850 Cam Tensioner Guides

[49er]

I'm looking at replacing the tired guide in the BB 850 engine. Went on the Alpha site and saw the $430 price tag...............BS. Looked at the 1100G one and it's a steal at $120. So.................... has anyone tried modifying/fitting an 1100 guide to their 850?

I've done some comparative measurements, but only externally. Not keen on stripping my 1100 just yet. There's an 8 mm difference in the pin position heights when measured from the decks. The crank center to deck measurements appear to be identical.

From the parts fiches, they appear similar but the lower mount point may be different because the chain sprocket guide part # is different.

Any other ideas?

[rustybronco]

Any other ideas?

sure, after this storm blows over, I'll see if I kept a set from a spare engine I tore apart. hail hurts when you get hit with it, especially golf ball sized hail.

[Nessism]

I have guides from a 1000G and can take photos for comparison purposes.

[rustybronco]

Looks like I junked mine. sorry....

[Steve]

I have some from an 850, but won't be home to get them to you for almost three weeks.

.

[7981GS]

Aren't the 750 and 850 the same parts?

Daniel

[GregT]

I don't have that specific guide here but PM me with the length and any bend location. I may well have something here that will fit.
And of course I'm in NZ.....

[49er]

Thanks for the responses guys.

No worries Rustybronco, thanks for looking. Sounds like you get decent sized hail there too.

Nessism, thanks for your offer of a 1000 guide. I think I'll wait for Steve to return home. I really need an 850 crank sprocket guide too, as the old one has been damaged by a chain failure in the past.

Yes Daniel, the 750 and 850 guides will be identical.

Greg, thanks for your offer too. I would prefer to fit a stock 850 guide, if I can find one in better condition than the original.

Steve, thanks for your offer. Please PM me when you return.

[49er]

I've been gifted a set of damaged 11000G cases and have removed the crank sprocket guide. The mount points are identical to the 850 guide, but the anchoring point for the tensioner guide is slightly smaller. I'm sure I can fit a new 1100G tensioner guide and make it line up to the 850 tensioner pin.

I'll take some pics of the mod for future reference. The 1100G sprocket guide is smaller and lighter, but it should do the job ok.

[kochic]

I will pick a gs850 parts bike this week, like friday after work, for the valve spring retainers.
I will have to tear down the engine, i can check the guide when in at it.
Just let me know.
Marc

[49er]

I will pick a gs850 parts bike this week, like friday after work, for the valve spring retainers.
I will have to tear down the engine, i can check the guide when in at it.
Just let me know.
Marc

Thanks for the offer Marc.

I'm doing some more measurements for an 1100G guide conversion. If I took your offer, I would still need a replacement 850 crank sprocket guide as well. That would mean splitting your cases to gain access to it, something you probably weren't planning on doing.

[Nessism]

Are we talking about the curved tensioner piece, with the pivot pin riveted to another piece that bolts to the case? If so, I have a piece out of a 1000G that had less than 10k miles when torn down. It will fit into a small flat rate box so shipping to New Zealand is only $15 USD. Let me know if this is something you can use. I bought it off ebay for $25.

[49er]

Are we talking about the curved tensioner piece, with the pivot pin riveted to another piece that bolts to the case? If so, I have a piece out of a 1000G that had less than 10k miles when torn down. It will fit into a small flat rate box so shipping to New Zealand is only $15 USD. Let me know if this is something you can use. I bought it off ebay for $25.

Thanks Ed. Sending you a PM.

[49er]

Update

I have decided to take Ed's kind offer of a low kms 1000G tensioner guide.

After research, I've found that the 1000G and 1100G guides and holders are identical. Matching my broken holder and an 1100G one, they are compatible with the 850 setup.

Once I have received Ed's guide, I will take some pics for visual comparison.

Jeff at Z1 had approached Suzuki for a price confirmation against the 850 guide. To our surprise they have lowered the price to reflect that of a new 1100g one. The 850 guide is now available through Z1 at under US$100. This is good news for 850 engine re-builders. I would have gone this way, if I hadn't needed to replace my broken holder, which is no longer available through Suzuki.

FYI, the following Suzuki models share the same cam chain guide:

GS400B, C, XB, & XC.
GS425LN & N.
GS750B, C, EC, LN & N.
GS850GD, GLD, GLT, GLX, GLZ, GN, GT, GX & GZ.

GregT, you probably would have had one of these too.

[jeff.saunders]

I started a different thread on the pricing issue - Suzuki had the price wrong. We filed a 'price check' with Suzuki, and they corrected the price. Our new price on this guide is $91.31.