Ok so I have a 00 naked sv and it has 18,000 miles on it. The common cam chain tick has been buging the sheot out of me. It has made the noise since the day I bought it(it had 8,000miles). I really want to get this taken care of even if it doesn't make a difference engine wise. The noise just makes me not want to ride the damn thing anymore. It has gotten no louder but it is definitley there. How extensive and expensive is it to get this taken care of ????
Cam chain tick
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I just serviced my bike today. I was told in the past that the cam chain tensioners need to be adjusted after about every 4000 miles or so. I was told its a job that requires the bike to be cool, and you have to pull the tank and all that. The Suzuki dealer told me its about a $400 job....its mostly labor ($35 per hour) actually once the heads are pulled. Its not something I would do...I'm mechanically inclined, but this is a little above me.
I brought the bike in this morning and the guy asked me how many miles were on the bike. I told just over 4000. He started in with the "you need to adjust the cam chain tensioner speech".....I just told him I couldn't afford it. He changed his tune, listened to the bike and said I didn't need to do it anyway.....I didn't think so either. I don't hear a ticking sound anyway. My bike runs flawlessly....but then again, except for some holes drilled in the stock muffler baffle, the bike is bone stock.....and though I have fun with it busting through canyon curves, I truly do not beat on it either so that may have something to do with why it didn't need an adjustment either.
My bike has just over 4000 miles on it and its a 2002 SV650S. The guy I had look at it at the dealership told me not to worry about it. I ran the bike for him and he said they didn't need to be adjusted.
SV
I brought the bike in this morning and the guy asked me how many miles were on the bike. I told just over 4000. He started in with the "you need to adjust the cam chain tensioner speech".....I just told him I couldn't afford it. He changed his tune, listened to the bike and said I didn't need to do it anyway.....I didn't think so either. I don't hear a ticking sound anyway. My bike runs flawlessly....but then again, except for some holes drilled in the stock muffler baffle, the bike is bone stock.....and though I have fun with it busting through canyon curves, I truly do not beat on it either so that may have something to do with why it didn't need an adjustment either.
My bike has just over 4000 miles on it and its a 2002 SV650S. The guy I had look at it at the dealership told me not to worry about it. I ran the bike for him and he said they didn't need to be adjusted.
SV
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Here's what I do. It's almost always the front pot that makes the noise, by the way.
1) Remove carbs (you can do it with them in place biut it's fiddly as all hell)
2) remove bolt from top of cam chain tensioner adjuster body. NOT the 2 allen headed bolts!
3) fit small flathead screwdriver bit to side-arm ratchet driver
4) Back off tensioner with screwdriver bit (aargh, can't remember which way to turn it- I'm going to say clockwise but I'm not sure that's right. Don't worry, it'll only easily turn one way. Repeat a couple of times.
5) I don't know if this makes any difference or not, but I do it now anyway- pour a little oil in through the top of the adjuster. Now repeat screwdriver trick as many times as you can be bothered to do.
6) Reassemble. I usually fire it up once the carbs are on as a test to see how it sounds
7) No cam chain rattle. For a while at least. Usually lasts 500-2000 miles or until the bike next winds up on its side.
I'm told K3> tensioner adjusters work better than carbed ones, so I might pick up a set of those if I can- but they're £40UK new, bit pricey.
1) Remove carbs (you can do it with them in place biut it's fiddly as all hell)
2) remove bolt from top of cam chain tensioner adjuster body. NOT the 2 allen headed bolts!
3) fit small flathead screwdriver bit to side-arm ratchet driver
4) Back off tensioner with screwdriver bit (aargh, can't remember which way to turn it- I'm going to say clockwise but I'm not sure that's right. Don't worry, it'll only easily turn one way. Repeat a couple of times.
5) I don't know if this makes any difference or not, but I do it now anyway- pour a little oil in through the top of the adjuster. Now repeat screwdriver trick as many times as you can be bothered to do.
6) Reassemble. I usually fire it up once the carbs are on as a test to see how it sounds
7) No cam chain rattle. For a while at least. Usually lasts 500-2000 miles or until the bike next winds up on its side.
I'm told K3> tensioner adjusters work better than carbed ones, so I might pick up a set of those if I can- but they're £40UK new, bit pricey.
What a load of crap. SV's have self adjusting cam chain tensioners. The Gen2 adjusters are supposed to be imprved over the Gen1 adjusters. You don't have to do the screw driver thing to adjust them.
Whenever we have engines apart I inspect the cam chain guides, the sprocket guides and the adjusters. If anything is worn, we install new. Cam chains last a long time, but a new one is always better than one with 30k on it. APE Billet manual adjusters are nice, they are strong and if adjusted correctly use less power than OEM auto adjusting tensioners by reducing friction.
Whenever we have engines apart I inspect the cam chain guides, the sprocket guides and the adjusters. If anything is worn, we install new. Cam chains last a long time, but a new one is always better than one with 30k on it. APE Billet manual adjusters are nice, they are strong and if adjusted correctly use less power than OEM auto adjusting tensioners by reducing friction.
J
joe_bob1999
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I've got a mechanics stethoscope and you can quickly pin point where the noise is coming from. The only other item I would think of would be the valve clearance.
Are you in Houston? I ran into a "Jason" with an 18k miles bike the other day with the "tick".
If you are in town we can put the scope on it and see what is making the noise.
Are you in Houston? I ran into a "Jason" with an 18k miles bike the other day with the "tick".
If you are in town we can put the scope on it and see what is making the noise.
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1,103 Posts
Years ago I was a mechanic at a Suzuki shop, and the GSXR's had a similar noise in them. We just took the valve cover off stuck a long screw driver or drift into the cam sprockets rotated the engine backwards(with a wrench on the end of the crank) and the tensioner would take up the extra slack in the cam chain that you just created. Easy as that, end of ticking. Should work the same on the SV's. tensioner looks the same. 8)
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1,103 Posts
I have been a professional mechanic for over 30 years and had never herd of a problem turning an engine backwards. Done it MANY times doing valve adjustments. If the next valve to adj. only needed the cam lobe to turn backwards a few degrees I would do it that way. Works on BMW's and all the Japanese brands. Never had a problem. No it doesn't put to much tension on the chain, doesn't have that kind of pressure. If it did you would hear a whine coming from the chain when you started up the bike. I usually turn in the normal direction, but sometimes backwards.avc8130 said:
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