Cam chain tensioner

Hi everyone, I would value your opinions on my idea to sort out this wretched cam chain tensioner business. I have bought a manual tensioner but simply don't like the look of it. Cutting down springs on zx11 tensioners doesn't sit right either. I stripped the original tensioner out and drilled and tapped the end M6 which seems to be popular, however, the material in the end of the tensioner is just not thick enough to convey confidence that the bolt will stay there. How about this?- just put a high quality stainless M6 bolt in place of the original pinch bolt. In normal use the pinch bolt does not lock onto the shaft of the tensioner thus allowing the tensioner to back off if the ball assembly fails. This idea allows the use of the original spring but you can simply lock the tensioner with the bolt to physically lock the tensioner to the body once the correct tension has been taken up by the spring. The bolt acts on the flat of the tensioner shaft so will not damage it or the bore of the tensioner. On top of that a rod can be inserted through the drilling in the end of the tensioner to manually check that the tensioner is doing the right thing. Once satisfied that the tension is correct the stainless bolt is nipped up nice and tight and a blanking bolt can be inserted into the end of the tensioner to seal it. The body of the tensioner where the locking bolt goes through is nice and deep and allows the pinch bolt to be tightned with absolute confidence. What do you think?

I can remember whan many Jap bikes had manual tensioners from the factory.

The main thing is that the slack of the camchain is taken up by the tensioner arm to prevent any slippage or teeth being jumped by the chain.

There is nothing at all wrong with the APE type tensioner which I have used on many bikes too.

The MOST important thing is (as you say) the adjuster bolt or pin CANNOT move outwards (back) to allow anymore slack..........or its a disaster you dont want to be part of !.

If you use a manual adjuster, you can turn the bolt adjuster with your fingers and feel it contact against the tensioner inside the engine. At this point just back it off 1/4 turn and tighten the lock nut.
Start the motor and ensure there are no unusual noises (if the chain is too tight against the tensioner arm) and you should be ok.

I would however advise you re-set / re-check the setting at least every 5000 miles or so just to allow for wear on the guides, tensioner arm and chain itself.

I CAN ALSO ASSURE YOU THERE IS NO DANGER WHAT SO EVER USING THE ZZR TENSIONER WITH THE SPRING CUT BY 10MM. I HAVE CARRIED THIS MOD OUT ON ALL MY OWN 1300'S AND MANY OTHER OWNERS BIKES AND HAD ZERO ISSUES OR PROBLEMS.


Pete F
UK

Refitted tensioner and tightned up. I feel confident enough that this simple mod should do the job. On top of that I have measured the distance between the tensioner rod and the drilled end of the tensioner body so that if any doubt exists as to the tensioners exact position, this distance can be checked. I have put paint on the nuts and bolts just to keep an eye on them. I removed the alternator cover and spun the engine about 50 times and all seems well.

Z1300 rider describes the mods required for the CCT exactly right. The longer bolt locks the tensioner shaft and the new bolt threaded to the end of the tensioner is the control.

Knew I had an old one around the place, previous owner, a mate of mine adapted his old tensioner to a manual one, as you can see by the photos he welded an extra piece of aluminium onto the end and tapped that out for a high tensile bolt and lock nut, just thought i'd post the photos to give you an idea on how to make the bolt in the end idea better, cheers Pete.