GS 650 GL cam float?

[Guest]

So I've been refurbishing an '82 650 GL with my nephew. It runs awesome, smooth, powerful, responsive. However yesterday I noticed while doing a synch of the carbs that there is a rhythmic clunk of the engine that seems to be in the top end. Used a mechanics stethoscope and I couldn't hear the sound in the bottom end. When the engine is cold, no clunk. At higher revs don't hear it when the engine gets hot, no clunk. I have read about cam float, but I have no background to assess what cam float is. Anybody have any knowledge of this so I can figure out if this is really what is going on or if there is something we can do to understand what this is.

[nahoo7]

I fixed up an 81 650e and it has a a loud tick or clunk at idle but not a revs or cold as well.Been there for over 2 years since I have had the bike and put it down to cam float and havent worried about it.As far as I understand it there is a slight gap at the end of the cam shaft which allows sideways movement thus the tick.Read a couple of articles or threads somewhere where it can either be shimmed up or someone actually made a piece to go in behind the half moons or instead of cant remember but I dont think it is a problem as the motor will run for years if yoh ignore it cheers.

[Grimly]

I've had GS engines that happily clonked from the cams at idle for years - no biggy at all.

[Steve]

Next time you hear the noise, slowly raise the engine speed. If the noise goes away when you get above 1500 rpm or so, it's probably end float.

What to do? Two things:
1. Click HERE to read about some rather extensive machining that will fix it.
2. Ignore it.

We got my wife's bike in early 2005, with about 42,000 miles on it. It had a noise that we diagnosed as 'cam end float'. It is sitting in the garage right now with just over 67,000 miles on it. Still has the same noise. No better, but no worse.

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