poping and sqeaking

[saddle up]

I've been searching all morning long and could not find an equivalent situation....

So here goes, my bike, an 80SG has been ridden everyday since I bought her in May. I have put on around 3k miles on her, total 30k. I had problems with the cam chain adjustment. Every thing done right to the tee. But when I accelerated hard the cam chain would get noisy. I did my share of on the spot adjustments on the side of the road during rush hour traffic. I got her down to a science I think.
This went on for awhile and I believe that I wasn't putting enough torque on the cam chain adjustment bolt. I just got tired and put some torque on her and haven't had a problem with that since.

Part two. A couple of days ago I was walking my bike to put her under the front porch when I lost my balance and dropped her in the yard. It appeared that no damage was done. But it has not ran the same since. I have this popping and sqeeking come from the back side of the head near carb 2 and 3. Occasionally I get A fart from the no. 2 exhaust. This only happens from slightly above idle until about 2k. The funny think is that the power seems to be stronger than ever with WOT.

Has this happened to anybody else? Any and all suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks in advance

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Saddle up,

Regarding your cam chain tensioner, yes, you may not have been putting enough torque on the locking bolt, but it may also be where the housing threads might be stripped from the PO incorrectly overtightening the bolt before setting the lock nut!?

You didn't say which side the bike fell on, left or right? Either way, the vacuum advance hose may have come loose from either the vacuum unit, or the carb body fitting?? OR...you may have knocked a cap off of the vacuum synch ports on the intake boots?

So...I'd look for a vacuum leak, or some hoses that may have gotten pulled loose from the engine/petcocks. Let us know what you find!
T.C.

[saddle up]

She was dropped on her right side. But I am hearing weird noises from the left side, i.e., timing side...I got the knowledge, know how and the tools,, not the time. (Sigh) life sucks when you get older, have the knowledge, but no longer have the drive or ambition.

I am thinking like you ,, a vacuum leak, or possibly a head gasket leak... I'm going to break out the wd-40 and spray..thank you for your time and response.

Regards

[79XS11F]

So your stopping the bike and removing the timing cover and adjusting the cam chain??? I don't think you should be adjusting your cam chain when the engine is hot? and for sure need to adjust it with the "C" mark at the pointer.

Rob

[saddle up]

Originally posted by 79XS11F
So your stopping the bike and removing the timing cover and adjusting the cam chain??? I don't think you should be adjusting your cam chain when the engine is hot? and for sure need to adjust it with the "C" mark at the pointer.

Rob

Rob, I did it with the engine running, turning the bolt in or out until the chain stopped slapping. Sometimes it was good as far as noises go but you could tell if the timing was either advanced or retarded.
As far as I know there is no damage

One of these days I'm going to try the above with a timing light and see if the timing does indeed change....

[skids]

You have been lucky thus far if you haven't slipped a sprocket and bent valves. Follow the regular instructions! Turning the stopper bolt in only locks the push-plunger in place and the buddy-nut holds it there more securely.

Originally posted by saddle up


Rob, I did it with the engine running, turning the bolt in or out until the chain stopped slapping. Sometimes it was good as far as noises go but you could tell if the timing was either advanced or retarded.
As far as I know there is no damage

One of these days I'm going to try the above with a timing light and see if the timing does indeed change....

[Ken Talbot]

Originally posted by saddle up
Rob, I did it with the engine running, turning the bolt in or out until the chain stopped slapping.

Yikes!
You must be a very lucky person to not now be doing a top end rebuild. If your cam chain has stretched with wear, this is a real good way top have it jump a couple of teeth. When that happens, WHAM - you've got bent valves in an instant. Check the tech articles for the correct procedure and save yourself from a prtentially expensive repair.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Saddle Up,

I hate to tell you this, but the way you adjusted the cam chain tension is a great way to have it jump teeth and bend valves!

That bolt that you were tightening does NOT increase the tension in the plunger against the spring!! All it does is secure the plunger in place AFTER the spring that pushes on it against the chain tensioner guide! The spring isn't strong enough to hold the tension against a running engine! The technique described in the tech tips and manual relies on the engine NOT RUNNING, rotating the engine CW from left side a few times and then stopping on the "C" mark which ensures the least amount of tension/most slack in the portion of the chain where the tensioner is. Then releasing the locking bolt allows the plunger to push against the chain/tensioner guide to take up the slack, and then you just secure the plunger in place with the lock bolt and then the lock nut!

If the engine is still able to run, then you may have gotten lucky and not skipped a tooth, but you may want to pull the valve cover off and check your cam alignment dots with the TDC marker on the timing plate.
T.C.

[saddle up]

Guy's, Guy's,, settle down. I have in the past, and in the future..gone by the book.

In the above mentioned, this was done on the side of the highway where the distance between the fog line and the guardrail was three feet,,during rush hour traffic. No it wasn't the correct way to do it. But it did accomplish the mission, i.e., getting my butt home, safe and alive before some dumb ass ran over me jaw jacking on the cell phone.

By the way I found the problem with the popping and farting. It was the vacuum line between the octopus and the no.2 carb intake. That figures since I just bought a complete gasket set on Ebay last night..lol

I'm loving it. Never a dull moment when you are riding motorcycles. It keeps you sharp.
Regards fellow XS'ers

[saddle up]

P.S. It too bad I don't know how to put a picture(s) on this site as I documented everything I did with a new wave camera.

Also this sort of reminds me of an old diesel mechanic who adjusted his valves of his CB750K while hot with no tolerences.He got some godly amount of mileage out of the bike. Something like 357,000k.

Easy Bro's...

[JWSanders]

A fairly detailed how-to for posting pictures is available here:

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...&threadid=7387

Would love to see them!