I agree fully with your thinking & thanks for the research. If you can locate a vendor offering a superior( less inferior?) chain, I would certainly be interested. I do intend to have the next one cryogenically treated, tho.

I still think it would be possible to put an electrical contact in the spring loaded tensioner to let us know when it is extended as far as it should go. That way we could run the thing & not have to wreck a gasket to go in & look or even have the down time, just ride till the light comes on.

Although it would be safe to say the cam chain tensioner is the weak link...(pun intended)  

I have a new chain in front of me right now. There is an uppercase "M" on many of the link caps. The driving link seems to resemble the RPV Type 139 shown at your link but I can't be certain without taking the chain apart.

Ken

My tensioner was slightly past the limit & the chain still had planty of "stretch" left. So, the spring loaded tensioner will become a potential time bomb before the chain is completely worn out. At least, thats the way it was inside mine. I like the idea of scooting the entire tensioner towards the  chain, to keep the tensioner compressed more.
Old Feller. when you find some prices, please share.

O.F. Do you need someone to send you an old chain to mess with?

Actually what we need is to know is what the spec is for the chain.  Somebody could get that off a box that the new chain shipped in, or somebody could get it from a shop manual, or maybe Bike Bandit or Roneyers has it on a microfiche picture somewhere.

We need the spec for the chain.  Sending me an old chain would be helpful, Justin, and I'll send you an address if you want to do that.  But I was hoping somebody knew the spec on the chain from some other reliable source.

As far as trying to find a price for whatever I can find, first you guys as a mass need to agree that I can negotiate for the group as a whole.  

Next, you need to agree to coming together as a "club purchasing group" to do a group buy under existing non-profit laws.  That means nobody tries to make a buck on a group purchase -- it rides for the true cost and no taxes are charged.  If you do other than this, you'd better have a business tax number and be reporting taxes.

Oldfeller

justin_o_guy wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:06:

Has it been determined that the tensioner (Suzuki calls this the "adjuster") really does run out of adjustment range before the chain is worn beyond limits or is the chain really worn beyond usable limits even though the "stretch" measurement shows it as still being in tolerance?

Sorry if I'm rehashing an old topic here but I don't recall if this has been determined yet. To put it simpler, is the problem the tensioner or the chain?

Ken

okay, when I get that $$$ job, I'll but a brand new savage, open it up, measure the plunger depth, pull the chain, measure the length, close it up, ride it for 1000 miles, open it, measure, repeat.  will run mobil 1 synthetic.  

let's not forget this thread (the one Verslagen summarized)! cam chain issues

okay, so that is fairly unreasonable.  but the whole issue is most likely caused by an interplay of:

1)  cam chain stretch
2)  tensioner (rear slide) wear (grooves) & becoming brittle
3)  poor plunger design
4)  poor tesnisoner (rear slide) design
5)  worn plunger spring
6)  oil quality & freqeuncy of changes?
7)  how it is riden, and miles
8 )  riding conditions (temperature)

1, 5, & 7 affect the length of the chain (5: is it possible the spring is putting to much force on the chain? likely not, so that leaves 1 & 7).  Maybe the service life of the cam chain listed in the FSM is too large.

we cannot "fix" the tensioner design.  we DO know how to "fix" the plunger design, BUT: what is the correct k value for the spring in the plunger?  we cannot buy these separately.  - at least we can get the circlip separately! - I don't recall if the FSM gives specs the plunger spring or not.  If the spring is out of spec, changing everything else will not really help.  So, where can we also get springs from?  On the other hand, spring strength does not seem to be an issue as we are all concerned that the plunger is too far out.

so, that largely leaves the tensioner (rear slide).  I feel that oil quality and frequency of oil changes can affect the tensioner (rear slide).  I also feel that excessive temperatues can affect the tensioner (rear slide).  I think the oil cooler mod may help keep the tensioner (rear slide) in better shape longer, but I think that may leads to issues with keeping the cam journals lubed.  As gunk builds up in the oil, it'll get dragged along the tensioner and wear it out.  Chemicals in the oil can interact with the terflon material of the tensioner.  Repeated hot-cold cycles (no way to avoid this) can make the tensioner brittle.

I don't think we should be changing our riding styles.  But, revving the crap out of the bike right after start up is not going to help any of these parts at all.

seems to me that we need an 3 point plan:

1)  inspect the plunger extension every year.  remove the plunger and visually inspect the rear slide for wear
1a) add the tab to the plunger if it more than 20 mm (maybe 24 mm ?) out
1b)  replace slides as necessary & measure chain
1c)  replace cam chain as necessary (maybe with a better one).  If the chain is replaced, the slides should be replaced as well.
2) run fresh, high quality oil, change often (Mobil 1 synthetic, IMO, or motorcycle specific oil)
3) let the bike warm up properly before riding, no high rpms to start it.