Should I be able to hear the cam chain?

'79 KZ650

Just after I bought the bike, I started hearing the cam chain making noise. It would come and go; sometimes getting so bad the bike would "catch" at idle and nearly shut off.

Took it to a shop. He said the automatic cam chain tensioner was frozen up, and he'd fixed it.

I still hear the cam chain, although not as bad as before. I hear a slight "ringing" sound from it all the time, and occasionally it gets worse, tohough, again, not as bad as before. Is this normal?

No, you should not hear it.

Baldy's right. But you may not be hearing your cam chain. Don't know what would cause a 'ringing' sound... maybe something like a header pipe vibrating and touching the frame?

Maybe what you are hearing is the cam chain rubbing on a metal part of the tensioner. It could be that the phenolic part of the stuck tensioner became worn down to the metal. You may not always hear the noise because the tensioner is free--the cam chain rides for the most part on the phenolic. But under accelleration or decelleration the load on the chain changes altering the angle of contact on the tensioner which then allows the chain to contact the exposed metal portion on the tensioner. Could also be that the phenolic block that is mounted in the roof of the cam chain cover has come loose or is worn through and the ringing noise is the cam chain running against the cover.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Grant.

ltdrider wrote:

Baldy's right. But you may not be hearing your cam chain. Don't know what would cause a 'ringing' sound... maybe something like a header pipe vibrating and touching the frame?

"Ringing" is just my attempt to describe what I'm hearing; it's definitely the cam chain.

Grantl wrote:

Maybe what you are hearing is the cam chain rubbing on a metal part of the tensioner. It could be that the phenolic part of the stuck tensioner became worn down to the metal. You may not always hear the noise because the tensioner is free--the cam chain rides for the most part on the phenolic. But under accelleration or decelleration the load on the chain changes altering the angle of contact on the tensioner which then allows the chain to contact the exposed metal portion on the tensioner. Could also be that the phenolic block that is mounted in the roof of the cam chain cover has come loose or is worn through and the ringing noise is the cam chain running against the cover.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Grant.

That sounds pretty reasonable. Question is; how problematic (or potentially problematic) is it?

If Grant's right you got troubles. Some wear on the tensioners is tolerable but if you've worn through to the metal bits you're outta tolerance.

On the lighter side cam chains tend to the canary of the KZ world. If your chain's a bit loose any thing that upsets the rhythm of the engine will cause a cam chain slap. This includes poor carb mixture, poor ignition, all down the line, you name the problem if it causes the engine to stumble, the cam chain will complain.

Keep us posted.

KZCSI