79 KZ650
Have had an intermittent noise I suspected was the cam chain.
Took it to a shop. The guy listened to it and immediately diagnosed it as a cam chain noise. Said he believed the automatic tensioner was bad.
He later told me the tensioner was all gunked up from the oil not having been changed regularly, and all it needed was a good cleaning to correct the problem.
I got the bike back, and the problem was not corrected. I took it back to the shop, he said he could hear the problem was not corrected, and told me he'd get to it the next day.
A week and a half later, after not having any of my calls returned, I went to the shop. He told me he'd ordered a complete tensioner assembly from Kawasaki, and had not recieved it yet. I looked at the bike, and saw the tensioner had not been removed. I asked him how he knew which parts of the assembly were bad if he hadn't looked at it. He had no answer.
I took the bike. I pulled the valve cover, and the chain tensioner. The cam chain is tight and looks good. I can't see anything visibly wrong with the chain tensioner. I reassembled the bike and ran it, using a long screwdriver, and listening along it, to try and isolate the noise. Itis loudest un the upper side of the engine case, away from the cylinder; closer to the starter. I'm wondering if what I'm hearing is even the cam chain at all>
The noise sounds exactly like something like a chain making light contact with the case or other soft, or round metal; it's not a grinding sound, more like a rubbing sound.
Does anyone have any ideas?
"That @#$%!!! KZ650"
79 KZ650 B3
Dual front disc brakes
Z1R 18" front wheel
Pumper carbs w/pods
MAC 4-1 w/ drilled-out baffle
Dyna S ignition w/ Dyna Green coils
WG coil mod
'81 CSR charging system
17/41 gearing
