I just got a 2002! Been looking for a bit now. I'm 66, and have ridden since age 13. As I've gotten older, my left hip has developed arthritis to the point that I'm afraid of dropping my "big" bike (2003 Moto Guzzi California 1100EV), so I don't ride it much. I hope to remedy that with the Savage. BTW, what's the deal with the timing chain? Timing chains in cars last 2-300,000 miles! I've only heard of timing chain problems on V8 racing engines. My Savage has about 20,000 miles on it, so I'll check it. Is there a better (aftermarket) tensioner?

I'm not familiar with MPH. I mean, I know about them--- one of the few Guzzi places I'd let work on mine. I got it a while back from a place in Tulsa who's name I can't recall... Cycle Motion? Something Motion? Anyway, I do most of my own wrenching. And, yeah, the Goose has scared most Harleys and a few "crotch rockets" during my stint in New Mexico. Mountain roads are not straight...

I have bought more than one Honda 750 SOHC inline 4 back in the day that sounded like they were going to explode any minute. They had a cam chain that was a bit smaller than a bicycle chain. After several wheelie attempts/successes the cam chain would stretch so much it would rub on the bottom of the engine case, making it sound like a can full of rocks. Replacing the chain made them "Like new". The chain on these looks to be pretty substantial, though I can see how the pulsing from a 650 single could stretch one out. I mean, when you get down to it, a 2 liter car engine is only 500cc at a time, with better primary balance from the 4 cylinders. Mine seems to idle pretty smoothly, for a single. (I had a '72 650 Triumph twin that would shake itself off the center stand at idle, and it had had the crank "balanced".) I'm going to check the timing chain while I wait for the title to come through...

I wonder if anyone has tried simply defeating the ratchet mechanism on the tensioner? Even on those old Honda 4s, the cam chain tensioner was basically just a spring that pushed against the teflon slipper. (Guide) You had to compress it and turn the lock screw to install it, but then you released the lock screw and the spring just kept enough pressure on the chain guide to keep it tight on the sprockets. If the one on the LS was like that, it wouldn't matter if the head expanded or not, because the spring would work to keep tension either way.  I'm nowhere near the level of a Suzuki engineer, but it seems that if the tensioner ratchets tighter on a cold engine, THAT'S where the chain stretch is coming from. You'd still have to have a way to keep the parts from dropping into the gears as it wore...

Some of us are trying that,,,,but. DBM did some bench testing and just removing the pawl lets the chain slop around to give some outlandish bad valve issues. Now running at speed the valves won't be as bad as on the bench turning things by hand, but it would NOT be good.
Dave and I are running with the pawl disabled and a plug behind the plunger to limit the travel to 1.5mm or so. I have about 25k on mine since modding it with no issues. I checked it 5k ago and the plunger was out maybe 0.5mm more in 20k. Another 15k and I will hit 150k (70k on the ''new'' cam chain) and will open it up and check again.
Dave and I are both serious tinkerers with our own lathes and pile of tools.He is actully a engineer, and we know the mechanics of what we are doing and drawbacks.
This is still unproven, so try at your own risk. If you live in a apartment and have to work on your bike outside, it's not for you.

Needles wrote on 06/14/22 at 16:14:18:

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So you know all about his Laws too eh?  

TheSneeze wrote on 02/04/22 at 17:34:36:


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