Cam Chain with Master Link

[pecor]

Should't you be able to line up All the timing marks on the flywheel and Cam gear to determine whether or not you have a stretch, Problem??  I'm learning here so I hope this docent sound like a stupid question? 

[OhioYJ]

10 hours ago, jimspac said:

 If the link in the final chain breaks, if the bike is properly setup, there may be minor damage.

OK, I have to ask... How do you properly setup your bike to protect yourself and it from a big fat flinging piece of metal if a chain breaks?

[DrzBob]

There's the chain guard on the swingarm and one at the front sprocket right under the plastic cover. Anyway I'd stay away from open cam chains: they can save you one hour or two of work time, and it's true that it's not rocket sience, but I agree that you need the right tools and  you actually need to be very precise when closing the chain. If you don't rivet the pin you have no guarantees that it cannot slip out when the motor is running and the cam chain put under stress. Also, chain links must be at the very same distance, too tight and you will end with a tight spot in the chain, causing premature wear. When I swapped cam chain about a month or two ago I had one spare DID open chain I had laying around, and tried to put it together with a chain riveter tool: I spent almost half an hour fitting pins and ended riveting them too tight. So I went for a more safe (in my opinion) endless cam chain

[RapidDog]

22 hours ago, Erik Marquez said:

Buy coolant, oil, filter, high strength thread lock, Camchain, right side cover gasket.
Remove seat and tank, wash bike
remove valve cover, set cams at 10 & 2, remove CCT., remove cams.
Drain fluids as stated, oil and coolant

Remove both side covers, 
Hold flywheel with socket or wrench, loosen primary nut, clean nut and threads.
Remove clutch basket
Replace chain, cams, CCT, valve cover, clutch, primary gear nut, side covers , seat and tank...Fill with fluids and filter, go ride.

EDIT ADD: That was not a perfect step by step..I put zero thought into it and likely missed something...Its just a quick listing of what is part of replacing a cam chain. 

So...I got all balls-in last night after work. Followed the steps above.

Not sure why I removed the stator side cover when you can turn the crank through the crank door.

Anyhow, all looks pretty good inside the guts. No worn gears or obvious nasty bits. The water pump assy looks fine. Everything tight.

On the stator side, I did notice s couple of the little plastic 'straps' on the stator were broken. Picked those pieces out.

Any ideas as to the 'state of stators'? Hopefully I can button this up by the weekend.

[Erik Marquez]

So...I got all balls-in last night after work. Followed the steps above.

Not sure why I removed the stator side cover when you can turn the crank through the crank door.

 

 

To hold the flywheel, and thus the crank, transmission, primary gear and balancer gear to properly loosen and TQ the primary gear and balancer gear nuts.

[Erik Marquez]

Any ideas as to the 'state of stators'? Hopefully I can button this up by the weekend.

The stator is checked electrically
it’s looks have little to no confirmation of its serviceability.

The plastic zip ties are often found broken, just a thing that happens after many hours in hot oil and lots of vibrations.

[RapidDog]

23 minutes ago, Erik Marquez said:

 

The stator is checked electrically
it’s looks have little to no confirmation of its serviceability.

The plastic zip ties are often found broken, just a thing that happens after many hours in hot oil and lots of vibrations.
 

Well it does charge. Lights work and battery stays charged. I'll assume it's working.

Unless someone else applied the LocTite on the stator, all screws are tight.

[Erik Marquez]

Well it does charge. Lights work and battery stays charged. I'll assume it's working.
Unless someone else applied the LocTite on the stator, all screws are tight.

Tight now only means they have not come loose, which is good.
But
Not the same as thread locked so they don’t come loose tomorrow

[RapidDog]

4 minutes ago, Erik Marquez said:

Tight now only means they have not come loose, which is good.
But
Not the same as thread locked so they don’t come loose tomorrow

...so back them off and add red LockTite is the deal, yes?

[DrzBob]

Yes, one at a time ? so you don't have to guess if someone else did it or not

[Erik Marquez]

...so back them off and add red LockTite is the deal, yes?

That’s what I would suggest.

Remove one clean the threads of both fastener and hole thread lock reinstall tighten.

 

Do that to both the starter clutch bolts and the stator screws

[cwf340]

On ‎9‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 10:12 AM, RapidDog said:

well shucks, I just did an oil chage before I realized this bike probably needs the chain.

I installed a TT cam chain adjuster (Stock one was FUBAR) and it still makes alot of noise down there...

Just lay the bike on the right side and do it that way. you wont have to change the oil

[RapidDog]

40 minutes ago, cwf340 said:

Just lay the bike on the right side and do it that way. you wont have to change the oil

Heh heh, a little late for that, but thanks for the suggestion ;}

[cwf340]

7 minutes ago, RapidDog said:

Heh heh, a little late for that, but thanks for the suggestion ;}

Ya I posted before reading the thread lol.

[jjktmrider]

I'd prefer to replace those flywheel bolts with new ones since certain manuals stated too high torque specs plus go a step higher grade . Never know if the flywheel had been replaced or taken off and the guy torqued the shit out of them and started stretching them . New is known to be good , old a question , be different if it only had a couple thousand miles and likely hadn't been touched .  I'd never do red loctite ,blue with clean threads and torqued properly will be plenty and less trouble if you need to change the stator down the road ? .

 

.

Edited September 13, 2018 by jjktmrider

[fastestoldwheelieguy]

I'm not sure about Suzuki parts but Mike's XS sells a cam chain with a master link.  If they don't have one, maybe they could direct you.  Their customer service via email is usually pretty good.....  Semper Fi.....

[RapidDog]

Well, got 'er done. Wasn't that hard but it's never as easy as people say.

I had to place real close attention to keeping the parts in order and reassembling, especially the clutch side.

But all went good.

Clutch basket and CC nut came off with my impact wrench pretty easily.

Got a new gasket and a Wiseco chain.

I'm real pleased with how it looks inside. All the gears look new, really no signs of wear.

Cam lobes look perfect.

Comparing cam chains side by side, there is a noticeable difference in the flex.

Chain guides showed no wear or marks at all. Maybe this bike really does have 8K miles!

Valves re-checked and in spec, intakes about .127mm, exhausts about .235mm

Clutch appears fine. Measured a couple plates at about .20.

Hope this mitigates the noise and helps the idle issue. ..

Edited September 17, 2018 by RapidDog

[RapidDog]

Now, next question. I'm trying to find info on the manual compression release. The PO installed a kick starter kit on this 2002 E.

It has the manual compression release as well, which to me is more clutter on the bars. So I removed the bar lever completely.

The head lever at the head is still there and on 'closed'.

A firend has been asking me about the noise maybe coming from the compression release mechanism.

I haven't a clue...what to look for.

 

[RapidDog]

Happy to report that the cam chain swap did the trick. The bike is now as quiet as my friends bike, in fact, unbelievably quiet compared to before.

After two months of work on this what I thought was a beater, I'm quite pleased with the way it runs and handles...