Well, I sit in NC (Lancer is the one that sits in SC) and the only pearl of wisdom I have is for you to look up and read Verslagen's spreadsheet on cam chain wear out mileage.  Part of his data is the person's riding style and type and weight of oil that was used.  Informative and thought provoking information as you consider on the general topic.

I still have to wonder at your dealership's engagement with the higher mileage bikes, for them to make that statement that they have NEVER seen a cam chain tensioner or a cam chain need attention.  That still seems a little "off reality" to me.  Sorry, but it is.


As far as pearls of wisdom go, the best I can do is admit when I don't know or make a point to admit when I was wrong on a point.  I was wrong to respond to your post with everyone's historical failure rates and failure causes.

My personal experience is that I have ridden the snot out of my bike for just under 14,000 miles and have done most of the common performance mods over that time period.  I have had to put a Verslaggy cam tensioner extender on my bike at 13,368 miles as I was at 18mm extension and was not that many miles away from a spring puke into the primary gearing event (more support for us saying check your cam tensioner at 10,000 - 15,000 miles, but you look at the spreadsheet and project your own oil type and riding style).

=============

Now, this is addressed to the guy who does sit in SC as I know he will appreciate what he so ably practices in these cases ...

Matthew 7:6

My only point was that it got personal and this is not the first time.  

bill67 wrote on 01/18/10 at 09:57:32:


Hmmm, he doesn't know sheet... does he know shinenola?

The question at hand is difocult to answer accurately or throughly

I have a 1989 Savage that I bought in 1999 with 12,000 kms on the clock. I had ridden it solo and two up for 5 years and rolled to about 25,000 kms. I have always been very cautious about the oil levels but I got tagged. I changed the oil and rode it to a rally - about 400 kms, Then my daughter and I decided to go on a longer trip and off we headed - she was pushing me and I did not stop to lay down and check the site glass window for the oil level. Off we went but at about 100 kms from home I heard the engine noise change. When I stopped for gas at 150 kms I did check the oil and could see nothing at all in the site glass no matter how far to the right I leaned the bike. I found some engine oil and filled it up - but the rattle from the cam chest did not stop and I suspected the damage was done
Sure enough - even with oil 50 kms later  running at 100 kmph suddenly there was a bang, the clutch broken loose and the bike came to an ignominious halt.
I had seized a valve - which hit the piston - and broke the cam chain.
My shop mechanic said he had never seen an engine so badly damaged.
Because I I continue to believe in the Savage and love driving it - time for a rebuild - the shop called me when the quote price hit $3400 and suggested that I really did not want to go on with the rebuild on a now 14 year old bike. What to do?
Well the puzzle did not take long to solve - I bought a 1995 engine from ebay for about $1,000 delivered to Canada and swapped it out. the only issue was some fiddling with the electronic ignition - we had to take some coils from the 1989 engine and put them into the 95 engine. Other than that it was a bolt up procedure.
Today I am still riding the 1989 which now has about 27,000 kms on the clock. (There are a few other bikes in the shed so it does not get as much riding as it might)
I have switched to using Aeroshell 15059 engine oil and I am more careful about checking oil levels.
If I loose this engine - and I do not think I will - well you have just read the drill and I would do it the same way once again

If you are looking for a bunch of extra "snatch it in the air" torque, I think you have all the torque you are going to get at low RPMs right now.

Stage 2 is all about unlocking the other half of the RPM band -- turning the big top end flat spot into the rest of the power band that a normal bike has.

It will run kinda like a Honda, the more the merrier the higher you go.  There is more there, but you gotta go high to get it.

Bike does not really "lose" anything much down low, but you begin to spin the gears out with third gear being good for 65 mph and 4th becoming all you ever go to for top end and 5th becomes the overdrive you kick it into when you decide to drop back down to the speed limit and cruise for a bit ....

.... heck, ya gotta let the cops go on by that old geezer who is jest slowly putting along on his single cylinder "Pop-sicle" when they is trying to catch up with that crotch rocket that jest went wailing on by them a second ago -- made the choke on their donuts and spill their coffee, he did.  

Durn crazy kid -- he's gonna kill hisself iffen they don't stop him !!

Yonuh Adisi FSO wrote on 01/19/10 at 14:08:15:



Have you ported the exhaust side of the head yet ?  If-n you are going to go for the higher lift/duration of Stage II, then you should consider doing so.  Don't forget a 1.5" -1.6" ID header to get the gas out a bit faster too.  
Yee-haw ! !   Fun stuffffffffffffffffffff