Coffee sorry I was slow to answer this. I have been traveling, it is hard to look things up on the Iphone in poor coverage. No, so far it has stayed on the Facts. I have been asked about setting the tension in some PM's. Here is how I have done it at the first set up and have not needed to adjust it since. I would say te biggest problem is not overtighening it.
I still have the stock CCT on my '08 610 and this is what it looks like today at 4000 miles. I run 10-60 oil changed every 3000 miles. I do a lot of DS riding here in Colorado (200+ miles both road and dirt most of the time) but I don't hammer the bike when I'm on pavement as I think that will cause the chain to stretch faster, IMO. 4000 miles as of today and 5 clicks out.
Just waiting on a few more parts to come in, then the bikes off to Taskys. Going to give the stock cct one more go, check it every 600 miles at the same time as my oil changes. First sign of premature wear and I'm swapping out to a manual cct.
I checked mine again and it appears that the ACCT moved one more notch in 500miles. So I got an APE adjuster installed today. Adjusting it with the engine idling it appears that there is 1 notch equivalent less protrusion with the manual adjuster adjusted till the chain just goes quiet. I then pulled the side cover to check the effective chain tension and it appeared to be about right. Further tightening didn't seem to quiet any of the engine sound, so I returned to the initial setting. My conclusion at this point is that my auto adjuster was putting more pressure on the chain than necessary. I should have given this a go months ago but have been discouraged when hearing that there is nothing wrong with the auto unit, so many times, from so many places. It may very well be that my auto adjuster is defective and there is nothing wrong with the design and function of the majority of them. Only time will tell, but I am encouraged by what I found today.
Ok, I'll bite- how often should a commuter (45 miles/day) check their valves/CCT? I bought this bike because it was "lower maintenance." I hope they didn't mean less maintenance than a woman.
My first cam chain lasted 7800 miles and was just touching the reed valve at 11 clicks out when I replaced it. I put in the second cam chain and somewhere around 3.5k of its life, I put a MCCT on the bike. That cam chain has lasted 13k now. I am about to hit 21k on my sm610. I've inspected how much room I have till the reed valve and there is still some room left. Adjusting the MCCT, is a little difficult. I don't think you can just go by sound, because the bike has a noisy valve train. You'll never get all the noise out. The motor however will give you some notice with some strange hiccups if the cam chain gets too loose.
restukey, interesting post. Glad to here you are getting good mileage from your chains. I take it, you have a MCCA on the SM, if so for how long? I hear what you are saying regarding all the engine sounds. When I adjusted mine I tried to isolate the chain sound by turning the adjusting screw in and out. It seemed like there is a place where the chain sound gets quiet and further adjustment makes no change in its sound. I could be wrong but for the time being I feel pretty comfortable with the setting. For awhile I have had my doubts about the chain life being effected by the tensioner but it is now looking more and more like that is the case.
I think the life of the chain is going to be how you do the adjustments. I am over 13k on this chain, and maybe I spoke too soon. I just pulled off the left side cover and did my last adjustment. I have a little bit of room before the reed plate, but with the chain moving around It wouldn't surprise me if this chain touches the plate a little. My MCCT didn't go on till the chain had some miles, 3.5k. In my case it looks like 13 to 14k is a safe bet. That almost doubles the life of the chain. I agree with you about the motor sounds and adjustments, but it is so subjective. I also know my motor doesn't sound like it did 10k ago.
No, probably about 3 or 4 times. I did take notice of how many threads are left between the locking and adjusting nut. I think at about three threads between the two nuts, and i'll change the chain next time.
....I can't barely see the adjuster with the exhaust on, how do you get to it to adjust it with the engine running? (currently stock auto adjuster, MCCT goes on next rainy day)
Once you take the heat shields off there is more room. I use two combination wrenches for loosening/ tightening and a 6" semi wobble extension with a socket for adjusting. I would not wait for a rainy day. It won't take you very long to do.
OK, stock CCA out, 5 rises, 22.4mm flat to flat, 2020 miles. Manual adjusted to 22.4mm, installed, nice and quiet, I may back it out a little...
If you run the adjuster in and out with the engine idling, the sound of the chain will become familiar to you. I take a few different colored sharpies and mark the six sides of the adjusting bolt head. Having an order to the colors is also helpful, like red, white, blue, yellow, green and natural, just something easy to remember. The adjuster bolt is 7/16 14 NC, so each full turn = .071" and one hex = .012".
5 Clicks at 3100 miles - or is it 7? I checked my 08 TE610's cam chain adjuster for the first time at 3100 miles today. While there are 5 indentations (clicks) showing (see photo), the description in the shop manual suggests that could count as 7 clicks (see photo of shop manual description). Any opinions about the drawing & manual description? I'm inclined to count the exposed indentations because it seems odd to have the count include approximately two indentations that aren't visible even though the drawing indicates the count would start at the ratchet's pivot point rather than the surface. As others have stated in this thread, this is an easy check to perform. Unfortunately, I was lazy when reassembling and didn't check the torque of the spring retainer bolt. Over tightened it and partially stripped the threads in the tensioner. The bolt is holding, but I'll probably replace the tensioner soon to avoid having the threads let go 200 miles from nowhere. The specified torque is only 5 newton meters which is pretty light for an 8mm bolt. Oil changed every 1,000 miles after the first 1,000. Changed at 100, 200, 400, 600 during break in. Spectro Off Road Synthetic Blend after 1000 miles. I'm pretty easy on the bike both on and off highway, but often carry camping gear for a total load (rider plus gear & water) of about 250 lbs. Howard L. Snell
