26-07-14, 04:17 PM
There is some element of confusion with regards the Cam Chain tensioner.
The 600 tensioner because of its simple design rarely and I mean rarely gives trouble unless you are using poor quality oil or neglecting oil changes. The other reason it may give trouble is low usage and starting the bike for short periods when storing it, where rust can become an issue where the ratchet spring may break.
Rattles are either due to uneven chain wear or loose tappats or maybe a crank bearing, 99 times out of 100 the tensioner is doing its job correctly.
I have seen many people with fazers and thundercats replace tensioners when there is nothing wrong with them. I put a so called faulty tensioner which was removed into the blue fazer 400 my eldest son had because the 600 ones are modified 400 ones to cope with the extra power. The modification being a stronger spring.
That bike is still going 5 years later, with over 30000km on the so called faulty tensioner.
Bikes with a hard life will wear the chain faster than one driven sedately. My chain was completely shot at 50000 mile and was one and a half links longer than the new one I replaced it with because it was living at the red line a lot from high speed road and track use.
The problem is that chains do not wear uniformly and the tensioner since it is a one way device will only click onto the next adjustments when the tighter part of the chain wears and until it clicks over it will rattle. If chains wore evenly there would never be an issue.
By all means check the tensioner and it is easy to check. You do not have to remove the carburetors just lift them up through the frame out of the way and saves the hassle of putting the throttle cables back on. (mentioned in a previous post here).
Remove the centre bolt and remove the springs undo the bolts holding on the tensioner. Take it off and be careful not to lose the ball bearing between the spring and the tensioner shaft. Reset the tensioner thus checking the ratchet spring in the process, oil it and put it back on with a new gasket if necessary torquing up the two bolts correctly. Replace the ball bearing, replace the springs and if you can hear the ratchet clicking as you push in the springs the tensioner is working. Replace the bolt and a new copper washer if you have one. Torque it up to the correct torque
Check the alignment of the cams with the T mark on the rotor. If the marks do not line up almost exactly then the chain is worn.
Rotate the rotor counter clockwise and line it up again check the alignment, do this a further 4 or 5 times. Since the cam run at half the speed of the crank you will be checking the alignment at different points of the chain.
The 600 tensioner because of its simple design rarely and I mean rarely gives trouble unless you are using poor quality oil or neglecting oil changes. The other reason it may give trouble is low usage and starting the bike for short periods when storing it, where rust can become an issue where the ratchet spring may break.
Rattles are either due to uneven chain wear or loose tappats or maybe a crank bearing, 99 times out of 100 the tensioner is doing its job correctly.
I have seen many people with fazers and thundercats replace tensioners when there is nothing wrong with them. I put a so called faulty tensioner which was removed into the blue fazer 400 my eldest son had because the 600 ones are modified 400 ones to cope with the extra power. The modification being a stronger spring.
That bike is still going 5 years later, with over 30000km on the so called faulty tensioner.Bikes with a hard life will wear the chain faster than one driven sedately. My chain was completely shot at 50000 mile and was one and a half links longer than the new one I replaced it with because it was living at the red line a lot from high speed road and track use.
The problem is that chains do not wear uniformly and the tensioner since it is a one way device will only click onto the next adjustments when the tighter part of the chain wears and until it clicks over it will rattle. If chains wore evenly there would never be an issue.
By all means check the tensioner and it is easy to check. You do not have to remove the carburetors just lift them up through the frame out of the way and saves the hassle of putting the throttle cables back on. (mentioned in a previous post here).
Remove the centre bolt and remove the springs undo the bolts holding on the tensioner. Take it off and be careful not to lose the ball bearing between the spring and the tensioner shaft. Reset the tensioner thus checking the ratchet spring in the process, oil it and put it back on with a new gasket if necessary torquing up the two bolts correctly. Replace the ball bearing, replace the springs and if you can hear the ratchet clicking as you push in the springs the tensioner is working. Replace the bolt and a new copper washer if you have one. Torque it up to the correct torque
Check the alignment of the cams with the T mark on the rotor. If the marks do not line up almost exactly then the chain is worn.
Rotate the rotor counter clockwise and line it up again check the alignment, do this a further 4 or 5 times. Since the cam run at half the speed of the crank you will be checking the alignment at different points of the chain.