SuzukiSavage.com - stretched cam chain

justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: stretched cam chain Reply #15 - 08/04/13 at 14:33:35 Tansioner reaches new tooth on ratchet engine heats up cylinder gets taller stretches chain/wears pins really Thats why people who ride more miles per start, heat up/shut down/cool off cycle get more miles.
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apache snow-FSO Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 509 Gender:	Re: stretched cam chain Reply #16 - 08/04/13 at 14:37:10 Yeah right..
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: stretched cam chain Reply #17 - 08/04/13 at 14:42:25 Well,, yea, thats right. Been here discussing this for years before you showed up. Im feelin confident after several very experienced mechanics on these agreed.If youre not seein it, that doesnt mean hoot to me.
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apache snow-FSO Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 509 Gender:	Re: stretched cam chain Reply #18 - 08/04/13 at 14:57:40 Whatever dude. This is your forum not mine. Ya'll have fun.
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WD

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Re: stretched cam chain
Reply #19 - 08/04/13 at 15:11:08

Bad drive chains make it through quality control tests pretty frequently, so it isn't that much of a surprise for a cam chain to sneak through as well. I had an o.e.m. o-ring drive chain from a good manufacturer (Kawasaki) that only lasted 10K miles, the cheap plain chain I replaced it with was going strong with over 34K miles on it.

It happens. Change the chain and keep going. Add a Versy adjuster to the new set up, at least that way if you get another funky chain (probably Chinese made these days as opposed to Japanese made) the plunger assembly will stay in place for sure.

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Re: stretched cam chain
Reply #20 - 08/04/13 at 19:54:30

WD wrote on 08/04/13 at 15:11:08:

Bad drive chains make it through quality control tests pretty frequently, so it isn't that much of a surprise for a cam chain to sneak through as well. I had an o.e.m. o-ring drive chain from a good manufacturer (Kawasaki) that only lasted 10K miles, the cheap plain chain I replaced it with was going strong with over 34K miles on it.

It happens. Change the chain and keep going. Add a Versy adjuster to the new set up, at least that way if you get another funky chain (probably Chinese made these days as opposed to Japanese made) the plunger assembly will stay in place for sure.

i just odered a brand new oem chain yesterday, should be here in 3 to 5 days where can i get the versy adjuster?

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Steve H Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 1223 Spartanburg, SC Gender:	Re: stretched cam chain Reply #21 - 08/04/13 at 20:16:42 Look in the marketplace and find Verslagen's place.
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Re: stretched cam chain
Reply #22 - 08/05/13 at 02:25:18

I know most of you have heard this a hundred times but I'm baffled why I have so many miles on my bike and am only on my second cam chain at 51,500 miles. Savage Greg and I changed it at 33,000 miles. The chain and plunger allowance was within limits still. I am going to open it up at the end of the season and get me a Versy so I am not so darned paranoid about riding my bike after all of these cam chain posts. So far, I have not had one repair done on my bike other than tires, brakes, (front and rear once), no engine leaks and the engine is still as quiet as new. In fact, I have only adjusted the valves once. The only thing I can figure is I have never used first gear. I have always started out in second because it gives me better acceleration from a stop. Clutch is still fine. I never try and rev the engine to it's limits in each gear and usually in 5th gear by the time Im doing 40-45 mph. Most of my riding seems to be 55 mph to 75 because I ride the freeways lot. Have always used 50 weight Castro auto oil and it seems to keep my bike running cool after long rides. I have been really lucky with this bike and think I got a rare one indeed. Most of my other bikes have fallen apart long before this one will.
Now I ma going to knock on wood because I know if I don't, my cam chain will go out tomorrow.

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Dave YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 18101 Camp Springs, Kentucky Gender:	Re: stretched cam chain Reply #23 - 08/05/13 at 03:19:42 Stinger: Tell us about the length and frequency of your rides. Do you ride a short or long period after starting up you bike? How many miles do you travel on an average ride? It sounds like you take good care of your bike and don't ride it aggressively. Dave
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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28887 L.A. California Gender:	Re: stretched cam chain Reply #24 - 08/05/13 at 07:17:09 stinger, if I remember correctly, you got a "verslagen" mod'd adjuster... pinned plunger, no second hole. Greg bought a couple at the time that he changed your chain.
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Re: stretched cam chain
Reply #25 - 08/06/13 at 01:10:18

I do not know what Gregg did with the other one but it was not installed on my bike. I certainly wish that was the case. I would breathe a lot easier. Maybe he put it on his wifes Julies bike. Dave, I have ridden as much as 700 miles in one day from Missoula Montana to Portland Or and tons of 250/ 400 mile trips in a day. I just do not run the crap out of the bike.

