Noisy cam chains

[Argus 21]

I have a 96 R1100RSL with 17K and it had a ticking sound from the right cylinder sounding much like a valve that had excessive clearance. It tapped on startup, would disappear and then come back as a fainter noise when warmed up. I asked a tech about it and he explained that the cam chains on these engines are tensioned by oil pressure and will make this sound if they are too loose. This noise can be present even with properly adjusted valves. The ideal solution is to replace the spring and plunger described below with new parts. Unfortunately the dealer had none so the fix described below worked just fine. If the spring inside the tensioner has relaxed, the following can be done in most home garages: Make sure the engine is cool (working on a hot engine is painful). Locate the tensioner assembly near the base of the cylinder. It has a large nut on the bottom and faces downward on the right cylinder. It will be necessary to remove the fairing on the RSL's to see the tensioner and the exhaust may have to be loosened to remove it on some models. Loosen the assembly with a socket wrench. It will leak out 1-2 tablespoons of oil so have a rag handy. Remove the assembly from the cylinder. You can easily feel the "shoe" that applies tension to the cam chain up inside the cylinder recess with the tensioner removed. You will have 4 pieces consisting of a spring, plunger, barrel housing and a copper crush washer. The spring may be too short and can easily be stretched about 1/2 in longer by hand. The plunger should be smooth and free of burrs. If not, smooth is up with some crocus cloth. It should not bind in the barrel housing. Clean the plunger and barrel housing in a good solvent (spray carb cleaner works good) and pay particular attention to the bleed holes in the barrel and plunger as this allows the oil flow.
Install a new crush washer (unless damaged,most old ones will work just fine). Reassemble the parts and coat with oil. Then reinstall the assembly into the cylinder and tighten. Start the engine and expect some tapping until the oil fills the assembly. The stretched spring in mine applied enough pressure to eliminate the noise entirely.
If you do both sides, remember that the assemblies do not interchange, so do them separately to avoid parts mixing. The left cylinder assembly is located on top of the cylinder base as opposed to the right hand one which is located under the cylinder base.
Cheers to all
Jim

[cibet]

Jim, congratulations on your repair. I am afraid it will not last long. I am maintenance mechanic in a detonator plant. Sometimes I have to make "get by" repairs until proper replacement parts can be acquired. A spring only has so many cycles in it. Stretching a spring alters its properties and life span. I would order new springs and install them before the old ones break. Please do not be offended. I mean no disrespect.

[Argus 21]

Thanks Albert. No offense taken. It was intended as a temporary fix as the dealer did not have the needed new parts in stock.
Jim