I recently bought a 1995 Savage. It seems to run great and only had 5k miles on it. Now the bad news.... it has a rattle sound from the lower end and from what ive read these bikes are bad about the timing chain tensioner going bad. I see they are 65bucks on bikebandit.com for one which is fine with me if it fixes the noise. Has any changed this and had the same problem??? I will be tackling the repair myself so any help on how to make the job go easier would be greatly appreciated/ I will also be adjusting the valves as well because of recommended every 4,000 miles on this bike. Also while im here in the right spot does anyone know where I can find a right side battery cover as mine didn't have one with it. ? Thanks in advance.

We have a few noises that can fool you...(they can fool me)...
Rule out a headlight bezel ring, speedo housing, drive belt, front belt pulley,... and missing tank mount puck...
5k miles is very, very low, for a stretched camchain...

If it is the camchain... a new stock adjuster will do nothing to fix it...
Check the Marketplace here for a Verslagen modded adjuster...
Get both the pinned and extended hole options...
...(pinned will save your engine, and the extension will more than double chain life)...

... but, I'll venture you ain't there yet... that noise is something else...
...(I hear my camchain rattlin' from my jacket zipper!)... ...

[quote
My 2007 has about 12,000 miles on it, and I'm figuring I'll have to do the cam chain check/mod this season, but I have a 600 mile trip coming up soon and don't' think I'll be able to tackle the job before then. I'm concerned about the came chain getting too loose while I'm on that trip. How many miles, after noticing this level of cam chain ticking, would I be likely to be able to ride before the bike self-destructs? [/quote]

Yikes... a high speed tensioner failure and you'll be buying a new bike. I'd take the time to at least pull the clutch cover and visually check it with 12K miles.

I understand it's a gamble. Right now, no noise. The question is, if in the middle of my 600 mile trip I start to hear that noise, am I likely to make it home, or do I park the bike and figure out a way to get it home some other way? I won't be able to tackle replacing the tensioner (which, for me, will feel like a major job) until later in the summer.

can someone send me link to where to purchase the modded tensioner? Ive looked in the marketplace and cant seem to find someone who sells them. Thanks

DavidOfMA wrote on 04/14/14 at 07:41:25:


The tensioner is not that big of a deal, the chain is (IF your bike survives throwing the chain at all).  I replaced my tensioner and had never turned a bolt on a bike before. You're basically removing the exhaust, loosening your footpegs, disconnecting a couple cables and removing the side cover.  It probably took me 4-5 hours because I was reading the forum instructions and being careful to take pictures and arrange my bolts etc. etc.  If nothing else you could take the modded tensioner to a bike shop and have them replace it. Even at 65.00/hr it probably would only take them a couple hours tops to do the job. You'll just want to be sure you have all your new gaskets and oil etc. on hand.