R1150GS very lumpy idle - what's causing this sound?

[Myke Rocks]

With all due respect, I will NEVER use a soft link cam-chain on any of my customers bike. There is a very valid reason that NO manufacturers fit them or will sell them. Because a non-factory fitted link will always be a potential weakness.

You would be as well to tell Honda this.

The original CB450 (Black Bomber) had a rivetted cam chain. There was no other way to assemble it. I split and reused the links many times re- rivetting using special tools I. E. 2 hammers. Bike was revved till the valves floated, and everything else fell asunder except-- the cam chain.

 

[Steptoe]

With all due respect, I will NEVER use a soft link cam-chain on any of my customers bike. There is a very valid reason that NO manufacturers fit them or will sell them. Because a non-factory fitted link will always be a potential weakness.

I know you can buy them and I know many people have used them in the past. I've also got an industrial unit full of destroyed engines where people have short-cutted repairs to save money. And quite a few engines with snapped cam chains of this type.

I probably would on my own bikes. Because I can remove the covers whenever I want and check the links.


For me it just isn't worth the risk in my business. Obviously it's a personal choice and I won't get into a lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of it. But for me, it's a NEVER.

I always give my customers the choice.

 

[ianboydsnr]

It’s an old 1150,

It’s fix it up cheaply and if it at some time in the future breaks catastrophically, then sell all the good parts, and buy another, or buy another engine and replace,

It’s probably only the tensioner.

 

[Santa-2512]

With all due respect, I will NEVER use a soft link cam-chain on any of my customers bike. There is a very valid reason that NO manufacturers fit them or will sell them. Because a non-factory fitted link will always be a potential weakness.

I know you can buy them and I know many people have used them in the past. I've also got an industrial unit full of destroyed engines where people have short-cutted repairs to save money. And quite a few engines with snapped cam chains of this type.

I probably would on my own bikes. Because I can remove the covers whenever I want and check the links.


For me it just isn't worth the risk in my business. Obviously it's a personal choice and I won't get into a lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of it. But for me, it's a NEVER.

Please enlighten me ...

when the manufacturer makes the chain ? how do they make the join?

They peen one over - the last link to the first link

when you buy a new rear chain, nowdays you will have to peen one link to join it

so providing the peening is done properly the chain will be no different to a oem peened chain

 

[ThreeDawg]

Both my Laverda triples had ordinary split links in the camchain, and did have from the factory. You had to split the chain to do the valves. It was considered pretty important to change the chain every 20000 miles or so, but that could have been back in the day when chain wasn't as good as it is now. Lots of Laverdas running Mercedes camchain now without any problems.