cam chain manuevering

i started stripping bike and i am at the point of taking cams out...i have them in the right position as per the manual...i just have to pull tensioner and tach drive....when i get to the point of actally pulling head are there any tricks
for handling chain? book says to hang it up...thats all well and good but at some point i m going to have to pass it through the head....anyone have any tips? tricks? is this actally not as tricky as i think its gonna be?
first time delving this deep so dont know what to expect....thanks keith

no big problem just let it go you can fish it out later the only reason you would have to worry about crank position is if you were reinstalling the head right away if your stripping it down don't worry about it.

well, there are probably multiple ways to go about this but here is how i did it. while the head is still on its easy to just set a pencil, screwdriver, or something like that through the chain across the head where the cams sit to keep the chain from dropping down into the cases. then you can slowly lift the cases off of the studs, You can lift the head quite a ways up before the chain gets tight on the object you have keeping the chain from falling. You now have quite a gap between the cylinders and head. Its easy to grab a ziptie and now ziptie the cam chain to a stud, remove your object and then pull off the head. Then just repeat the same process again when removing the cylinders. Also, dont freak if you drop the chain down in the cases. I did this and you will find a way to reach down and grab onto it and then you just have to wiggle it around until you get it back on the crank cam chain sprocket.

thanks guys.........

jordan wrote:

well, there are probably multiple ways to go about this but here is how i did it. while the head is still on its easy to just set a pencil, screwdriver, or something like that through the chain across the head

I use a paint stir stick. It's thin, flat and level so you can slide it in easily and it stays put.

i usually make my buddy help me. he he

I use a piece of coat hanger "C" bent and hang it on the frame straight up. Quick and easy connect/disconnect for feed through the cylinder, head whatever. And being small in diameter, slides through most openings...

OMR