Help!! On road trip and need help

[Cmiller]

Hey guys. I am in the middle of driveing my 81 gs450t from portland to santa fe. I happened to look down and see my csm chain tensioner knob wiggling. It stays still until i get to 5000rpms and then starts to wiggle and gets worse as i go faster. i have just been keeping it at 5000 because im worried about it but maybe thas what its supossed to do? I cant notice any wierd noises. I have lots of tools with me so if theres any easy fix, walk me thru it please. Im on the side of the freeway in salt lake city.

 

[Steve]

Have you had the tensioner out recently?

If you did, did you install it properly?

I ask that because many do not read all the instructions to install it properly.

With the tensioner out, ready to install, the plunger needs to be retracted and locked in place with the setscrew. Install the tensioner, snug down the mounting bolts. Release the setscrew. Turn the setscrew IN until it touches, then back it out 1/4 to 1/2 turn, lock the setscrew in place with the lock nut. The part that is in red is what most people forget to do. If the setscrew is still touching the plunger, the tensioner can not move to do its job.

On the other hand, have you tried simply tightening the nut that holds the knob? If it's not snug, the knob will wiggle around on the shaft a bit. Won't hurt anything, but might make you a bit nervous.

.

 

[Brendan W]

My thoughts exactly. Is it wiggling or rotating ?

 

[tkent02]

Do the locknut thing as Steve suggests, also try tightening the nut on the tensioner knob. If that's not loose see it the clock spring is wound tight enough.

 

[Cmiller]

Thanks everybody. I made it to santa fe safe. The knob is rotating, and still rotates back and forth very slightly. My locknut was done wrong.

I want your opinion, everyone i talked to thought i was a fool for trying to take this small air cooled bike 1500 miles cross country. Who says a gs450 isnt a touring bike, haa? What do you think?

 

[Guest]

There's really not one single reason why it wouldn't go across the entire country. I for one would be super impressed to walk along and see your bike packed like that! I like a bike that is used.

 

[Sandy]

There's really not one single reason why it wouldn't go across the entire country. I for one would be super impressed to walk along and see your bike packed like that! I like a bike that is used.

My first big tour, 7000 miles over 2 weeks, was on a 71 450 Honda and that wasn't half the bike your Suzuki is. Good on ya!!!

 

[tkent02]

People were riding longer distances before there were 450s. I met a couple from Europe riding across Utah on Honda 90s. They had already been to the tip of South America and back.

 

[Brendan W]

My gf and I went to France for two weeks, 3000 miles on a '76 CB200. Wouldn't have attempted it on a 50 but felt safe enough on a high powered bike

 

[JJ]

Back in the early to mid 70's, I wouldn't hesitate to take my GT380 two-stroke on a 800 mile weekend. One of my friends was always there on a GT185. No problems!

 

[dorkburger]

Touring on a 450? Cool! Pack light, go, and have fun.
I think modern touring bikes are more about convience and gadgets anyway. Some deem them mandatory, I do not (yet).

 

[Johnny]

I just saw a couple of days ago for the first time that this knurled knob on the tensioner is moving. Maybe it has always done that and I just hadn't realized it before, I don't know. But I dropped the bike while manuevering it out of the shed, later I rode about 25 kilometers and some time then, when in neutral, I suddenly saw the knob moving. I mean, the drop made me really nervous and made me look at everything on the bike, so maybe it just caught my I eye because of that... Otherwise the bike moves at the moment better than ever (new intake boots), but I don't know what to make of that tensioner, I have never touched that thing and have only a vague idea of how it works.

 

[cowboyup3371]

That is the cam chain tensioner and is supposed to move some as the chain moves around the cams.

 

[Johnny]

Yeah, I understand what it is doing, just exactly how is what I don't get yet. But thank you for calming me down, I guess I just never paid enough attention to see that knob move before. I did read the tensioner rebuild instruction now though (http://www.bwringer.com/gs/camchaintens.html) and am trying to familiarize myself with that thing.

