FZS600 valve train noise/camchain

[His Dudeness]

My Fazers done 93,000 miles.  It started to rattle (cam chain) around 60,000 miles, and then it stopped rattling at 85,000 miles.
I've never replaced the cam chain or adjusted the valve clearances and I've had the bike from new.

I'm guessing you gave it regular oil changes? What's your riding style like? Do you keep the revs low? What does the engine sound like now? 93,000 miles is fairly impressive on the same cam chain

[Paul]

My riding style is rev the nuts of it.  But I change the oil every year and I've run it on fully synthetic all its life.

[Gnasher]

I've had many Fazers in over the years that have 100k plus 1 had 150k still on same cam chain sounded sweet.


Most tensioners/cam chains fail due to owners not revving them hard enough, using crap or insufficient oil and not changing it at correct intervals.     

[mobile mouse]

Hi,


[size=1em]"[/size]reset it by putting the bike in gear and turning the rear wheel backwards half a turn, this turn the engine backwards and [size=1em]creates enough slack in the chain to allow the tensioner to move to the next tooth"[/size]
[size=1em][/size]
[size=1em]I put the bike in 1st gear and tried to push the bike backwards it just stopped and no amount of pulling on bars would turn the engine backwards...[/size]
[size=1em][/size]
My Fazer has just clocked over 50k miles and has a rattle which i expect it's cam chain. I am not worried just thought this simple reset of the adjuster would be easy but far from it.
Am I missing anything...

[Hugh Mungus]

It's easier to use 2nd gear instead of 1st.
If you take the spark plugs out the engine will be easier to turn.

[Gnasher]

It's easier to use 2nd gear instead of 1st.
If you take the spark plugs out the engine will be easier to turn.

:agree

[Farmboy81]

I put mine in 5th and rolled it back while sat on it (I also tried to do it by hand in first, and failed).

[Bretty]

How does rolling the bike backwards 'reset' the camchain tensioner?! That makes no sense.

If your trying to make the tensioner go another click, by putting any chain slack to the back of the engine, you want to push the bike forwards, surely! Assuming that does anything. It would probably be more effective to remove the centre screw (spring and ballbearing) from the tensioner and push a screwdriver in the hole.

[BBROWN1664]

How does rolling the bike backwards 'reset' the camchain tensioner?! That makes no sense.

If your trying to make the tensioner go another click, by putting any chain slack to the back of the engine, you want to push the bike forwards, surely! Assuming that does anything. It would probably be more effective to remove the centre screw (spring and ballbearing) from the tensioner and push a screwdriver in the hole.

not sure how it works but it does. As for putting a screwdriver down the middle of the adjuster, you need to get the carbs out to do that. If you have gone that farm your better off pulling the adjuster out first to see if it is, like mine, actually clean, working and (unlike mine) not on the last adjustment.

[Gnasher]

By turning the engine backwards it's crates a little bit of slack (I mean little) this slack if it's large enough, will allow the tensioner to click up to the next notch.  We're talking mm here and it's not always successful, in which case you need to remove and reset the tensioner, if that doesn't work replace it as the tooth it now needs to engage with is worn/damaged.


If that doesn't work it's highly likely the chain is now worn and will need to be replaced.  All that said Fazers have an extremely reliable cam chain mechanism, often the noise owners think is cam chain isn't, it's out of balance carbs or clutch rattle.     

[mobile mouse]

decided on way home once warmed up to ride in only 1, 2, 3 and 4th gear.
So nice and high reving to 8-9k at times.
Also cooled down and back to normal riding a mile from home.


Bike sounded smoother before switch off.
Maybe I hope any slack in cam chain adjuster was taken up....


I really enjoyed the ride, roads are a lot quieter as kids are on half term hols here....
And Friday afternoon usually quieter here also....

[Bretty]

Show the bike the redline now and again. The inertia mismatch between the cam and crank shafts will put more slack into the cam chain when revving up and down from 2000-12,000rpm, than you will ever generate by rolling the bike backwards!!!

[Gnasher]

Just rev it up to 10k ish in 2/3 gears every now and then, job done  

[mobile mouse]

road home from work with a transformed bike.......
The cam chanin tensioner must have advanced on my ride to work this morning...


What a difference the bike feels so different.


Not sure how long it will last as I have just clicked over 50k miles...