Cam chain tensioner

[Mac One]

Hello all
I've got a 2011 GSA twin cam and sometimes when I start it there's a momentary rattle from the engine as it fires up.
When I start it from cold it's fine and if I'm out and stop for 10 minutes it's fine but if I park it for an hour or so I get a rattle as it starts up as if the oil has drained from some part.
I know there was an issue with earlier bikes and an upgraded tensioner was available and I was wondering if any of the twin cam tensioners had issues and if there was any way of checking if the tensioners were
working properly. The bike runs well, should I be concerned ? I would welcome any advice/thoughts


Cheers

 

[Lentarn]

I have a 2012 model so the same as yours. I had a slight weep from the LHS cam chain tensioner bolt a few months back, it just needed nipping up although I did take the whole thing out to take a look at the spring (not easy at all to get it back in - purely due to lack of space). I didn't bother putting the nw tensioner in as bike is running fine. I get the same rattles - never really thought much about it, its just the nature of the beast. Unless I was getting real slapping or it sounded out of kilter I would leave it alone (but check its nipped up to the right torque (although i couldn't find a way of getting a torque wrench on LHS)

 

[Bendy toy]

If the noise goes away with the clutch pulled in, it's a gearbox input shaft noise. If there is no change with clutch position its likely to be cam chain.

 

[Mac One]

I was wondering if the tensioner is a similar design to the one in the video and with the L/H one facing downwards, could lose oil if the valve was defective/clogged.


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[crawling finn]

I just had to replace tensioner on my 2004 bike. Supporting the bike on jack under the sump and removing the lower front shock bolt it was quite easy to remove the telelever arm pivot shaft and pull the front wheel forward to allow access to the tensioner with torque wrench. I would think twin cam would be no different.

 

[Bendy toy]

I just had to replace tensioner on my 2004 bike. Supporting the bike on jack under the sump and removing the lower front shock bolt it was quite easy to remove the telelever arm pivot shaft and pull the front wheel forward to allow access to the tensioner with torque wrench. I would think twin cam would be no different.

I think the tensioners in question are those one on the cylinder cam chains.

It's actually worth taking off the engine front cover anyway because they corrode quite badly under the plastic covers especially up high where they are fully hidden. I strongly suspect (though have not tried) that stripping the paint and leaving bare metal would be less unsightly than leaving them to spot corrode under the paint.