Cam chain adjustment, new better method!!!

tried doing this earlier tonight engine was just warm after a rattly ride, thought i'd have a look'
took off the acorn nut mine was a couple of mil inside . after messing around ie undone the lock nut turned the adjuster nut some turns but only succeeded in winding the large threaded outer bit almost completely in without actually achieving a thing . sat back looked at it a while started turning the large outer threaded part out by hand to what it was before i started now its sitting about 4 mil inside . just read the other post by 5twins going to have another go with the engine running/ idling sounds a better way . I had gone on youtube to see another way was to take the stator cover off my screws are mashed so couldnt follow through that way . so will try the engine running .
 
Kind of a variation on the adjust while idling method and I think it may even be better. remove the spark plugs spin the motor with the thumb button adjust for the 1-2mm of movement. Done. I've started doing it this way, no hot pipes, no oil mess, easy peasy. It's also perfect for wake up drills, chain is adjusted before you ever fire the motor.
 
just tried it but still no change on running engine plugs out ,the inner peg pops in and out so fast its back to where it was before i started tried doing it with the kick start slowly slowly but still pops back in .
ive tried winding the large outer thread in to see if that helped it didnt .
 
hogfest if the chains a slapp'n and the adjuster won't take up the slack there's fairly good chance the rubber fell off the front guide.Did the chain slap come on suddenly?
 
no it didnt come on suddenly its been sounding jangly like a load of loose change for a while maybe ive not been doing something right .i saw on youtube mikesxs timing chain adjustment he did it with plugs out and stator cover off and turned the turned the stator to move the pin out to the correct position but one of my cross head screws holding the cover on is a bit mashed i dont want tomash it up more trying to remove the cover .
do you know how far out the large thread has to be i counted 8 visible threads on youtube video .
 
hogfest a cheap and needed screw replacement is keeping you from using a wrench on the rotor nut? again if you run out of adjustment before the slack is gone that's a sign... The actual threads showing etc. vary as the adjuster design changed several times through the years and parts may have been mixed and matched. The chain also stretches through use and especially if someone overtightened it in the past. Have you had the sump filter out? Usually if the rubber guide comes adrift it shows up in the sump.
 
need an impact driver on it will invest in one and change all the casing bolts/screws for new allen bolts, time to overhaul and service.
did a recent oil change sept last year oil was clean but didnt change sump filter which as you say would show up bits.
 
The nice thing about setting/checking the cam chain tension while the bike idles is that you can verify whether or not your adjustment is the source of the rattling. You can actually loosen the adjuster way up until it does produce a rattle, then tighten it back up until it goes away. If you have a rattle that doesn't go away with the cam chain adjusting, it's coming from something else.

It's easy to screw up the adjustment if using the shop manual method of turning the motor over slowly by hand. The plunger inside the adjuster screw will move in and out as you turn the motor over. At one of the times it has moved out, you're supposed to set the adjuster flush with the end of the plunger. The problem is, sometimes the plunger bounces too far out. It does this because the valve springs are forcing valves closed and those closing valves are pushing the cam along through the rockers. That snaps the rear run of the chain taught and pops the plunger too far out. If you set the adjuster at that point, it will be a bit loose. If you continue to turn the motor over by hand, the plunger will eventually do the same thing again, pop out too far. So, you loosen the adjuster some more, and on and on. Eventually you end up with the chain set way too loose.
 
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You've made no mention of your valve settings. If they're too loose, that could be the cause. It seems the intakes in particular make a racket if set too loose, at least on my bike anyway. I finally got around to putting together a little chart listing the clearance specs for all the models. There were quite a few changes (one major, the rest minor) over the years. We can understand the major change after the first year, from the very large clearances to smaller ones. The engine must have clattered like crazy with those big settings. There doesn't seem to be any explanation for all the later minor changes. It's become accepted practice to use .003" and .006" on all models.

dMOyvrx.jpg


As an example, I tried the factory .004" intake spec on my '78 when I got it and the valves ticked like crazy. I closed it up to .003" and they quieted right down.
 
thanks now its developed an electrical fault im struggling with it , as im an upholsterer by trade engineering and electrics are a bit beyond me .
give me a saddle/seat and i'll recover it no sweat . like the one on my profile picture.
so ive copped out and rung B&H motorcycles to come and get it .
 

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