Pulling Bores Without Losing Timing Chain?

I'm in the middle of a top-end rebuild of my KZ1300, and I've got to the point where I'm nearly ready to pull the cylinder bores off the engine block. However, mine is an early 1980 KZ1300 A2 that has the pickup coils behind the cylinders, ran off of a secondary shaft (that also runs the coolant impeller shaft). My question is, what would be the best way to go about removing the bores WITHOUT losing the small timing chain?

Now, I do NOT mean the cam chain- I mean the small chain on the left hand side of the motor, hidden behind an access door that's right above the starter motor. I'm having nightmares of dropping that chain into the crankcase and never seeing it again....

Any tips?

Tie a piece of string to it. Make sure you have good scanners to hold the shaft when you undo the sprocket bolt.
I found my shaft had been rounded off when I stripped my engine.
A replacement shaft is rare

Can't believe I didn't think of that. I had intended to try to get the cylinders off today, since the weather was pretty warm, but I didn't want to screw something up by trying to rush it. I'll see what I can do tomorrow maybe.

Knock on wood, so far this motor has been pretty easy going, as far as disassembly goes. Heck, even the old head gasket peeled off without too much fuss. All the cam rollers and gears look good and solid, and the timing shaft looks good, too. Hopefully this won't be a PITA.

Thanks!

i have just done my own and i tied some wire around the sprocket wheel and chain and left it long enough not to lose when the head was off !!but what a pita to get the pistons back into the bores ,it took me and a mate with 2 ring compressors a couple of hours hard work but very rewarding !! ps if you do lose it one off them magnets on what looks like a car aerial works very well lol

I DO have one of those, and the more I look at it, the more I see the chain really can't "go" anywhere if it falls down. Yeah, it's a PITA to get back, but it can't come off the shaft, so it's not like I'm fishing in the crankcase for it.

Got my bores off, but one of the sleeves is jacked up. Currently weighing my options, with what I want to do....

That's right - you can't lose either chain even if they fall into the abyss-buy one of those magnet extensions and fish it back up. BUT- if either chain comes off its sprocket it is quite difficult to see just by pulling the chains back up with the magnet, that they are attached to their bottom sprocket-because you can't see much even from the bottom with the oil pan removed. The crankshaft needs to be rotated to ensure chains are attached but if cylinder head is not on and at least some bolts in place to hold it all in together , the block will probably be pushed up by the pistons as the crankshaft is turned. This is one of jobs where you have think three or four steps ahead.
I got my cylinder head all bolted down and the cam chain was kinked- went to install cam shafts and the chain was too short- so it all had to be stripped down again with barrels off to unkink the chain. And sliding barrels over new pistons and rings by yourself is not easy.