• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Heavy duty timing chain

  • Thread starter Thread starter gsryder
  • Start date Start date
G

gsryder

Guest
I am looking for a heavy duty timing chain for a 81 GS1100 engine.

I have looked e-bay, searched on here and anther forum I see lots a references to them but not a manufacturer or where to get them.

I am going to be doing a turbo build lower compression (base spacer) and mostly stock build but I cant find the info I need on the timing chain.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Best bet is APE (American Performance Engineering). They are pretty much THE source for performance bits for these bikes. Google "APE motorcycle" you'll find them.
 
What he said..

http://gszone.biz/sprockets.html


chain.jpg


[SIZE=-1]Extra heavy duty cam chains are recommended to help eliminate chain breakage which can result in extensive engine damage. Tsubaki is the only true high performance cam chain available. The Tsubaki engineers have worked with top race mechanics world wide to produce the only cam chains that will stand up to the rigorous demands of high performance race machines. These same chains are equally at home in the stock street bike, affording the owner the added protection of a high performance chain at a price less than stock factory replacement chains.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]
BFO5MUx120
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]GS1100 / 1150 / GS750/850/1000 2 Valve [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]$50.79[/SIZE]
 
Just out of curiosity, can you tell the difference between the stock and the heavy duty by just looking at them?

What is the difference?
 
How many here have had a timing chain break?:confused:
Tony.

I rode five GS shafties, four 850's and one 1100GK, from 1986 through 2008. A total of 265,000 miles on them. Not one problem with the cam chain breaking or giving anything but 100% service.

Nick Diaz
Middletown, MD
 
You find a LOT of ebay resellers selling APE stuff at above the price you could get if you just bought it from APE.
 
I rode five GS shafties, four 850's and one 1100GK, from 1986 through 2008. A total of 265,000 miles on them. Not one problem with the cam chain breaking or giving anything but 100% service.

Nick Diaz
Middletown, MD

Thats all good but I am installing a turbo and will be running somewhere in the vicinity of 180-200hp. I dont want to take any chances on the stock cam chain.
 
Thats all good but I am installing a turbo and will be running somewhere in the vicinity of 180-200hp. I dont want to take any chances on the stock cam chain.

Buy one of the APE ones, $60, a bargain. I'm only gonna be push 130 or so HP and I'll probably buy one as well. Occasional trips to the track in the future, and running at 11K or 12K very often, and a couple grand in an engine makes me lean towards doing it.
 
Last edited:
I rode five GS shafties, four 850's and one 1100GK, from 1986 through 2008. A total of 265,000 miles on them. Not one problem with the cam chain breaking or giving anything but 100% service.

Nick Diaz
Middletown, MD

Funny story for you Nick and everyone else: your old GK got it's motor torn apart a couple days ago actually. For those that don't know I bought grandpas GK with 130+k miles on it a couple of summers ago. I've since passed it on to my roommie as he gets more joy out of the big bagger than I did. Anyway at 140ish thousand miles now (yes I said 140THOUSAND miles) it finally devoloped enough of a base gasket leak to warrant a tear down and refurb. The head has never been off of this bike. Valves are still in spec and the funniest thing and my point for this story is that the stock cam chain is still in spec by over 50% of it's wear limit. At 140k miles this cam chain givin the current wear rate will last over 280 thousand miles before it would wear to replacement limit. These are tough engines boys. Overbuilt heavily. If you're not increasing HP I don't see a point in a heavy duty anything unless it's just as cheap as the OEM replacement (providing it needs replaced at all)
 
Replacement is due to higher horsepower engines. As I am replacing cams and rocker arms on a 1327 GS motor, the cam chain had stretched enough to use up the adjustment on a manual cam chain adjuster. The smart people say to replace the chain and the 2 guides so there is no suprise when the turbo spools up all those ponies... My old motor only made 180 h.p. The turbo will probably be more than that...
 
Thats all good but I am installing a turbo and will be running somewhere in the vicinity of 180-200hp. I dont want to take any chances on the stock cam chain.
A turbo does not add anything to the stress imposed on a timing chain.

Pistons, yes.

Rods, yes.

Crank, yes.

Bearings, yes.

Cam chain, ... just can't imagine why.


By the way, I do have some experience with a turbo. Had a '74 Toyota Corolla that was running 22 pounds of boost. :eek:

The only problem I had with a timing chain was because I had foolishly decided to install heavy-duty springs with special retainers and all that, and the stronger springs were what was stretching the chain. I put new STOCK springs back in and ran that engine over 90,000 miles before retiring it due to a flood in the yard. :(

Oh, it was my car, but it was my wife's daily driver. :D

.
 
Unless someone is running high lift cams and springs, there is no reason to worry about the cam chain. Get a stock replacement one piece cam chain if you are worried.

On my recent 1000S engine rebuild I measured the cam chain and could not measure any wear at all compared to the factory spec. Salty_Monk's GS1000 cam chain with about 80k miles likewise didn't show much wear. Suzuki used good parts on these engines because cam chain wear just isn't an issue.
 
Last edited:
I think the thinking Steve (this is my thinking) is "I've got 2 grand, 3 grand, 6 grand (name your level) in this motor", It's insurance, If you've got the motor torn apart anyway, and one is less than $70 (HD Chain), why not. Just for laughs on a stock motor, not needed.

I'm off to mock up a Bandit front end!
 
I think the thinking Steve (this is my thinking) is "I've got 2 grand, 3 grand, 6 grand (name your level) in this motor", It's insurance, ...
I guess I wasn't as clear as I could have been. :oops:

I wasn't tryng to imply that a NEW chain was not necessary, just that it didn't have to be HEAVY-DUTY. :o

.
 
What size spacer are you thinking of putting in there? I think your big problem will be needing a longer cam chain (and maybe longer studs).

There was an article in one of the mags about mixing and matching 86-90 GSXR750 cranks, rods, etc. to get a long-throw motor, and they needed a spacerplate/camchain for that (made by Falicon?). I think they claimed it was the highest horsepower 750 they ever dynoed. I can probably find the article (up in the attic).

Are you making your own plate? If it is made by someone, they can tell you what you need.

They used to make low compression pistons for turbo applications.
 
Back
Top