Its been a long time, folks!  In 2005 or so, I put on the VM, dropped in the performance cam, took off for the test ride and man did it pull!  Then the cam chain tensioner failed.  It felt like it still had life when the motor was apart, but jumped out, and the brand new cam and my ticker arms ate each other.  Destroyed.  I found an old motor from an 80s model, and did nothing with until now.  So now I'm running a four speed, still need to modify the chain tensioner (or better, rebuild the old motor with a stage two cam and resleeve it to take something like a 100mm piston. Think the case would need boring?) but I have more trouble.  The bike won't go over 50mph.  Clutch slipping maybe?  It isn't really revving either, but it does slip when you start off, then seems okay until about 40mph, then gets reaaalllly slow until 50-55, then nothing.  I digress.  Hello again, was the point of this!  I'll get some pictures up soon.

TT

Sounds like you got the timing chain one tooth off .   I've had the same problem when I took apart my first bike to "See-how-it-worked" .  

Check it to see , and if it ain't the timing chain off a tooth or two then , I'll buy ya a Dragon Humbugger or similar item at one of our outing !  

I'll go further than that , Your timing chain is on the slow side  at least one tooth  .

Did I understand you haven't put a Versey on your bike ????  

the forward side will be high  

Yea , and then add in the whole tooth from setting it one off and now its 1.5 tooth slow .   The result will be exactly what you described ... No Joke ...

With out the Versey your chain life is +- 15,000 miles ... The Versey will easily double that and with a milder spring in the tensioner , it should be good for close to 45,000 miles.   Mine has almost 40,000 on the original chain and still runs great.   Keep the idle 1,000 or more !  

 

Is Versey a term that's appeared in the last decade?  I'm lost!  I haven't opened this motor up, no clue on the mileage.  I'm pretty sure I welded an extension on the tensioner from the last motor when I blew it, I'll check around for it, and I even have a new cam chain to pop on if it's stretched.  Well, NOS anyway.  Thanks for the responses, all!  Lancer, I think you're the last person I talked to on here a decade ago, just after getting the cam and carb from you.  Will the, ah, eaten up cam work as a core?  Probably not good to do a second weld and grind...  Now I don't think I can resist popping over to the politics section and making enemies of everybody.  All in good fun!

Can't use a stock 4-speed engine with a 5-speed CDI box.  Maybe one of the forum experts can elaborate.

5spds are timed different than 4spds.  And the secret is to swap the rotor.
Use can use the cdi from a 5spd if you keep the rotor from the 5spd.