81 special cam stuff

[wjw11teen]

hey fellas..

i have a 81 special and my cam chain broke

it shatered the exaust gear and messed up intake gear

need to replace them

lucky it only took out 1 intake valve and 1 ex valve, so i need those too
also need a cam chain

if any one has gears with the bolts and the valves that would be great

also..is there a difference in cam profiles from an older model xs 1100 to my 81?

better preformance?

is it a good straight forward swap?

if so im looking for a set of cams too..

my exaust cam had a bolt wedged between it and the cyl head so not sure if its bent anyway

need info on where to get cam chain and the tool to properly install it

if any one has any of the other parts pleas let me know...i have pay pal

thanks

[Tat2demon]

Very strange.

It was running fine last weekend after we figured out the octo stuff. Seemed you did the cam chain adjuster correctly and I know everything was torqued down right after the shim work.

[wjw11teen]

yeah its a strange thing..

oh well could have been way worse..

at leasti get to see the guts of the bike

just hope i can find theparts i need pretty quick

would like to get the bike back together with in 2 weeks...

[Tat2demon]

Id send a message to Andreas.

http://www.xs11.com/forum/member.php?u=42

[IanDMacDonald]

Wow, I've heard of camchain stretch to the point of the CCT running out of adjustment, but never read any threads about a cam chain breaking. Any theories as to why it broke? Faulty ACCT? I'd say it's more than a coincidence that your camchain breaks soon after an ACCT install. With regard to your other questions, I believe it's the actual head that is different from 78/79, vs. 80-82. Plenty of threads on that. If it was me, I'd want to know the cause of failure prior to installing another set of parts. And, are you 100% sure only 1 of each was bent? I'd be weary of actual head damage, or cam chain guides breaking, etc. That chain being loose and slapping around till the engine lost compression and died woulda probs done some damage of any variety. Idk, I could be wrong though.

[IanDMacDonald]

Oh, and camchain and masterlink are easily available through Z1. Advice is to buy two masterlinks just in-case you fudge one. Easiest method is to tie one end of new chain to the old and run it through. Then masterlink the two together. Doing it whole requires splitting the cases.

[mack]

master link

makes you wonder if the master link let go on the old one. Does the old chain look like it was replaced?

[Tat2demon]

Last weekend we pulled the cams, changed all the valve shims, set the chain tensioner (not an acct) then tuned the carbs. It ran great and sounded good while we were doing the carbs and messed with getting the octo rebuilt and hooked up.

[BA80]

Did you loosen the cams to change the shims or use the tool?

The earlier cams are a little different grind and use a little different timing curve. People have swapped in the older cams to the newer head design and I've not heard good result coming of it. Better to stick with the 80 - 81 stuff or you'll be chasing demons.

I think I have an 81 parts engine out there, let me know what you come up with. Maybe I can help.

[wjw11teen]

i have the enginetorn down in cluding the cylinders

i had a legit MC mechanic remove the valves and his word was 2 slightley bent valves

he doesent even recomend replacing pistons..he is well respected and also builds national level flattrack motors and pipes so i trust him

other than a bunch of particles andshavings in the bottom end i dont see any other damage

im gonna have cyl honed and the head re assembled by the bike mechanic

he gonna do a clean up of all valves and seats

gonna suspend front end of bike from rafters anduse up a couple cases of brake clean to wash out bottom end and trans
once i have all the parts ready to go back on

BA 80

if you have them i need 1 ex valve 1 int valve

cams

cam gears with bolts

im gonna have the ex cam checked for trueness

but would appreciate any othe parts you may have

[BA80]

I'll look and see what I have and PM you.

[skids]

I wonder where that bolt came from that was into the cam? That bolt was likely the show-stopper. You should find out where it came from. Look carefully at the surfaces of the cam lobes and bearing surfaces. I would also look carefully at the crank sprocket. You may want to put a different head on the engine and it may be cheaper in the long run if you can find one that came from an engine with good compression. Later model head...

[BA80]

I wonder where that bolt came from that was into the cam? That bolt was likely the show-stopper.

That's exactly why I asked which method was used for the shim change.

[crazy steve]

I'd have that head magnafluxed for cracks before I did anything else with it, and even then it would still be suspect to me.

Just getting another, complete head may be the safest course....

[Tat2demon]

Both cams were pulled to do the shims.

He said the cam gear broke, wondering if its from that. After my experience with those bolts coming loose I made sure to locktite and torque all 4 of them. We were missing a washer on one of the cam caps and thinking it may have fallen onto the valves we looked with a flashlight. If there was a bolt just sitting there Im pretty sure it would have been seen.