which way the hose was oriented when I marked it. It would've been better to have put a white dot on the matching tank hose fitting as well. I didn't think of that. So I made my best guess, installed the hoses, and turned the fuel valve to ON.
With the tank and radiator reinstalled the next step was to fill the radiator with coolant and start the bike. The procedure for filling the radiator says to fill with 50/50 aluminum-friendly silicate-free coolant until it's full, fill the overflow tank to the low line, then start the engine and wait for the thermostat to open. After that the coolant should circulate throughout the engine and the level should drop, requiring topping off. So I did that, using a mixture of Prestone Extended Life coolant from the local auto parts store, and distilled water from the grocery store. That mixture is more cost-effective than buying pre-mixed coolant from the motorcycle shop, and can be used in the pickup also. Prestone Extended Life claims to be silicate free and safe for aluminum. In 26k miles I haven't had any issues with it.
I pulled the battery off the charger, installed it, and waited a moment to look for anything I'd forgotten to install or tighten. I found nothing lying around and everything looked like it was installed correctly. I wasn't certain that the engine wasn't 360 degrees off or what it would mean if it was, or even how to tell. I had rotated the engine a few times after remeasuring the valves the third time, and was pretty sure that at least there would be no valve/piston contact. This is always a possibility if the engine timing is off, and will basically destroy a motor in a split second. After a moment of silence and a deep breath I turned the key and hit the starter. It started immediately!
After the bike warmed up I topped off the radiator, capped it, and filled the overflow tank to the full line.
Nothing appeared to be leaking so I moved on to the last steps, carburetor synchronization and idle speed adjustment. On the FZ1 these are both relatively quick and easy with the right tools. Later I'll do a separate write-up about how to do a carb sync, but Pat's procedure is the definitive guide for the FZ1 and the procedure I followed.
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