You have to hold it tight or it will slip out your handOk one question I have & that is when I take up the tension on the exhaust side on the front pot how firm does it need holding while pulling it over the cam sprocket??
A cable tie around the chain and sprocket is useful here so it frees your hand up for getting the chain over the other cam and lined up.The chain should be pulled taught (Have I spelt that right
) and over the cam sprocket. The slack is taken up by the tensioner on the other side. Taught or as tight as one can get it so it lines up with the teeth on the sprocket. But be careful not to pull it so tight that it may move the crank slightly, So double check all alignment marks afterwards.As for one side wearing more than another. They are separate cylinders and should be treated as such. Things rarely wear at the same rate due to different stresses and strains on various components. The only thing the chains share is the crank!
(:-})
Cheers.