Noisy Cam Chain

[Gleni]

I just inherited a GS550e and had a bunch of work done on it by my local bike shop. They did a great job. The bike is a lot of fun to ride. Once I got it on the road, I took it for a 125 mile ride. The bike ran flawlessly. When I returned, I heard a rattle that sounded like a loose cam chain or a tensioner that wasn't tensioning. I brought it to my bike shop again and they confirmed my assumption. But they said they could not work on it, because they figured that there would be a lot of frozen bolts that would break and it is their busy season and could not get into it.

What's the likelihood that the chain will break? How expensive is this kind of repair? How do I get someone to do it?

Thanks,

Glen

[TheCafeKid]

Do it yourself bro! Bwringer has an excellent cam chain tensioner rebuild tutorial, I think it may even be on Bass Cliffs website as well. Its not tough, but you'll need to order the orings and gasket to replace the ones that are in there. Pull the tank, pull the carbs, blast the bolts with some PB Blaster and let em soak while you're waiting for your parts. Honestly, i think my cam chain has a lil slop in it, but the racket only appears on idle. Once you give it some gas, it tensions right up. Now if its REALLY REALLY sloppy, you run the risk of it jumping a tooth, or breaking. So I would say take care of it ASAP, but as long as you arent ripping on it, it might be ok to continue to ride till your parts come in. Hard to say without hearing the slop in it for myself.

[hampshirehog]

Unusual problem for a GS - Suzuki were about the first Jap maufacturer to get an automatic cam chain tensioning system that worked properly.

More than likely, if you're sure it's a cam chain noise, is that the tensioner at the back of the motor, behind the cylinders and under the carbs, has frozen. It's easy to check, though a bit fiddly as space is tight (unless you pull the carbs). rather than me explain the process have a look on Basscliff's website at one of his manuals (either 850 or 1000 will do - the tensioners work the same way). Pull the tensioner off as per the manual and check it moves freely - it could be gunked up. Make sure you follow the correct procedure for putting the tensioner back on and re-tensioning - it's dead simple but you need to do it properly.

[Steve]

I just inherited a GS550e and had a bunch of work done on it by my local bike shop. They did a great job. ... I brought it to my bike shop again ... they said they could not work on it, because they figured that there would be a lot of frozen bolts that would break and it is their busy season and could not get into it.

Same shop? They have already worked on it, they should know what condition it's in. 8-[

If you have at least a decent set of wrenches and know which end of a screwdriver to pound on, I would suggest doing it yourself. It's not that hard, especially if you consult your manual (you DO have a manual, don't you?) and the tutorial on BassCliff's site. (I did not see a direct link on BassCliff's site, but there is a link called "Mr. bwringer's fine tutorials" and you get to it from there.)

.

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

Hi Mr. Gleni,

With the help of the good folks in this fine forum, and a couple of manuals, I'm learning to do all my own work. I'm a computer geek musician, not a mechanic. I hope this will help get you started. It's your very own mega-welcome! \\/

Dear fellow GS rider,

Let it be known that on this day you are cordially and formally welcomed to the GSR Forum as a Junior Member in good standing with all the rights and privileges thereof. Further let it be known that your good standing can be improved with pictures (not you, your bike)!

Perhaps you've already seen these, but I like to remind all the new members. In addition to the carb rebuild series, I recommend visiting the In The Garage section via the GSR Homepage and check out the Stator Papers. There's also a lot of great information in the Old Q&A section. I have some documentation on my little BikeCliff website to help get you familiar with doing routine maintenance tasks (note that it is 850G-specific but many tasks are common to all GS bikes). Other "user contributed" informational sites include those of Mr. bwringer, Mr. tfb and Mr. robertbarr. And if your bike uses shims for valve adjustments, send an email to Mr. Steve requesting a copy of his Excel spreadsheet that helps you keep track of clearances, shim sizes and other service work.

