Topic: Camshaft Drive Chain Source

[Loudpipe]

Anyone know where to get one?  I'd like to replace mine (78 F) while I've got the head off.  For those who don't know, my F2 has 18k miles on it and is smoking, so I'm pulling the head for a rebuild.  Am I leaving any parts that could potentially need replacing (besides valves themselves) out of this list?:

Intake/Exhaust Valve Guides
Intake/Exhaust Valve Seals
Camshaft Drive Chain
Complete Gasket Set
Valve Stem Seals (comes the gasket set)

[paulages]

www.z1enterprises.com

[Big Jay]

We have the Tsubaki heavy duty.

661-256-7309

[bryanj]

tensioner rollers

[Terry in Australia]

Well you can't go past a Tsubaki cam chain mate, Jeff at Z1 is selling them for 27 bucks and I'm sure Big Jay at APE (great guys, you should see the fantastic job they did on my crank!) is charging about the same, but (even for an F2) 18000 miles is probably very low mileage to be smoking due to tired valve guides and seals, so are you sure it's valve related? Has the bike been sitting for a long time? If so, it could just be gummed up rings causing a bit of oil bypass?

Steve K0 has had a similar problem with his bike, but after running it a bit, it's all but gone now, so my advice (for what it's worth, of course) would be to do an oil and filter change, and take it for a ride, get it hot, and maybe even add a fuel additive to a tank of fresh gas before hand, just to help clean it out? F2 parts seem to be a bit harder to find than K parts, and not cheap either, so unless you need to strip the engine, best to leave it alone! Cheers, Terry.

[Loudpipe]

The engine HAD been sitting for a while... I bought it with about 14k on it at the beginning of last summer from a guy who had had it sitting in his garage for about 5 years, but I rode it another 4k miles over the summer, and it got progressively worse, not better.  I really don't think it's the rings as it doesn't smoke at speed.  I ride it fairly frequently over 70-80 mile trips, and it's fine until I pull up to a stoplight or shut it off for a few minutes.  Also I've heard the F2/3s are notorious for leaking oil past the valve seals.  I'm no expert though, if you've done this before and know where else to look for the problem, I'd be much obliged.

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah, well it looks like it might be valve seals at least mate, I suppose that as you've gotta take the engine out to change them then you may as well pull the head off to replace the guides while you're at it, so my new suggestion is that you send it to the "Maestro", Mike Rieck, and get him to "recondition" your head, and maybe clean the ports up a little while he's at it? Cheers, Terry.