 

[ukjules]

Think you have inspired me to take my vintage bike for a long trip !
Do you have to go back 1500 miles too ?

How long did it take you on the end ?
A casual pace or did you burn the miles ?

 

[sam000lee]

Awesome. Last year I did a 1,500 mile trip with my GS450 and my buddy with a '85 1000cc sportster. My "well tuned" small bike faired far better then his poorly tuned big one. I love the packing aspect of having limited space and only bringing what you need.

 

[gs11ezrydr]

I usually back off the lock nut then set screw, remove the ignition pick up cover and slowly rotate the engine in the direction that it runs and apply very slight pressure with the knurled wheel until I find the place where it goes in the most then back it off just a touch then lock down the set screw then lock nut. Just depending on the spring for keeping the cam timing made me nervous, I though the set screw was exactly what it is called a (set) screw, and that was to keep the push rod from bouncing in and out while running. Another way just break the lock nut and set screw loose ,rotate the engine where it puts the slack in the back ,find the spot where the wheel turns in the most and lock the set screw , locknut,back down. I could be wrong because I never read a service manual on how to adj. the cam chain properly ,Just shown by another mechanic over 25 yrs. ago. Excuse me if I'm misinforming any one. I have a APE billet manual adjuster on my 82 GS1100 there you have to be a little more cautious not to eat the rear chain guide up by over tightening it.

 

[ukjules]

I dont want to hijack this thread but having started on some trips myself and in awe of these massive trips and the freedom it gives I find i must find out how i too can do one in the usa. (Sorry in advance to johnny who started the thread - and indeed he is now up and running !)

Route 66 is my goal, i live in the uk and it costs ?1000 to transport a bike over there one way.
I need thus to buy a gs550 / 750 on the east coast , insure etc it and get going.
fortunately i have the time right now to do this.
whats the best site / place to buy a vintage suzuki ?

 

[Johnny]

User Cmiller started the thread. I just jumped in, 'cause coincidently, I had suddenly seen my bike do something similar to what Cmiller described. As for setting the cam chain tensioner, I don't think the Haynes manual even describes it (correct me if I'm wrong), don't know about the factory one yet.

 

[Guest]

I usually back off the lock nut then set screw, remove the ignition pick up cover and slowly rotate the engine in the direction that it runs and apply very slight pressure with the knurled wheel until I find the place where it goes in the most then back it off just a touch then lock down the set screw then lock nut. Just depending on the spring for keeping the cam timing made me nervous, I though the set screw was exactly what it is called a (set) screw, and that was to keep the push rod from bouncing in and out while running. Another way just break the lock nut and set screw loose ,rotate the engine where it puts the slack in the back ,find the spot where the wheel turns in the most and lock the set screw , locknut,back down. I could be wrong because I never read a service manual on how to adj. the cam chain properly ,Just shown by another mechanic over 25 yrs. ago. Excuse me if I'm misinforming any one. I have a APE billet manual adjuster on my 82 GS1100 there you have to be a little more cautious not to eat the rear chain guide up by over tightening it.

Not a good idea. The only way to set a fixed tensioner properly is with the engine fully warm - as in as hot as it gets. This will often result in a loose cam chain when cold due to the aluminum block and head contracting more than the steel chain. That's why Suzuki used the automatic tensioner, and also why their cam chains lasted so long - until some pinhead accountant decide to go with a ratchet type and the problems started. See Madura.

Hydraulic tensioners compensate for expansion. Porsche 911 blocks apparently expand 1/8" which translates to 1/4" of chain length. The Suzuki auto tensioner is one of the good design aspects of the bikes; sabotaging its action or replacing it with a fixed is a bad idea unless you are racing and know how to set it up.

The slight bit of kickback that occurs at low rpm from the cam lobes goes away above idle. So a slight 'action' from the knob is normal. And with so many old GSs running with no problems on the stock setup 'just depending on the spring' , well, there are two springs and two ramps in there as well.

If your Ape billet tensioner can eat the rear guide then the stock one locked should be capable of doing that if you get the lockscrew tight enough.