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Unread 12-18-2011, 11:48 PM
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Smithers Smithers is offline
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Default Timing Chain Replacement on the Kawasaki ZX-6R

** WHY you should replace the timing chain in your ZX-6R engine and not buy a manual chain tensioner **

Got some noise coming from your ZX-6R engine? It's a very common thing to hear a little too much noise coming from the engine of these bikes and my girlfriends 2005 ZX-6R 636cc is no exception. The bike had been taken to a motorcycle shop that told the owner that the automatic cam chain tensioner was worn out. Their "fix" was to sell and install an aftermarket manual tensioner in a manner that it was so tight that it prematurely wore down the chain and broke the guides. This nearly caused the sprockets to skip a tooth and cause massive engine damage. The owner shut down the engine instantly when the engine made a super loud noise. Upon disassembly I was shocked that valve to piston interference didn't occur.

The factory timing chain tensioner is spring loaded and designed to apply enough tension on the chain to keep things in check. If your timing chain is making noise you don't put a manual cam chain tensioner on it and crank it down until it stops making noise. You FIX the noise by changing the worn out chain! Chains wear out and it's obvious when you take them off and look at them. Yeah it's expensive to replace the chain but it must be done to keep the bike in good operating condition. These engines are extremely high performance and must be in great condition to get the performance out of them that they were designed for. If you are just trying to "get by" and don't want to spend any money to fix your bike then just ride it till it blows up. But please don't buy one of those silly manual chain tensioners and think you are fixing anything. I'll show you why if you will continue reading further here.



Now for the juicy pictures. When you're ready remove the 636cc engine from your ZX-6R and throw that sucker on the work bench. Taking the engine out of your Kawasaki is probably more of a nuisance than actually changing out the chain inside the engine!

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