ape cam tensioner yeh or nay

Excellent information.Now that Ive been educated on the subject Im putting one on my bike.I like the idea of having control of this adjustment myself,And can trade a old dirtbike carb for a brand new one.Thanks again.

scubarod wrote:

i have succesfully adjusted my valve clearances and now the only thing i hear is the cam chain on my 2001 kzp and it looks like i am leaking oil there!i have read some old posts and am curious if any of you guys have had good luck with that ape manual tensioner?i think i would like to know with certainty whether or not i have proper tension there and maybe it will quite it down a bit.thanks for any advise and i really appreciate all of the tips you guys gave me on my valve adjustments!

I vote Yeh! for the manual tensioner. the stock has spring loaded ball bearings that wear down and doesn't hold tension like it should. the manual one requires checking every so often, but won't go slack on you.

my 2 cents

The manual chain tensioners work fine.
Just be sure to re-tension them periodically. More frequently on a new chain of course.

Myself, I set the engine to TDC 1-4 and then turn in tensioner while rocking the chain back and forth gently via a breaker and 17mm socket on the crank.
Just finger tight!
Takes all the slack up in the chain this way.
Then back off about 1/8th turn.

Thats it. Done. No rattle anywhere and it actually makes a difference in the power delivery you can feel.

Even if it is slightly tight, it wont be for long...

WOTshiftWOTshiftWOTshiftWOTshiftWOT... mirror :laugh:

GL

there is only an O-Ring for the seal.
Works fine. I think the OEM has an O-ring as well if I remember correctly.

i just installed a ape tensioner a few days ago and i am not sure if i have it tight enough yet.when turning over the engine by hand i could hear a click after each revolution and then as i tightened the click when away,then after riding i could hear the clicking so i stopped and adjusted by turning it in a lttle more until that clicking stopped and now it sounds like it did with the auto stock tensioner"like a box of rocks"is this the way it is going to sound?or should i tighten a little more?can you still hear your cam chain rolling and how loud is it?thanks for any advise and i already know its bad to overtighten.my kzp is a 2001

I don't own an APE tensioner, but the cam chain is a strong bugger; I doubt you can crank the tensioner tight enough with your fingers to do real damage; just don;t go putting a pipe wrench on it and you should be fine.

well i have turned it about a full turn now "i think" with my 5/8" wrench but it was still a little loose "i think" before making those small turns to get to what it sounds like now and i am considering turning a little more

Hello,

When I installed the APE tensioner on my '91 KZP, I followed the instructions and then had to "play" with it a bit.

I had it set and then I would ride and not like the noise so I would adjust the tensioner tighter and that actually made more noise.

With the engine running I ended up backing off the tensioner until I hardly heard any noise and then tightened it very slightly. I did this a couple of times until I got it to where I thought it was best.



There is still some cam chain noise as it runs over the guides and has the "singing" or " cricket" sound.
But it used to sound like the cam chain was slapping around as it went around.



I hope this helps.

You may also want to check out the Yahoo KZP forum:
autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/kz1000p/messages

As that is a KZP specific site. That is where I decided to try the Ape tensioner.

Good luck and ride safe!

Bill

thanks for the input!i have adjusted this thing back and forth and the only change i notice is when it quits ticking after that i cannot tell any difference in the sound so i hand tightened and then i turned it a little bit with my 5/8 wrench and i am going to try that.i will report back if i have to tighten further but i am starting to believe i am hearing normal cam chain noise and it doesnt quite down any more than this.

I have one one my Race Bike, and they are more reliable than the factory tensioner.