cam chain woes?

[gustovh]

My machine is a 1980 1100 LT. I loaned the bike to a fellow to take his test on. He rode it around 75 miles and left it in my drive, I waws gone. The next time that I rode it, there was and still is a loud whirring sound that sounds like cam chain. took the cover off and inspected the cams, chain, and slippers and found nothing visibly wrong. There was no metal in the oil, on the plug or in the oil filter when I changed it at the same time. Put it back together, the noise was mitigated somewhat but is still driveing me nuts. It gets louder as the rpm's rise, and this from a motor that I used to have to hug the gas tank with my ear to hear it run at speed.
Any possibilities would be appreciated.
Vince

[49er]

Check that the cam chain tensioner is still working correctly.
Ask the guy you loaned the bike to if he adjusted anything on it while he was using it. Did he notice the noise and if so, what were the operating conditions when he first noticed it? Did he miss a gear and over rev the motor? All these question asked tactfully of course.

[chef1366]

By the way nice bike:-D They are rare so don't let other people ride it:?
Do you have manual? Try to recock your cam chain tensioner.
Brian did a good step by step on how to replace the seals on a petcock.

http://bwringer.com/gs/camchaintens.html

Plus it shows you how it works and how to set it. You will probably need a new gasket and will have to remove your carbs.
How many mles are on it?
Are you sure it's not coming from the clutch area?

[tfb]

Yep, remove, dismantle & clean your camchain tensioner before you do anything else. I wish I'd done that before I went and bought a new cam chain for my Kat1100...

[BadBillyB]

The next time that I rode it, there was and still is a loud whirring sound that sounds like cam chain. took the cover off and inspected the cams, chain, and slippers and found nothing visibly wrong. It gets louder as the rpm's rise
Any possibilities would be appreciated.
Vince

The term "loud whirring sound" does not really describe to me what a loose cam chain typically sounds like. Wouldn't hurt to rule this out though. A loose cam chain sounds more like popcorn popping and usually gets quieter as the RPM's increase. Are you sure its not the tach cable screaming for attention. Its easy to unplug....Any symptoms besides the noise????......BadBillyB

[gustovh]

cam chain woes

The fellow that I loaned it to lives in Hawaii, so there is no joy there. I went through the chain tenshioner when I did the cams and found "nothing" at all. When I replaced it in the motor and released the plunger, the chain tightened right up. With the engine running and useing a screwdriver and later a stethascope, the whirring sound came from the cam chain tract, very loudly. Everything else in the top end sounded normal when checked.
10,500 miles on the bike of which I put 9,400 on.
Everything else seems normal, bike starts right up and after warming up idles normaly. No knocks or grinds, normal clutch rattle at idle of which I can hardly hear now from the whine I now have.
Is it possible that the two inner bearings on the crank shaft are going?
I rarely take it above 5,000 rpm.
47-52 mpg.