CCT question
 

For those who are familiar with the stock ccts.

Can they be removed, then clicked forward (more tension on chain) then replaced?

I ask because my garage mates and I just did this exact thing with a noisy cct on a ninja at the racetrack and it worked.

But with that one when you removed the center bolt, it removed tension from the spring, but on the Honda one that is seemingly not the case.

Anyone confirm or deny that I can do what I am proposing?

EDIT. So I saw some vids that turning a flathead in the cct clockwise will retract it and counter will extend it. Do I retract then let it spring or just do it counter and let it tension?

One last question. Can I simply pull a stock cct and replace with a new stock cct without looking at cam positioning since they are automatic?

On an IL4 it can be done but on the V2 VTR it's not recommended.

serious risk to accidentally re-time the cams occurs the moment you remove the OE tensioners if you have not set the cams for TDC of compression stroke of the cylinder you're working on. So the automatic part will not overcome that IMHO.

So I cant just turn it out, let it snap back in & be ok?

Its not a huge deal to turn it to TDC if that's the only stipulation.

No that's why the timing has to be set TDC otherwise you risk cam chain jumping. Hence why it's advised to cable tie them even when you think you're on TDC as if you're not then there's the palaver of resetting the timing.

On an IL4 the other cyclinders along side each other keeps things in place so the tensioner can be hot swapped.

Ok so starting to get it. Good I didn't yank the cct last night.

I ordered new ones but want to turn the screw inside it to get it to respring to be sure there is tension.

Assuming that too has to be at TDC for the cylinder I am working on??

No, yes, kind of... IF you retracted the spring, removed the CCT, advanced the plunged one notch, then reinstalled, and then let the spring go it would work...

Im not sure you could keep the spring wound back though unless you had the proper locking tool to do it with.
Make the tool from the service manual and give it a try.. though im not seeing the benefit of doing this at all.

If you want to over tension the cam chain, you could do it easier and faster with a simple ,manual CCT

Yes the valves need to be closed on the head your removing the CCT from, otherwise its common for the cam to roll over off a ramp and spin the cam sprocket in what is now a loose cam chain.
No damage or danger at that point, just hassle in getting the cam timing back... I check cam timing front and rear after CCT installs, and I remove both cam covers, and I set chain tension by measuring at the chain.

Others will tell you thats all waste of time ..to which I commonly respond, why is it no one wants to spend time and money to do a job right the first time, but always seem to find both to do the job a second time.


"But I didn't do all that stuff and my bike is fine"
Yup, and drunk drivers some times make it home ..don't make it a good idea.

Haha Erik yes, I always say you can cross a street blindfolded and make it, but its still a bad idea.

So yes the clicking of the cct one click further was my goal to just slightly increase tension. That is what I did on the racebike but it was a different cct design and a parallel twin.

So Erik if I was going to do this removal and one click extend then replace I would need to still open valve covers yes? Just to clarify.

Ummmm, maybe.... I am confident I can get either head set to cams at valve closed position ,and that is all you need to do what your wanting to try.
All you need is the cam lobe follower to NOT be on a cam ramp..as long as the follower is anywhere on the base circle part of the cam profile, your good.

Id pull the plugs, turn motor over till on compression stroke, align timing marks for that cylinder as a double check and do what you want...
BUT if your not confident you can get it on compression stroke 100 out of 100 times and not miss even once.. pull the cam covers, or at lease lift them far enough to get a peek at the cams... Cam lobes UP and away from followers, your good.

I was given basically new oem cct and I passed and long ago went with the APE manual cct. When I check the valve lash I check cc tension but if it seems a bit noisy I run it until hot and then back off the cct lock nut, very slightly back out the tensioner bolt until it rattles distinctly, the turn in the bolt until it juuust stops rattling, snug down the lock nut and it's good to go. I replaced the oem cct with the APEs probably at around 20,000 miles, so, knock on plastic, that was about 90,000 miles with no related issues...

Below are photos of my work removing someone else's OEM CCT, a finished PAIRectomy, and me checking and adjusting my own rear cylinder's valve lash (9 out of 10 times the exhaust valves snug up). However, in 110,000 miles, I've only had to swap out maybe a total of 6 or 7 shims...