I removed the top bolt, removed the cam chain tensioner bolt, started the bike, gently pushed down with an allen wrench through the top bolt hole... nothing moved... nothing! I tried a gentle push through the tensioner bolt hole... again nothing moved. Gave the bottom hole a long very skinny screw driver and with the engine running, and someone pushing through the top hole, gently tapped the screw driver... still nothing.
In the end, I could not get any movement what so ever in the adjuster to quiet the chain.
Becasue the bike has been sitting and not running for 10 years, could it be that the tensioner is stuck?
What do I do now??
I believe some time ago, Bodi posted a very good description of adjusting the cam chain tension. Essentially you go about it as you describe, using some additional pressure for the springs, by inserting a small screwdriver or rod into the top hole with its plug removed. Bodi's post described how you may have to gently tap or hammer the rod/screwdriver end to free a stuck mechanism, but this has to be gentle and not too forceful since if the mechanism is stuck and something "frozen", you could knock it too far. That would over-tension the chain and cause excessive wear or worse.
I was able to adjust mine as described, without resorting to excessive pushing and certainly without hammering on the screwdriver end that I inserted into the top hole. Mine wasn't stuck and seemed to move readily. I just added enough pressure to quieten the chain noise to an acceptable level and then, holding the pressure with the screwdriver, tightened and locked-down the adjusting screw. All that was tricky with a hot, running engine, in-and-around the exhaust headers. Then I saw someone else post a description of replacing the upper plug with a longer stainless bolt of the same thread pitch, and grinding down the end to allow it to go trough the hole and press down onto the end of the adjuster rod (instead of the small screwdriver). The other end of this bolt was a slotted hex head (rather than a regular bolt head) that allowed easy access and careful turning/adjustment around the hot headers, so that you could adjust the additional pressure and hold it there while tightening the locking bolt below. Similarly, this new stainless bolt has a nut to lock it in place. I replaced my upper plug bolt with just such an item, as I fortuitously found a stainless, hex-head bolt in my toolbox that was just the right length and pitch. (Don't know now what that was, but when you work on it you can easily figure it out...) If the mechanism was "stuck" as yours sounds to be, then I would expect that rather than a risky whacking on the end of the rod through the upper hole, this stainless bolt (it really doesn't have to be SS) would make it easier to apply greater controlled force to free and adjust the mechanism.
Either way, you just want to go easy and not over-tighten the mechanism. Just enough to quiet it some. And, this is done with the motor running slightly above idle speed so that it doesn't surge or hunt.
