Cam chain adjuster

[Brendan W]

I had a new KZ650 in 1980. At the first, shakedown service the dealer locked the auto tensioner with a screw.
He set it with the motor running.
He said, ' those auto things are useless '.
Maybe this was a thing back then, at least in the minds of some?

[Gorminrider]

I had a new KZ650 in 1980. At the first, shakedown service the dealer locked the auto tensioner with a screw.
He set it with the motor running.
He said, ' those auto things are useless '.
Maybe this was a thing back then, at least in the minds of some?

I've been offered the same opinion from a mechanic I chat with recently too. it was he who suggested turning the "big knob" to get it just "quiet" and then locking it- I haven't except as an experiment- the self-adjusting ahsn't seemed a worthwhile issue but I have quite enough things that need regular adjustment!

BUT I do find it interesting that CATALIEPS has gone so many kilometers without adjusting without issue. Maybe his tension blade will never wear, crack or bend as I've seen in some bikes...

[Grimly]

I had a new KZ650 in 1980. At the first, shakedown service the dealer locked the auto tensioner with a screw.
He set it with the motor running.
He said, ' those auto things are useless '.
Maybe this was a thing back then, at least in the minds of some?

It definitely was. That was an attitude brought about by the crop of crap Honda camchains and tensioners. Instead of one reliable design, Honda changed them all the time and some were dreadful.
Otoh, Suzuki got it right but suffered from such attitudes inherent in the dealerships of the day.

[rphillips]

I don't know about the KZ650 Kawasaki, but the early KZ1300's ("79 thru "81") did have cam chain tensioner problems, corrected with a new design in "82". I don't remember Suzuki having any problems with theirs, but several aftermarket co's did make a manual tensioner for them

[bwringer]

If you're drag racing a GS, a manual tensioner might make sense.

But on a GS on the street, even if you flog it hard, the regular tensioner doing its thing as designed is perfectly fine.

But yeah, those "other guys" had some tensioner problems here and there, and so yet another Krusty Rusty Olde Byker Legende was born and in some minds all such devices were condemned.

[Gorminrider]

It definitely was. That was an attitude brought about by the crop of crap Honda camchains and tensioners. Instead of one reliable design, Honda changed them all the time and some were dreadful.
Otoh, Suzuki got it right but suffered from such attitudes inherent in the dealerships of the day.

Yes, I think that's it. some Hondas for sure...and other brands I see others know...when you get a new/old bike, these forums are a great thing because the weaknesses of the bike show up in the frequent posts...apart from Newbie confusion, we don't seem to have an issue.

[Brendan W]

It definitely was. That was an attitude brought about by the crop of crap Honda camchains and tensioners. Instead of one reliable design, Honda changed them all the time and some were dreadful.
Otoh, Suzuki got it right but suffered from such attitudes inherent in the dealerships of the day.

Now that you mention it, the place back then was chock a block with Plastic Maggots, even the Guards had them and there was never a good story about their chains.