Familiar symptoms to anyone?

[benny hedges]

you want to pull back on the chain toward the cct - ie toward the back of the bike so the non tensioner (front) side is tight with no slack.with the ft mark showing, jog the exhaust cam round to line up. put the bearing cover on so it wont move.
do the same with the inlet cam.
you should be able to lift the chain over the gear if you lift the back of the cam up a bit, tilt it toward the gear.
get it as near as you can, and when pulling the chain tight toward the cct, show us a pic of how they line up.

i'd prefer to see them before you waste £££!
the chain wont slip around the bottom gear, it will ride over the top cog on whichever cam's spring is compressed at the time of failure.

when you ask about chain tension, i assume you are fitting manuals?
you want about 10mm play in the chain between the 2 cam gears, as in you should be able to move the chain up & down 10mm, 5mm up, 5 down.

[Fozzie]

Damn thought I might have cracked that then.

I'll sort some pics out when I get home tomorrow from work, I guess around 7/7.30. They might not be great pics as Im too lazy to take the fairings off etc. If the marks dont show up well i'll photoshop them to highlight them.

Yeah i'm gonna be sticking with the DIY manual CCTs that were on the bike to start with, im just paranoid after having the locknut come undone.

[Fozzie]

Ok ok, just took these pics. Done exactly what you said benny, so the first pic is that of the exhaust cam:

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/6061/1001119kf.jpg

This pic is as close as I could get the FI to the cylinder head although its above:

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/2416/1001118l.jpg

This is the pic with the inlet cam jogged on one tooth, its a bit blurry but you can see the 'FI' below the level cylinder head:

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3770/1001120d.jpg

I know the pics are blurry but it was the best I could get, and I tried a lot of times and I made sure it was bang on the FT timing mark. Any of these look do-able? Hope so, cus then I can spend my cam chain money on something else for the bike!!!

EDIT: Apologies for the size, didnt expect them to come out that big

[Jazzscot]

In your first pic I would say that your exhaust mark is sitting too high. If you look at the FE line and follow the line to the camchain notice that it is sitting half a link above the head. I think you should line it up then see if the rear cog you sliped by one tooth now lines up.

Jazz

[Fozzie]

I can get both FE and FI mark to line up but unfortunately they only do when the slack is on non-tensioner side which doesnt work when the tensioner is tightened as the cams turn clockwise as the slack is taken out. With the slack on the tensioner side, that is the best I can get with either. Both marks are either above the head too much or bleow the head.

[benny hedges]

i think before you go any further you should confirm it is actually 100% at top dead.
if you get a piece of dowel, pop it in the plug holeand put a ruler across the cams.
mark top dead on the dowel, then turn the engine a few degrees each way to see if the dowel goes any higher.
it shouldn't do like, but i'm just wondering if you could be looking at the flywheel marks wrong or if for some reason they are out.
must say tho, it does look very much like the front camchain is stretched.
can you shine a torch down the tunnel and have a look at the wear on the guides?

[Fozzie]

Ok the FT Mark is deffo TDC. Looking at the guides they look smooth and fairly good, no visible damage down the middle of the guides and certainly no chain marks. New cam chain?

[benny hedges]

yup - and timing cover gasket

[Fozzie]

Bugger.
I was hoping to use that money towards a lower fairing or polished rims with red spokes. Never mind. Well thanks for the help everyone, particularly benny, i'll hopefully post the results tomorrow when the new chain is fitted.

[benny hedges]

id wait for a 2nd & 3rd opinion tbh
no point having a blingy bike if you know it isnt running right eh

[Fozzie]

Well I thought I might whip the chain off in the morn and take it down to the parts place to compare with a new one before buying. If there was barely a difference i'd have a rethink. I'm praying the chain is the problem or i might consider covering my face in grease, stripping naked and sacrificing it by setting it alight and dancing around it in circles, shouting random giberish....

[benny hedges]

have you got sumat to get the flywhhel off with? it's a tw@ lol
rest of it is a doddle (seems to be anyway, not had to do it on the storm yet)

[Fozzie]

Yeah got a puller that will fit. And a bloody big hammer. Anyone got any useful tips for getting it off?

[benny hedges]

Yeah got a puller that will fit. And a bloody big hammer. Anyone got any useful tips for getting it off?

yeh. put the hammer away.

use the 2 flats on the inner bit of the flywheel instead of gripping the outside.
i used a big adjustable spanner with a bar on the end, wedged against the floor, then a 2ft strongarm bar on the 17mm bolt.
it's a right hander, not a left thread like some, so right for tight left for loose lol
tip - make sure you put some folded rag or card to protect the outside of the flywheel from the spanner in case it slips - the edge with the timing marks is thick as a beer can and will tear easy.

even pressure - dont tw@ it or you could flat a bearing.
it only takes one good nudge once youve got a grip on it cos it's on a taper shaft and could fall off - make sure you catch it lol!!!

you might find it easier to disassemble if you take the m8 allen bolts out of the starter gear as well.

don't forget threadlock on Everything when it goes back together

just take your time & good luck

[Fozzie]

Ok i'll hide the hammer. Cheers for the heads up. It appears ive been given some time tomorrow away from the wife and little one to be able to focus on it. In a weird way im sorta looking forward to it...