Checked my cam chain tensioner this week, and found it to be out 17.7mm. I had only 6462 miles on it at the time
. It seems low mileage for the tensioner to be out this much already, but I do ride in the city. Lots of accelerating from stop, and I might rev on the high side. Anyway, here are some pictures. It was a good experience taking apart the clutch cover.
This is a shot of my bike. You can see my skates tucked into the side bags
Closer up of the crankcase (?)
Cam chain tensioner...At least the piston hasn't come far enough that it's crooked. I just noticed the brown spots in the picture look like rust. I don't recall seeing any rust though, so the brown might just motor oil.
Measured: 17.70mm
The clutch cover gasket was fully intact, so I didn't have to replace it when I reattached the cover. However, I sheared off one of the bolts when I was tightening them. Freaked me out for a bit, thought I'd have a huge pain getting it out. I was tightening and heard a crack. Luckily, the entire bolt came out when I reversed and backed it out. I think I overtorqued the thing, maybe because the bolt was lubricated by motor oil. Should have wiped it down before tightening.
Questions: Do I need to apply anti-seize to the header bolts at the exhaust header? Also, do people use a small torque wrench (<10ft-lb)?
Thanks to everyone on this forum that has contributed to the technical knowledge base. It's been a great help to someone who's new at wrenching and riding.