off the jack at last.

[crapper]

dropped the nomad today after a week of work on swingarm, shaft service and cam chain tensioner extenders.......
she started right up after winter hibernation and motor is much quieter........still sounds like a nomad with regular nomad engine noise but the cam chain rattle is gone......i've got 24000 miles on her so if anyone is wondering about their cam chain, take off the cap on the tensioner and see where she stands.
it's a 15 minute job but will save you big trouble later .
after a few minutes listening to the motor and being quite pleased, i took my v&h baffles out and put in the ultimate baffles and i will say....... WOW...now thats a baffle
still the steering bearing to tighten and then hope to have a great summer with hopefully no big worries with the bike......
PS allready had a bike fatality here on PEI
bike and a car collision, 54 year old driver died on the scene and his wife critically injured,,,,,,,,,Hope she pulls out of it and prayers for their family.

[Cajunrider]

I'm at 23,000 and will pull the caps next week to see how much if any travel I have left. I don't hear any unusual rattling but I would imagine it comes on gradually and could go unnoticed as I'm not too keen on hearing. How far down were your tensioners?

[ringadingh]

I did my extenders last year at about 55,000 miles, and they do quieten the motor a fair bit. I guess the mileage can vary greatly from bike to bike.
Thats too bad about the fatality there already, when I was in PEI there was barely any traffic to speak of, you can never be too careful.
I heard the Ultimate baffles on another members bike a couple weeks ago, and they do have a nice rumble to them.
Good luck with the bike this season and ride safe.

[crapper]

when i took the caps off the tensioner body, the plunger (for lack of a better word) was about 5/16 inside the body.
taking the caps off is a very simple thing to do.
i almost dreaded doing the thing but once you take the caps off and determine if you're out of travel or not, you'll wonder why you didn't check sooner.
there are only 4 pieces inside the tensioner body and two of those pieces are springs so if and when you have to pull the tensioners off, it's no big deal at all
i did have to replace the gasket but that was only a few bucks and the dealer had some in stock...
i'm sure i'll be enjoying my time on the bike just because i know the cam chain issue has been dealt with..........

[phred]

Originally Posted by crapper

when i took the caps off the tensioner body, the plunger (for lack of a better word) was about 5/16 inside the body.
taking the caps off is a very simple thing to do.
i almost dreaded doing the thing but once you take the caps off and determine if you're out of travel or not, you'll wonder why you didn't check sooner.
there are only 4 pieces inside the tensioner body and two of those pieces are springs so if and when you have to pull the tensioners off, it's no big deal at all
i did have to replace the gasket but that was only a few bucks and the dealer had some in stock...
i'm sure i'll be enjoying my time on the bike just because i know the cam chain issue has been dealt with..........

I felt the same way when I did mine. I was really worried about it before hand, but once it was done, I wondered what the big deal was. Then I was worried that since it was so simple, I must have forgotten something or done something wrong...but she fired right up, so I was happy!

[ndbigfish]

Ring is right there is alot of variation on mileage when the extenders reach their limit. Mine were fully extended by 27,000; while Ring's lasted until 55,000. At 3/8" from the end of the threads on the tensioner body to the top the thing that looks like a tube and you are out of travel. Go slow and reference Gadget's Fixit Page for tensioner help.

Mitch I'm with you; the ears are shot, I didn't notice a change in noise. All I can hear is the Nomad "chug...chug...chug" and the oil gear whizzing.