Cam Chain Dampners

Is the little black rubber dampners that ride on the cam chain wheels suppose to be hard as a rock, or are they soft when new? also would anybody know if cam chain guide has soft rubber on the end?

soft. I have a whole bag of GOLD(soft rubber) parts ready for my Z1-R

I believe the small dampers are suspose to be soft when new.

They were soft when new, hard after 6 months use. So if you replace them now, by next fall they will all be hard again so might as well just reuse the old hard ones. Now, if there are other pieces available that don't turn to rock hard right away then by all means use them. I've never tried any but factory Kawasaki. They started using the dampers in late 1977 I believe, before that they just used solid steel shafts. The dampers were supposed to quiet down the engine. No big deal if they are hard, at worst case you are right where the engine was pre 1977 and that was just fine before they added them to the design.

Good to know, the ones i have a hard as rock, but thinking about it I guess with the heat they woud all cook eventuaully. Money saved is money earned.

yes u r right. the heat hardens them. in time they get brittle crack and fall apart.
Liska, makes rollers with steel centers.