cam chain slack

After finally putting my cylinder head back on, I got the cams torqued down, following the manual directions on how to line up the cams and having the IN on the intake cam at the 46th link(could be a little off on the info, i dont have the manual here). There seemed to be a bit more slack in the chain than before. I then turned the motor over with a 17mm wrench, and then the slack disappeared until there was almost none. I watched and the cam chain did not slip on the sprockets and nothing moved. I then turned the motor over until it was back at pistons 1 and 4 TDC. I counted the links and they were the same as before, and as the manual read. Is this normal, does anyone have any explanation of why the slack would go away? Does anyone see why this might affect the way it runs, even if it still is timed as directed in the manual?

Hey jordan, I have slack in mine too and am wondering about some similar things as well. I asked and posted pics of it on the other thread so maybe we'll get an answer there, if not here.

On my 750, the IN mark needs to point between the 45th and 46th pins. If yours is similar, you might want to make sure that that part is right.

It is normal. I had the same on my bike. As you turn the engine, the slack is taken up on the front of the engine, and transfered to the back, where it is taken up by the tensioner. At least, that's what I think is happening.

As long as you take it slowly and make sure that the chain doesn't jump a tooth, you should be fine.

Post edited by: Skyman, at: 2008/01/15 02:26

if you look underneath your valve cover, you should see another chain guide in the center of the valve cover. When you install the cover it rests against the chain and takes up the slack.