Opinions / experience please

[krbdude]

I am told that upon removal of the cam cover on a Z1/a/b/1000 it is quite normal to see far less oil around the inlet cam than around the exhaust cam ? I have poor oil supply/feed to the inlet cam . The engine has been out , stripped and everything is fine . All oil gallerys are clear and all oilways in the head have been checked and are clear .
Any thoughts or experience of this please ?
Regards Keith

[zed1015]

Oil usually hangs around the exhaust cam ( especially to the left ) because the engine is canted forward and is sat lower than the inlet..
Why do you think you have a poor oil feed to the inlet ?

[krbdude]

I have been chasing an engine noise since i got this Z1000a1 last April . I am now sure its no2 inlet bucket/follower . When the engine was rebuilt and put in the frame it was run for 10 minutes ( cam bearings & lobes and followers had been oiled ) the cam cover was removed and the exhaust cam was flooded with oil but there was barely any oil around the inlet cam/followers . The telling place to look i believe is in between each pair of cam bearings as the oil can't run away . This problem is driving me crazy .
Regards Keith

[Gray17]

Oil like water especially when hot will tend to settle at the lowest point, as Rob points out as the engines canted forward you would expect more oil at the front exhaust cam then the rear inlet and also to the left if left on a side stand. If you could cant the engine backwards im sure youd see more oil on the inlet cam. Same of it were perfectly upright, youd expect similar quatities on both sides.
Of course theres no way to be 100% sure that oil is getting to all the right places but if it wasnt then chances are their would be evidence, either seized up bearings or damage to the cam shells themselves.
I assume you have checked the oil.pump for clearences and rubber O rings? maybe temp fit an oil pressure gauge to monitor the pressure if youre concerned.
The rattles could be caused by several things not just cam buckets, cam chain tensioner?, Worn cam rollers which i know from personal experience do fail or completely collapse, even the cam chain guide can snap, valve clearences, although they do tend to tighten rather then loosen so im told.
I honestly believe if it were purely down to oil starvation then youre engine would have seized up by now or at least youd see evidence of overheating, in can bearings it would remove the white metal leaving just the copper, but im sure youd have seen that by now.
This may be the time to do a full engine strip so you can check all of the components correctly, but this is not a cheap option as ive subsequently discovered!

[zed1015]

Oil comes up the rear outer studs to the inlet cam and through cross drilling to the exhaust.
If the exhaust cam is getting oil then so are the inlets.
Ticking or tapping is usually cam endfloat or bucket bore wear that usually eases when the engine is warmed up.
Nothing much you can do and it's more annoying than harmfull.
My Z1R has an intermittent tick and knock from the top end which comes and goes and sometimes quietens if i lean the bike to the right.( it's usually worse if the bike's been stood more than a few days ).
It's been like that over 25 years and a hundred thousand miles with no other ill effects.
I gave it a good looking at around ten years ago with fresh guides, shells and valves etc but the noise remains.
Personally i would give it some more run time to settle in.
Ten mins from first start up isn't enough to determine that you have any sort of major issue..