These are some edited quotes from one of our dear beloved gurus, Mr. bwringer, with ideas on basic needs (depending on initial condition), parts, and accessories.
***********Quoted from Mr. bwringer************
Carburetor maintenance:

Replace the intake boot o-rings, and possibly the intake boots. Here's the procedure:

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

Here's an overview of what happens with this particular problem:

http://cycleorings.com/intake.html

You'll also want to examine the boots between the carbs and the airbox. There's a good chance these are OK, but check them over.
And finally, if things still aren't exactly right, you'll want to order a set of o-rings for BS carbs from the GS owner's best friend, Robert Barr:
http://cycleorings.com
Once you receive these rare rings of delight, then you'll want to thoroughly clean and rebuild your carburetors. Here are step-by-step instructions that make this simple:

http://thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

***********************************
Every GS850 has (or had) a set of well-known issues that MUST be addressed before you have a solid baseline for further troubleshooting. It's a vintage bike, and it's quite common (as in, every single GS850 I have had contact with) that there are multiple problems that have crept up and slowly gotten worse over the years. It's not like a newer vehicle, where there's generally one problem at a time.

These common issues are:

1. Intake O-rings (install NEW OEM or Viton only - common nitrile O-rings will quickly deteriorate from heat)
2. Intake Boots (install NEW -- these cannot be repaired)
3. Valve clearances (more important than most people think)
4. Carb/airbox boots
5. Airbox sealing
6. Air filter sealing
7. Petcock (install a NEW one)
8. On '79 models, install new points or Dyna electronic ignition (or at least verify that the old points are working correctly)
9. On all models, it's fairly common to have problems with the spark plug caps. These are $3 or $4 each, and often worth replacing if you're keeping the stock coils/wires.
10. Stock exhaust with NO leaks or holes -- good seals at the head and at the junctions underneath.
***************************************
OEM Parts/Online Fiches:

I would definitely double and triple the recommendations to use Cycle Recycle II and Z1 Enterprises as much as possible. These guys are priceless resources. Z1 tends to have slightly better prices, CRC2 has a wider range of goodies available. If you're near Indy and can bring in an old part to match, CRC2 has a vast inventory of used parts.
http://denniskirk.com - Put in your bike model and see what they have.
http://oldbikebarn.com - seems to be slowly regaining a decent reputation, but it's still caveat emptor. They don't have anything you can't get elsewhere at a better price anyway.
http://www.babbittsonline.com/ - Decent parts prices. Spendy shipping. Don't give you part numbers at all. Useful cross-reference if you obtain a part number elsewhere. Efficient service.
http://bikebandit.com - Fastest. Middlin' prices. Uses their own parts numbering system to obfuscate price comparisons -- can be very confusing for large orders. Cheapest shipping, so total cost usually isn't too bad.
http://flatoutmotorcycles.com - Slow. Cheapest parts prices, crazy shipping costs. Don't expect progress updates or much communication. Real Suzuki part numbers.
http://alpha-sports.com - Exorbitant parts prices. Different type of fiche interface that's quite useful at times, especially with superceded part numbers. Real parts numbers. Shipping cost and speed unknown due to insane, unholy pricing.

Stainless Bolts, Viton o-rings, metric taps, dies, assorted hard-to-find supplies and materials, etc:

http://mcmaster.com - Fast, cheap shipping, good prices. No order minimum, but many items like bolts come in packs of 25 or 50. Excellent resource.
http://motorcycleseatcovers.com - Great quality, perfect fit (on original seat foam), and available for pretty much every bike ever made. Avoid the textured vinyl -- it's perforated.
http://newenough.com - You DO have riding gear, don't you? Great clearances, always outstanding prices and impeccable service.
***************End Quote**********************
Additional parts/info links:

GSR Forum member Mr. duaneage has great used upgraded Honda regulator/rectifiers for our bikes. Send him a PM.
New electrical parts:
http://stores.ebay.com/RMSTATOR or http://www.rmstator.com/

http://www.ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/index.php

http://www.electrosport.com/

For valve cover and breather cover gaskets, I recommend Real Gaskets (reusable silicon):
http://www.realgaskets.com
The Rice Paddy (salvage/used)
http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com
Carolina Cycle
http://www.carolinacycle.com
Ron Ayers Motorsports
http://www.ronayers.com
MR Cycles
http://www.mrcycles.com
Moto Grid
http://www.motogrid.com
If all else fails, try this:
http://www.used-motorcycle-parts.org/
Used bike buying checklists:

http://www.amadirectlink.com/roadride/Riderresc/checklist.asp

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html
Lots of good info/pictures here:
http://www.suzukicycles.org

http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Motorcycle_Wiki

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed of your progress. There's lots of good folk with good experience here.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
(The unofficial GSR greeter)