Replace cam chain or not?

What exactly is a HYVO chain?

Like Steell I always thought that a multiplate chain and a HyVo chain was the same thing and that HyVo was just an abbreviation of High Velocity.

Here´s a pic that shows the difference between a single roller chain (top) and a multiplate (what I call HyVo) chain (bottom):



Post edited by: OnkelB, at: 2006/09/09 12:35

"Morse HyVo chain" is a registered trademark of BorgWarner Inc, it's also called "Morse chain", "Silent chain", "linkplate chain", "multiplate chain", "inverted tooth chain", and probably a host of other names.

Here is a link to the Regina site which identifies the same part number that Z1 Enterprises lists for the KZ750 four as a "Morse" chain.

Regina Chains

Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/09/09 12:53

Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/09/09 12:55

Yeah, I did a bit of googling too and noticed several instances of "HyVo(Tm)" so I figured it might be a brand name. My KZ 650 Clymer´s manual uses the term HyVo for the primary chain, which is a multiplate chain, so I just assumed any multiplate chain was a HyVo chain - of course the 650 primary chain may indeed be a true HyVo chain? Oh well, guess I can used to say multiplate, just takes longer to type...

Post edited by: OnkelB, at: 2006/09/09 13:53

Thanks for all the help. Does anyone know if Z1enterprises offers a discount to forum members?

fishbone1 wrote:

Thanks for all the help. Does anyone know if Z1enterprises offers a discount to forum members?

Why should he ?

His prices are very competitive.

Jeff.Saunders wrote:

my observation of many different Z1 / KZ900 / KZ1000 engines is the cam chains have an effective life of about 35,000-40,000 miles. That doesn't mean they with fall apart, but the wear on the chain causes the cams to be well out of time with the crank - many degrees casuing the bike to run lethargic - and yes, the cam chain tensioner can reach it's limit - at which point you will need to invest in ear plugs to keep the engine clatter to a minimum....

I've seem bikes with 70,000 miles on the still running the original cam chain - the flip side is I've also seen bikes where the tensioner was fully extended an the engine was still fairly young.

I went 135,000 on the camchain on a 78 KZ650. Never got any noisier. Probably did alter the timing quite a bit, I'll admit, but going for mileage, performance is not my thing. If you replace everything that's 10% worn out to keep it like new it will cost a small fortune. The 1978 and earlier, with the manual camchain adjuster will allow for a lot more camchain stretching.

Looking back at my notes, I actually went 149,511 miles on the original camchain. Not that it matters.

RonKZ650,
That is some serious miles on a bike. I will probably go ahead and replace the cam chain on my bike since I already have the top end apart to replace some valves.


hwms,
Thanks for the answer on the discount. I was just curious. You don't know if you don't ask.

RonKZ650 wrote:

Looking back at my notes, I actually went 149,511 miles on the original camchain. Not that it matters.

That is certainly some serious miles. How many total miles have you ridden?

It would be interesting to know total miles others have ridden.

hwms wrote:

RonKZ650 wrote:

Looking back at my notes, I actually went 149,511 miles on the original camchain. Not that it matters.

That is certainly some serious miles. How many total miles have you ridden?

It would be interesting to know total miles others have ridden.

I've ridden 167,000 on that KZ650, 80,000 on my KZ1000, 31,000 on my current well used 77 KZ650, 24,000 on a GPZ1100, probably another 30,000 or so on other KZs. To me a KZ is the only bike that fits. Strange but true.

The point is to replace the cam chain when it needs it - and to not push your luck and end up with a totally junk engine. We had a Z1A in here a couple of years ago - the owner snapped a cam chain at 48,000 miles - trashed the engine - head, pistons, and crankcases. Ironically, he spent money a few years earlier to replace the valves and opted not to pull the engine apart to replace the cam chain.

At 40,000 miles in most engines not only is the cam chain worn, but all the idler sprockets and rubber dampers are in poor shape. Much of the deterioration with the rubber parts is the combination of heat cycles and age - most of the dampers in a 30 year old engine are hard as bullets.