[The CyberPoet]

How do you maintain the cam chain? Just change the oil?

As MD86 noted, it's generally a maintenance free part. On-time oil changes with good oils, keeping your oil viable and up to minimum levels should satisfy what the cam chain needs to stay healthy. If it starts to act up, you may need to clean out the tensioner and or replace it, to keep the chain from getting enough slop to really stretch out beyond it's limits.

If you're familiar with cars, this might make more sense:
Most cars ship with timing belts. A few car manufacturers use timing chains (alpha romeo comes to mind) or timing gears instead. All of these systems do exactly the same thing on a car engine as a cam chain does on a motorcycle -- keep the valves opening and closing at the right time compared to the piston's up-down movement by syncing the cams (which control the valves) to the crank (which moves with the pistons). Unlike a timing belt, a timing chain is far less likely to stretch, snap, fray or otherwise need replacement (because steel chains are far hardier than reinforced belts), and since the Kat's cam chain sits in the center of the engine (as do most transversely-mounted 4-cylinder motorcycle engines), it make sense to use the stronger solution for longer life & reliability. Additionally, chains have an advantage in very-high RPM situations.
The issue with chain slack (unlike belt issues) isn't one of jumping a tooth (common problem with stretched belts), but instead of changing the timing or placing lateral loads on the cams' length (and subsequently cam bearings). There is a tensioner assembly designed to take up excess slack, but this assembly has been known to not be up to snuff -- the spring gets weak or clogged with oil-gunk from cheap oils -- and thus doesn't do it's job.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[md86]

The cam chain is maintenance-free pretty much . Don't mess with it unless there's a problem with it . If it ain't broke don't BREAK it !

[illinoiskat]

How do you maintain the cam chain? Just change the oil?

[The CyberPoet]

when do you need to replace the cam chain?

When it's stretched beyond it's service limit. That information is in the factory service manual on how to check the limits. With normal use and timely maint, the cam chain should last the life of the bike (100k miles?).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[SweetLou]

when do you need to replace the cam chain?

A new cam chain, and some tools.

Seriously, it is a pain. You have to pull it all apart, the valve cover, the head, all that crap.

[KAT6]

when do you need to replace the cam chain?

[The CyberPoet]

Thanks I will keep this in mind. Maybe my bike only needs the standard 15k service.

w.

If you go the other route (DIY):

Carb sync to do carb balancing - $40 to $130, depending on brand/type.

Valve adjustment feeler gauges - $4 - $10, any automotive parts shop

Valve adjustment tappet tool - $7 for Suzuki brand, $40 for Motion Pro (comes with the complete solution), or fudge it with a small adjustable wrench and a socket wrench.

Factory service manual - $25 (eBay on CD) to $65 (?) at the dealership.

Torque wrench: Beam-type, $20, Sears. Click-type, $12 Harbor Freight.

Then you'll never have to pay someone else to do it for you.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[wittymonkey]

Thanks I will keep this in mind. Maybe my bike only needs the standard 15k service.

w.

[The CyberPoet]

Standard 15k service (includes valve adjustment, oil change, etc): $289 - $325, depending on hourly shop-rate.

Carb Sync (a cheap form of power balancing): $60 - $100 by itself, or often free in conjunction with the 15k service (up to $25 in conjunction with the 15k service).

Rotational mass balancing: pricing varies heavily. Cheapest I've ever heard is about $250, more commonly $500 - $700 because of the labor involved in tear-down.

Cam chain tension check: $30 in conjunction with the standard $15k service, probably about $150 without.
Tensioner assembly, part number 12830-27A08, $60.71 at RonAyers.com, usually about $75 at a typical dealer.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[The CyberPoet]

) I just called the Suzuki dealer close to me ( Parkway Cycles owned by GBM in Boston) and they :
- don't know what a engine balancing is
- don't do valve adjustment
- dont do cam chain tension check ( too old a bike they said)

Is it me or they are just a bad dealer ?

George

I can believe they don't do engine balancing, and may not know what it is. Normally it's handled by high-end shops that specialize in advanced services (balancing requires special hardware to literally balance the rotating masses of the cams, crank, etc).

I have a serious problem believing they don't do valve adjustments... this is a standard maintenance chore and should be done every 7.5k miles or so as part of the standard service. Thus, I beleive whomever you spoke with is full of shite.

The cam chain tension check can be done at the time of the valve adjustment if they know what the specifications are for it. More often, simply replacing the tensioner assembly is common -- if the bike has the symptoms of a bad/worn one (causes the bike to sound like a sewing machine when running if the cam tensioner isn't working right or the cam chain is beyond it's service limit).

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[wittymonkey]

And any ideas about how much these things cost ?

Thanks Cyber

w.

[wittymonkey]

) I just called the Suzuki dealer close to me ( Parkway Cycles owned by GBM in Boston) and they :
- don't know what a engine balancing is
- don't do valve adjustment
- dont do cam chain tension check ( too old a bike they said)

Is it me or they are just a bad dealer ?

George

[The CyberPoet]

It's just vibrating soooooooo much I hate doing more than 6k rpms. The fairing starts vibrating like hell and the handle bars too.... I think it's because of the engine. Is there any way I can reduce the engine vibrations ( equilibrate .... ? )

Use a better oil, get the valves adjusted, get the rotational engine masses balanced (engine balancing), and have the cam chain tensioner checked. Usually handlebar vibrations are speed related (unbalanced tires), or because of an unbalanced bar extensions (such as one bar being bent further than the other due to a spill, making the whole assembly above the triple-trees unbalanced and more prone to vibration).

You might also want to increase the bar end weights or the total bar weights (use of a BarSnake is advisable, or fill the bar with BB's and silicone).

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[wittymonkey]

It's just vibrating soooooooo much I hate doing more than 6k rpms. The fairing starts vibrating like hell and the handle bars too.... I think it's because of the engine. Is there any way I can reduce the engine vibrations ( equilibrate .... ? )

Thanks Cyber,

George

[The CyberPoet]

with that much weight you should probably downshift to pass... hell, I downshift to pass when it's just me.

x2... At 60 with a passenger, you should have at dropped down two gears to do the pass on an uphill section -- possibly even three gears. You want the bike to be just shy of it's peak output when you start to execute the pass under load going uphill, and it peaks between about 8k and 9.2k RPM...

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet