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cam chain noise *FIXED*

Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 5:44 pm
by Masika
Okay I know its a thing with these bikes Ive even read a post where someone replaced tensioner and still had the noise. Well my question is how to tell if the noise is bad enough it shouldnt be ran. I just did a top end rebuild all new gaskets and such and on the first startup (baking exhaust wrap/paint) no driving, it seemed like the noise was louder than it was before. all though I cant remember for sure because I have not ran the bike for almost 7 months now. Im going to upload a video of the bike running and maybe someone can tell me if it sounds worse than it should or its normal, also is it possible to maybe not get the tensioner to do its job on the first try? I ran starter with bike off and tightened tensioner while spinning as per manual.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzhSaJ_ ... e=youtu.be

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:08 pm
by Folsoml
Could it be that your tensioner is not installed correctly? This is very easy to do. Here is a picture of how it should NOT be:
Image

This is as viewed from the bottom with the oil pan removed. So far, I've not seen a suggestion on how to check this any other way.

Check out Ibsen's very thorough cam tensioner thread.

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:49 pm
by Masika
well it went in smooth and all bolt holes lined up well.

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 9:37 pm
by Folsoml
It will go in smooth and still be wrong. It is actually easier to put it in wrong than it is to get it right. I would wager that this what's causing your problem.

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 12:37 am
by Masika
Okay well I removed the cam cover and saw that the chain was extremely lose and im guessing its from [Turning crank while tightening tensioner adjuster bolt] I mean it was really sloppy. the manual says to turn crank and tighten bolt at the same time but turning crank stopping then tightening seamed to have worked much better. so 2 questions.

1. in the pictures when I loosen top tensioner bolt you can see it 'bends' away is this normal? if not then I guess its not installed properly (see pictures 1 and 2). im trying to figure this out without removing oil pan as I already spent $300 on new parts and dont want to buy another gasket.

Image

Image

2. new video shows current tension after new adjustment. does it look to par? or does it still look way to loose? I tried to angle my camera down the side of the chain to see if tensioner was correct but you cant see much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud_XPU- ... e=youtu.be

Edit-- okay lets say worst case its installed wrong, do you think its possible for me to fix from the bottom side if I remove the oil pan?

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:31 am
by jcasey007
removing the sump only gives you a visual check that the installation is correct or Incorrect but will not enable you to fix it, you still need to strip the top end some so reseat the follower in the lower fixing

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 7:23 am
by Masika
Can anyone show me a visual of how tight there cam chain is?

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 12:31 pm
by Folsoml
jcasey007 wrote:removing the sump only gives you a visual check that the installation is correct or Incorrect but will not enable you to fix it, you still need to strip the top end some so reseat the follower in the lower fixing



^^ Yeah, this. ^^

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 12:33 pm
by Masika
Okay with a second comment stating the same thing I assume both of you watched the video to see me tug on the chain?

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:04 pm
by Folsoml
Masika wrote:Okay with a second comment stating the same thing I assume both of you watched the video to see me tug on the chain?


I'm not in a position to watch videos right now, sorry. My comment was to assure you that the response to your earlier question was correct.

Did you view the link to Ibsen's thread I provided above? It's pretty detailed.

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:04 pm
by Masika
yes but it doesnt help me unless i remove pan. Ill just wait for someone to come alone and watch the video. thanks.

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 4:26 pm
by my79650
I watched your video and it is too loose. Drop your oil pan and check it for position. If everything is ok, then back off the adjuster nut for the tensioner and turn on the key and shut off the kill switch. Use the starter to turn it over a few times then see if if takes u the slack. If that don't work then you should try to find another tensioner. Sometimes they stick and won't adjust; back the nut off a few turns and tap it a few times. Good luck.

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:50 am
by jcasey007
My advice is not to remove the sump, it's oil tight and it's not required to fix the cam chain tensioner.

The top end has to come off to sort the noisy, loose cam chain, better to spend the time and remove the follower, inspect and then make doubly sure it is in the bottom location before you put it all back together. You can see it is in from the top end with a torch

That's my 2 pence worth

Jim

Re: cam chain noise

Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 12:31 am
by Masika
Thanks for the help everyone. it was installed wrong. Im actually glad I removed the oil Pan as the screen at the bottom was pretty filthy and had some caked oil at the bottom from 30k miles of use. gasket was only $7 and I was able to fix the tensioner without removing head for the 2nd time and the chain is nice and tight now.

Re: cam chain noise *FIXED*

Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 1:00 am
by Folsoml
Glad to hear it!