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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Dodged a bullet
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Message started by koehlerrk on 07/27/15 at 07:47:39

Title: Dodged a bullet
Post by koehlerrk on 07/27/15 at 07:47:39

Dodged a bullet this past week/weekend.

My 87 Savage is up to 17,000 miles, and for the past week I thought I had been hearing some lifter noise. Bear in mind, over the winter I had checked the cam chain tensioner and it was at 13.5mm at 14,800 miles... not an issue. After 2200 miles of riding, I was not expecting what I found.

The cam chain tensioner was at 19.3mm... yup, just about ready to stop being an assembly and start being a bunch of loose parts floating around under the clutch cover.

I was shocked at how fast the tensioner jumped out, nearly 6mm in 2200 miles. Anywho, did the Versy mod, put her all back together, and rode to work this morning. So far, all is well, and the "lifter noise" that I thought I was hearing has disappeared.

Anywho, it's been posted here many times before, but folks, check your, check your, check your chain tensioner!

Thanks again to all of you for the information, advice, and help. You helped me not blow up my bike here sometime soon.

Title: Re: Dodged a bullet
Post by JutMan on 07/27/15 at 08:03:17

Just e-mailed Versy to day. I have been hearing the noise of the tapping and it is slowly getting louder. I think I am ready at 9500 miles. Agreed, better safe than replacing lots of various shelled parts!

Title: Re: Dodged a bullet
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/27/15 at 08:22:05

I can only remember one that extended out of the tube and didn't destroy the engine. The newbies who show up with fifteen thousand on it but
Wanna get it running right,first.
Ignore the warnings and ride it. There was a guy a coupla months ago and one about a week ago. I'm just wondering if they blew them up and didn't wanna come back asking for help or what...
The overwhelming majority of tensioner gut spitting results in finding a used motor. Truly a
Better safe than sorry
kinda deal.

Title: Re: Dodged a bullet
Post by verslagen1 on 07/27/15 at 08:25:25

Koeh, that's a lot of stretch in a short amount of time.
Have you been doing a lot of short trips?
Any thing else?
I thing I would check the chain very thoroughly for potential breakage.
Or just replace it.

Title: Re: Dodged a bullet
Post by Dave on 07/27/15 at 10:06:23

I wonder if maybe your first measurement was wrong....or you have forgotten what it was.

I first had the clutch cover off my bike when it had 1,262 miles on it, and the plunger measured 14mm out.....for yours only to be out 13.5 mm at 14,800 miles seems a bit too low.

Title: Re: Dodged a bullet
Post by koehlerrk on 07/27/15 at 10:24:09

Verslagen - Ummm, not sure what you consider short trips, but it's been my daily commuter machine for the past two months... 21 miles each way, twice a day, M-F. Mostly 2-lane side roads, but a few trips down the 4-lane. So, couple miles in town, out to the road, then 17 miles to work, then a couple miles to work. Not a lot of stop and go, but not exactly long hauls either.

I did check the chain, once I had it all back together, I had my son turn it over slowly with a ratchet while I watched the chain and tensioner, all looked good.

Dave, you might be right, but the 13.5 is what I had wrote down in my book... It definitely was sticking out a lot more than what I remember it looked like back in December.

Just remember that this bike sat for two years before I bought it, not sure if that makes a difference.

In any case, the plan is that this winter it's getting a partial teardown, and a torque-limiting gear on the starter among other items. May very well swap in a new timing chain while it's apart.

Planning on keeping this bike for a while, first as a good starter for my wife, and then in a couple years, a good starter for my son.

Title: Re: Dodged a bullet
Post by verslagen1 on 07/27/15 at 11:33:37

short mileage would be less than 10.

I do 25 1 way, so you're in the ball park.
both bikes I had to install the verslavy at 22k miles give or take.

Title: Re: Dodged a bullet
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/27/15 at 17:27:34

The chain swap is a great time to swap cams,stick a Dyna on it, jet it ,AWW
Heck yeah..and stick a Verslavy in, you be Rockin..
Petcock,,, stock, phhhht,,,