Tech Tipster #1
Today from the Tech Tipster - cam chain tensioners. (make sure you’ve had your coffee.)
As your miles start to add up on your Harley it becomes prudent to have a few things inspected that maybe aren’t on the service checklists. That’s where our experience with more that 200 bikes a month (month after month) comes in handy. Everything wears, right? And, depending upon how you ride, different things wear at different rates. Riding around town; riding long; riding hard - each of these wears parts differently. Our job is to look ahead and inspect things that might cause a problem down the road. Riding is suppose to be fun; breakdowns typically take the fun out of it.
So, one of the items in your engine that is susceptible to differing amounts of wear based upon what type of riding you do is the cam chain tensioner. When this little item breaks it can do major damage to your engine and equally significant damage to your wallet. So, we’ve added this inspection to the 20k service. And, our techs inspect the cam chain tensioner every 10k after that. Plugging this into our services has really cut down on the number of failures we’ve seen.
So, why isn’t it on Harley’s list? We asked that question. The answer is simple. Harley’s list is built from experience around the country. Our riding out this way may differ from that in the deep South. Consequently, we see little things like this that need to be addressed locally.
Can you hear it going bad? Not before it’s too late really. That’s another reason we plugged this preventative inspection in.
Tip #1a. If you own a 2006 and earlier Big Twin (with the exception of Dynas), you can upgrade to an automatic primary chain adjuster. This will let your chain ride in comfort and your mind in peace. Longer wear and peace of mind can’t be all bad for $99.95. That’s a Service Special by-the-way.
Next time: Cush Drive: What can it do for you?
