• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Cam chain renewal

  • Thread starter Thread starter dagda
  • Start date Start date
D

dagda

Guest
Hello there new fella signing in. Just bought a GS750 for my brother. It needs a new camchain and was wondering if you chaps can offer any tips or tricks in changing the old for the new. Waiting for a manual which will hopefully arrive soon but in the meantime I though I would pick the gsr collective brains. I owned a GS850 many years ago but have forgotton much of the skills needed to work on these old bikes.
Cheers in advance.
 
welcome to the forum

you will need to cut the old chain off, and get a new one and rivet it in....

shouldnt be too hard a job, i wouldnt think
 
Yeah I got a new chain so I assume one could cut the old chain and use it to draw the new one around the crank. My only worry would be ensuring I get the timing set back up again correctly.
 
Rivet

Rivet

Most of the decent tools will both 'break' and rivet your new chain. If you get a good 'break', it will be easy to thread the other one through it and you should be fine. I wouldn't cut it off with a hack saw!8-[ Riveting with the right tool is a delightful experience!
 
What I am alluding to lads has anyone actually done one? I can guess what the problems are but would certainly benefit from the experience of someone who has actually changed a camchain in a GS750.
 
Piece of cake. Once you've released the chain tensioner you get plenty of slack to de-rivet your old chain and pop the new one on. Make sure you don't drop the camchain into the crankcase as it's a sod to hook back out. (Use the old chain to pull the new one around the crank by the way - you'll never do it otherwise).

Timing is straightforward -too complicated to explain here but follow the manual precisely and you'll have no problems.

Worth doing a compression test (hot with WOT) before you do anything as with the camchain off it's not much more work to pull the head (if you're low on compression) to see what's causing it.
 
dagda said:
Hello there new fella signing in. Just bought a GS750 for my brother. It needs a new camchain and was wondering if you chaps can offer any tips or tricks in changing the old for the new. Waiting for a manual which will hopefully arrive soon but in the meantime I though I would pick the gsr collective brains. I owned a GS850 many years ago but have forgotton much of the skills needed to work on these old bikes.
Cheers in advance.
Click to expand...

How do you know you need a new camchain if you don't have a manual?
 
Technically you have to pull the crank from engine and slip it off. You have to pull two piston rods to do it also. This is after the engine is out and the case is split. One person pulls the chain around the journals and one person holds it. I just did my 750 this weekend. New chains for this are whole. Yes it sux. But I had to tear the engine down for other reasons. WHAT REALLY SUX IS THE AFTERMARKET CATALOG THE CYCLE SHOP GUY ORDERED FROM SHOWS MY CHAIN IS A 120 LINK. IT'S NOT!!! I JUST LOOKED IT UP OEM AND IT'S 122!!!](*,) I've been going crazy and was ready to kill the cycle shop guy. This engine is assembled and in the bike and I can't get my cams in!! My dad has the chain riveter tool, but where can you get master links and can I just add one???
 
Quietlake said:
Technically you have to pull the crank from engine and slip it off. You have to pull two piston rods to do it also. This is after the engine is out and the case is split. One person pulls the chain around the journals and one person holds it. I just did my 750 this weekend. New chains for this are whole. Yes it sux. But I had to tear the engine down for other reasons. WHAT REALLY SUX IS THE AFTERMARKET CATALOG THE CYCLE SHOP GUY ORDERED FROM SHOWS MY CHAIN IS A 120 LINK. IT'S NOT!!! I JUST LOOKED IT UP OEM AND IT'S 122!!!](*,) I've been going crazy and was ready to kill the cycle shop guy. This engine is assembled and in the bike and I can't get my cams in!! My dad has the chain riveter tool, but where can you get master links and can I just add one???
Click to expand...
Bummer.......:(
 
This is why I do my own ordering and my own work,replace the chain the right way...split the cases!!!!:roll:
 
Quietlake said:
Technically you have to pull the crank from engine and slip it off. You have to pull two piston rods to do it also. This is after the engine is out and the case is split. One person pulls the chain around the journals and one person holds it. I just did my 750 this weekend. New chains for this are whole. Yes it sux. But I had to tear the engine down for other reasons. WHAT REALLY SUX IS THE AFTERMARKET CATALOG THE CYCLE SHOP GUY ORDERED FROM SHOWS MY CHAIN IS A 120 LINK. IT'S NOT!!! I JUST LOOKED IT UP OEM AND IT'S 122!!!](*,) I've been going crazy and was ready to kill the cycle shop guy. This engine is assembled and in the bike and I can't get my cams in!! My dad has the chain riveter tool, but where can you get master links and can I just add one???
Click to expand...
Ahh! I dont think so fella you might want to step away from the spanners there friend:-D
 
The factory service manual details measuring the length of the chain between a specified pin distance; if the chain is too long, replace it. No arbitrary mileage between changes or nonsense like that.

Many members here have big mileage on their GS bikes and have never changed the cam chain. I'd go so far as to say changing a cam chain at 30k miles is crazy (unless it measures out of spec for some reason - which is unlikely).
 
Nessism said:
The factory service manual details measuring the length of the chain between a specified pin distance; if the chain is too long, replace it. No arbitrary mileage between changes or nonsense like that.

Many members here have big mileage on their GS bikes and have never changed the cam chain. I'd go so far as to say changing a cam chain at 30k miles is crazy (unless it measures out of spec for some reason - which is unlikely).
Click to expand...

That is my point too. The manual is very specific about how far the cam chain can be streteched. The chain may last the entire life of the engine! I have 45K on my bike with the original cam chain. I measured it about 6-7K miles ago and it was well within spec.

Besides that, you will be going from a linkless chain with greater reliability to a linked chain where the most likely site of failure is the link.
 
Last edited:
Nessism said:
The factory service manual details measuring the length of the chain between a specified pin distance; if the chain is too long, replace it. No arbitrary mileage between changes or nonsense like that.

Many members here have big mileage on their GS bikes and have never changed the cam chain. I'd go so far as to say changing a cam chain at 30k miles is crazy (unless it measures out of spec for some reason - which is unlikely).
Click to expand...

Cheers chaps [inc flying face] I will measure it and let you know.
 
Right chaps downloaded a manual but it doesnt have the run out allowed in the camchain in it. I know it is in the Haynes manuals as I had one for my GS850 years ago. So if you could help out and provide me with the dimension between the links you need to check the camchain wear I would be most grateful. Engine is a 1978 GS750.
Cheers
 
Quietlake said:
Technically you have to pull the crank from engine and slip it off. You have to pull two piston rods to do it also. This is after the engine is out and the case is split. One person pulls the chain around the journals and one person holds it. I just did my 750 this weekend. New chains for this are whole. Yes it sux. But I had to tear the engine down for other reasons. WHAT REALLY SUX IS THE AFTERMARKET CATALOG THE CYCLE SHOP GUY ORDERED FROM SHOWS MY CHAIN IS A 120 LINK. IT'S NOT!!! I JUST LOOKED IT UP OEM AND IT'S 122!!!](*,) I've been going crazy and was ready to kill the cycle shop guy. This engine is assembled and in the bike and I can't get my cams in!! My dad has the chain riveter tool, but where can you get master links and can I just add one???
Click to expand...

Not just the aftermarket catalogue, but also the GS750 Suzuki Parts Book says the cam chain has 120 links. You had better check again before you cut that chain and add links. Unless you have a different model than the ones I looked up. What model and year is your bike.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top