By the way, Vers, Gregg moved back to North Carolina to be with family. It was kinda odd how I ran in to him here. I chatted with him in here long before he moved to the NW. I had no idea he was moving and lost contact with him for a while. Then he popped in and said he was staying in a motel til he could find a place. Turned out he was staying for a couple of weeks in a hotel 5 miles from me. Then we were like neighbors. He started a business selling bike parts on ebay and made some good money.Another friend of mine gave him a old 70 something Honda 750 on the way to the scrap yard and he parted it and made $1,700. He even parted out his Savage and made alot more than if he sold it ready to ride. It only had 11,000 miles on it.

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Re: stretched cam chain
Reply #26 - 08/06/13 at 11:22:15

stinger wrote on 08/05/13 at 02:25:18:

....I have always started out in second because it gives me better acceleration from a stop. Clutch is still fine. I never try and rev the engine to it's limits in each gear and usually in 5th gear by the time Im doing 40-45 mph. Most of my riding seems to be 55 mph to 75 because I ride the freeways lot......

What is the group concensus on starting out in 2nd? I commute daily about 26 miles one-way and if this is better for engine longevity then I will start doing it. I've really tried to keep the sustained speeds at under 75 and 60% of my ride is between 50 and 65 (with the 140/80-15 tire, that is) since the "80% of top speed" discussion a few months back.

Also, when we put the Versy on I think I was already half way through the stretch range (not sure how useful that demarcation is but I was almost to the 2nd hole) at under 3,000 miles.

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Re: stretched cam chain
Reply #27 - 08/06/13 at 13:40:36

It's been discussed here, but I don't know if anyone has actually tried removing every other tooth on the tensioner to allow the chain to run a little more slack between tightening clicks. That would be a worthy project. Of course, the results might be inconclusive or take a loooong time determine results.

There must be some way to improve on what appears to be just a poor original design on an otherwise fairly robust engine. The versy, although ingenious, doesn't improve the accelerated wear problem, it just keeps the current poor design from destroying engine. The way I see it, requiring cam chain replacement or 2nd-holing the tensioner within 12k miles of a new bike is really dumb.

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Re: stretched cam chain
Reply #28 - 08/06/13 at 13:44:28

bobert_FSO wrote on 08/06/13 at 13:40:36:

It's been discussed here, but I don't know if anyone has actually tried removing every other tooth on the tensioner to allow the chain to run a little more slack between tightening clicks. That would be a worthy project. Of course, the results might be inconclusive or take a loooong time determine results.

There must be some way to improve on what appears to be just a poor original design on an otherwise fairly robust engine. The versy, although ingenious, doesn't improve the accelerated wear problem, it just keeps the current poor design from destroying engine. The way I see it, requiring cam chain replacement or 2nd-holing the tensioner within 12k miles of a new bike is really dumb.

I have the 5-year unlimited mileage warranty so we will see if it's worth anything. I bought new at the end of March and just passed 5,100 miles today.

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Re: stretched cam chain
Reply #29 - 08/06/13 at 14:00:36

bobert_FSO wrote on 08/06/13 at 13:40:36:

It's been discussed here, but I don't know if anyone has actually tried removing every other tooth on the tensioner to allow the chain to run a little more slack between tightening clicks.

I don't believe this is workable. I understand the desire is to allow more movement before it catches another notch - but the teetch are small and catch several teeth at a time. You woujld have to grind every other tooth off both the shaft and ratchet to make this work.....and then hope that it is strong enough with only half the original number of teeth engaged.

If you were to modify the tensioner so you could allow the spring and ratchet to preload the chain - then lock the ratchet in place so that it would not add additional tension automatically.....then you could release the ratchet periodically to allow the chain to add more tension when it is needed. This would require taking the clutch cover off for access to the locking device. It might be as simple as drilling a hole and making a locking pin!

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