Is 30k too soon for extenders?

My 1500 Nomad has 30,000 miles on it.

When the weather is warm my bike is making the usual chain noises, but this winter at mid 30⁰F temps the cam chains seemed really loud. Louder than last winter at least.

I've been thinking about adding the cam chain adjuster extenders, but somehow I though these weren't needed until much higher mileage.

OTOH, I do commute in stop & go traffic, so that qualifies as severy duty in my book. I haven't pulled the adjuster caps yet to see where the plungers sit, but I'm afraid they will be down all the way.

Has anyone done the extender mod at this low a mileage? Or actually changed the chains at only 30k?

???

Any advice is welcome.

[blowndodge]

I haven't heard of them being installed with that low of mileage.

[audiogooroo]

I did mine at 30,780 miles. Really quieted down the cam chains. They were buzzing pretty good at certain rpms. I know several guys who installed the extenders and it seems some of the bikes need them at 25,000 while some go 60 or 70,000 miles.

[ringadingh]

I checked mine last summer at approx 40k and they were still fine. I even unscrewed the spark plug guide and checked to see if the chain was rubbing through, but not a mark so far. Some guys have changed them in the mid 30ks, and some have lasted into the 70s, It may depend on how hard you accelerate as this sudden torque helps stretch the chains quicker than riding gently.

Hmmm...

Well I have been known to flog it mercilessly. Up the mountain. with a passenger & a full load of luggage.

Anyhow, I tried to e-mail Joe Norris for a set of extenders, but the e-mail bounced.

Anybody got a current addy they can post me?

[audiogooroo]

Got my extenders from Snake/Tim Acree (RIP)
Not sure who's moving them now.

OK, I finally did get an e-mail through. The extenders are available for $20 a pair from Joe Norris: chuckster1_31@comcast.net.

I don't know why my first e-mail bounced.

[dantama]

I never did the extenders, had some from Snake, but didn't install them. I cut through the spark plug tube on my 99 at about 60,000 miles.

BTW, they sure can throw out a lot of oil from such a tiny hole.

[ringadingh]

The cam chain extenders are a dealer available item here in Canada. P/N 92027-1500-DE

Joe mailed them out this AM. That dude is fast!

Anyone hear of 1600s having the same problem ?

[nomadd]

The cam chain extenders are a dealer available item here in Canada. P/N 92027-1500-DE

I just plugged that p/n into Ronayers search engine and came up with a big goose egg. Guess it is only available in Canada. Really wierd

Anyone hear of 1600s having the same problem ?

I'm pretty sure they do.

[ringadingh]

Nomadd; that is correct, Cam extender p/n is only available in Canada.

What kind of noise do the chains make when they stretch?I have 48000 miles on an '03, 1500 Meanstreak, and 38000 on my 05 Nomad and they both sound normal to me. Is it noticable at idle or does the motor have to be wound up a bit ? Is it something that shows up all at once, or over a few thousand miles?