I've just finished fitting valve shims to my 75. After shuffling around I needed three shims for the exhaust valves. Munich BMW new were $25 ea plus freight. I could get the second hand locally for the initial price of $15.00 dropped to $10.00 ea. . I tried the local Yammie dealer no go but he suggested Precision Shims Melbourne. I filled the online order form with contact details and within 15min I had a very pleasant phone call from Chris and we arranged payment. Exactly 24 hours later they arrived on my door step, excellent product each marked with their size. Cost of shims was $11.00 ea and overnight freight $13.50 which surprisingly was actually overnight. Very professional service and product.
Regards Martin.

perhaps you should have tried the kawasaki dealer , the klr650 has (for me at least , direct replacements )

when visiting the dealer out at moorooka some years ago they had a couple of boxes of removed shims in the right size and range of thicknesses , i guessed there must have been 100 there .
at that time $5.00 per exchange.

but Precission shims are great for service and communication .

excellent recommendation indeed

Thanks Charlie the closest Kwaka dealer is Bowen Hills  and we've got two more Bricks to do at this stage Micks and SSD's.  And I'll leave it up to them where they want to go. I'm really happy with Precisions price considering I didn't have to go chasing them which would have been awkward. Wife's car has been on the charger all day and the 75 was in bits so no transport.
Regards Martin.

I too have had a great experience as a customer of Precision Shims.

I have a special offer deal from Tills.de to add to an order so no shipping cost for me.

I want to buy a selection of shims...what sizes am I best to buy?

A few years ago, I was looking for a single shim to end my K100 overhaul.
I called the local dealer at the end of a very hot day: "Yes I have one in stock, but hurry up, we're closing in 20 minutes for 3 weeks of vacation. "
I live at 25 km from the dealer.
It's OK in motorcycle, but the storm explodes at the same time...
So I jump in my VW Golf, breaks a record in the special stage to the dealer, ignoring the strange noises and the red lights flashing on the dashboard...
I got the shim before the door closes.
On my way back, the car engine dies, intermediate shaft broken. Very unusual issue...

So after ruining a 1500€ car for a 3€ shim, I went to a music event at the next village, to change my mind and have a few beers.
At the end, I noticed an open door in an old house nearby, with light inside, and an old Kawasaki triple on a lift, an old guy working on it. I say hello, we chat, and he learns me that the Kawasaki shims are the same on K100.
"Wait...where are they...Oh, here! Take them, I won't use them anymore." He offers me a large box full of hundreds of valve shims sorted by thickness.

Eventually, it was not such an awful day...

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:I want to buy a selection of shims...what sizes am I best to buy?

Since the wear in the valve seat requires replacement with thinner shims, I would get shims that are in the thinner end of the size range. 

It has also been suggested that shims could be ground down to open up the valve gap.  You would need to be careful to make absolutely sure that the ground side was facing down so the unground side is facing the cam lobe to prevent wear. 

The grinding would have to be done by hand to prevent heat buildup that would change the surface hardening of the shim.

Gryph it's hard to guesstimate the shim sizes. Unfortunately it's best to check the clearances then remove and measure the shims to see what shims sizes you could be requiring now and in the future. My shims were in the 2.6 to  2.5 mm range and after shuffling I had to order 3 x 2.45 mm. I have lapped down valve shims (Non BMW) when desperate using a wet stone and using a strong magnet to hold the shim, you can also use an old bucket. I've also done some with wet and dry paper wet on a sheet of glass. Time consuming, tedious, and boring but less chance of stuffing it up. I've also seen it done using a sander as well as a bench grinder on the side of a fine wheel a lot quicker but more chance of stuffing it up and you have to make sure that you keep it cool. Constant measurements are needed to make sure the removal of material is square. Personally for time involved  and the big chance of stuffing them up I'd  prefer to buy them considering how quick Precision shims were in sending my shims.
Regards Martin.

Martin, I agree that grinding is not thr most desirable way to go, but will get you a good shim in an "emergency". 

Fortunately, I was able to get a large collection of shims a few years ago, and they have stood me well the past couple times I did valve adjustments.

Lapping is better and more controllable than grinding in my view. I did actually clean up some old shims the other day by lapping with wet and dry on a sheet of glass. If it came to a crunch I would probably have a go using the bench grinder using the side of the wheel I use to grind lathe tool steel. I'd go slow with frequent cooling and measurements on the perimeter and centre of the shim to insure it is flat and level. I considered at one stage making up a vee block set up and using an old bucket on my disc/belt sander. I might try a secure an old bucket on day and see what can be done. Unfortunately too many projects and not enough time.
Regards Martin.

Yeah, I should have said lapping.  220 grit on a sheet of glass lubed with some 5W20.  The key is to keep the shim flat.  I have some ideas for doing that, but haven't tried any of them.

So a mix of 2.20 2.25 2.30 2.35 2.40 2.45 should do it? Have I the right ranges?

My Z1300 Kawasaki has the same shims as a K100/75 and after near 45 years of owning bikes with those shims and working on them even longer I have been left with a large selection of the larger shims from about 2.60mm through to 3.20mm. I was constantly needing to buy the smaller sizes new as they rarely ended up in my selection after doing jobs.
So by my experience get a selection of the smaller sizes.
The only time I used the larger sizes was when building race engines with big cams where I needed to machine the inner surface of the bucket to prevent the shim from lifting one edge and ending up outside the engine with the usual disastrous results.

Olaf they would suit my bike but the only way to know for certain would be to measure the gaps and then remove and measure the shims.
Regards Martin.

MartinW wrote:Olaf they would suit my bike but the only way to know for certain would be to measure the gaps and then remove and measure the shims.
Regards Martin.

I have two 2v Ks that I want to check and the shims are only costing me less then €3.50 each to add to my order so not too worried. We do swap shims but postage for swapping them is more than that plus itr depends on getting them out to measure them first so I will put them in my shed. In the end I decided to order 2 of all sizes up to 2.50.