TOPIC:

Hey I'm a fairly new motorcycle rider, and my '95 KZ1000p is my first bike. I bought it from a kid in pretty good condition, and he threw in an extra motor. I dont know a lot about bikes but im learning fairly quickly (mostly because ive had to!)

The Problem: I have a loose cam chain. I wasnt sure what the problem was a few weeks ago, i thought i heard something rattling around in the clutch or something, but after talking to a few friends and one suggesting that, I most definitely hear the chain scraping on the casing. I have the factory manual but not the resources to pull the top end off and fix it, and I was told the repair costs would be 800-1000 to fix.

The Question: Can I ride it until something breaks, or is that foolish? I have the extra motor in my garage I can replace it with in a few hours with help from a friend. I have heard different people telling me it could be "catastrophic" to "youll just lose power", but im going to go with the internet on this one.

Cam chain slack is taken up by the tensioner. If there is excess slack in the cam chain it is very likely your tensioner needs to be adjusted or replaced. Riding the bike until the cam chain breaks is, pardon my being blunt, absolutely insane. Look into correcting the tensioner. If you find the problem is greater than that, get someone to identify the corrective measures required or swap engines, but do not run it until the chain breaks or you could get hurt when the engine comes apart. Ed

Not sure if your is identical, but on a '77 its an easy adjustment. Look on the rear of the block, in the lower center for something like this dooblie:



Loosen the locking nut, back out the screw a bit and the spring releases and pushes the tensioner into the chain. Tighten up again.

If that does nothing, you have bigger issues... this works until the chain stretches beyond a certain point. If its never been done your prolly fine.

Catastrophic.

Best case is speeding pistons destroy half the valves.

Worst case is the engine grenades and you go sliding into an oncoming bus and die.


It is difficult to be sure the noise you hear is being caused by the cam chain without measuring how much it has stretched. That measurement is nor really difficult and does not require taking the engine apart.

Your 95 kz is a J type motor with Hyvo silent type camchain.
If it has done mileage of 40k + then the chain will be worn and probably the slipper tensioners too.
HOWEVER, the main culprit on these engines was the tensioner at the back of the block under the carbs backing off under load and once it has done this it won't keep constant tension like it should.
You have been lucky so far and shouldn't run the engine again until you have had the tensioner checked out by someone who knows what they are looking at.
You never know you may be lucky and just need a replacement tensioner.
The cost of a real mechanic for an hour will be a drop in the ocean compared to fixing a wrecked engine.

It is possible that the noise you hear is because the carbs are way out of sync.Try to adjust your cam chain first. Then try to sync your carbs. If you still suspect your cam chain is stretched and want to replace it, I believe the chain can be replaced without removing the head by breaking the chain and coupling the new chain to it and carefully rotating the engine until the new chain is able to be attached together with a master link. Someone here will probably tell you never to do this but it has been done many times successfully. Replace the auto adjuster too.

If it's the HyVo you can't break it and replace it like the earlier chains. They had problems with the automatic tentioners. That might be all it is. Turn the crank with a wrench until it won'r move backward and pull off the tentioner. It might be stuck. There should be a bolt on it. Loosen the bolt, push the plunger in all the way and tighten the bolt. Put it back on. Loosen the bolt and you should hear the plunger snap in. If you do, start it. If not don't. ether way re tighten the bolt.Time for a rebuild.
Yes, a broken cam chain will make for a F'd up day!
Steve