cam chain question

[crapper]

hello all...after reading lots on this post about cam chain stretch
and extenders,i decided to check tensioners and did the chuckster extender job per gadget's fixit page.
that was 5000 miles ago.
today i took off the caps on the tensioners to see where the plunger was at and voila she's fully extended with the chuckster extensions installed...anyone have any advice or heard of the chain being that stretched and what the hell do i do now....
i've got about28000 miles on the bike and she's on 02.
compared to other nomads i always thought she was noisier than most
has anyone ever had the chain replaced on the 1500
any info would be appreciated...........................bummed out

[Cajunrider]

No more travel with the extenders? I've not heard this before, maybe because no one pulls the caps to check after installing the extenders. I'm at 27,100 and installed the extenders at 25,000. I'm not going to look for at least another 13,000 miles.

[ringadingh]

Id just keep my eye on them to make sure they ar enot cutting into the spark plug tubes, if they are not just keep riding.
When the day comes that you see them wearing the tubes you will have to replace the chains with new ones and probably the sprockets as well. This involves the motor being torn down and reassembled. I assume once you have the motor apart that a few other items would need replacing as well since its all apart.

[rickyboy]

Originally Posted by Ringadingh

Id just keep my eye on them to make sure they ar enot cutting into the spark plug tubes, if they are not just keep riding.
When the day comes that you see them wearing the tubes you will have to replace the chains with new ones and probably the sprockets as well. This involves the motor being torn down and reassembled. I assume once you have the motor apart that a few other items would need replacing as well since its all apart.

all this at what? 28,000 -30,000 miles????

[ringadingh]

Im guessing that it will be fine for a lot of miles to come, just because the chain has some stretch in it doesn't mean that its no good.
You could put a lot of miles on the bike with the extenders fully extended. The main thing to watch for is cutting through the spark plug tubes and leaking oil. Ive heard of this happening a couple times on guys who didn't know about the cam extenders. But to reach this point took a few miles on the odometer. Ive never heard of a chain jumping a tooth on the sprocket or breaking.
I installed my extenders at about 54,000 miles even though the tensioners were fully extended long before that. I didn't care that they were fully extended, I was watching for wear on the spark plug tubes, I didn't want the chain to start rubbing on them. While adding them early will quite the motor down sooner, the chain will continue to stretch, Then it will start to slap a bit when getting on and off the throttle.
If your a gentle rider and easy on the throttle your chain will stretch much slower than someone who takes off hard at every stop sign. Launching the bike hard is harder on the cam chains.

[redjay]

+1. I am at 57,000 kms now and no issues with the cam chains as far as I can tell.
I am going to check the adjusters in the Spring.

[chuckster131]

Wow ! I have to say I haven't heard this one before either. I went out and checked mine and it still shows I have lots of travel left and I put the extenders in at 30,000 and now have just under 59,000 Keep a close eye on the plug tubes and you might even want to unscrew those tubes and have a look inside to see if the chains are tight.

[crapper]

thanks guys....i will ride till the summer ends and then i will figure out what i'm going to do.
Thinking of upgrading to an 07 with 6000miles with a bunch of upgrades like v&h pipes ,etc etc for 8000 dollars
she won't last long for that price..............

[kawgirl]

I just got my cam chain extenders put on today, so I should be good for quite awhile.

[Cajunrider]

Good for you Amy. Peace of mind is priceless.....