I have a 96 CBR600. Recently, I changed the oil and found pieces of plastic in the oil. I narrowed it to the Cam Chain Guids (which was grinded down) I replaced it myself, but took it to a local bike repair guy to have him do the timing. Once all put back together I noticed with the new Cam Chain Guide on, I still had to manually tighten the tensioner every 10 miles or so. The local bike guy recommended me getting an automatic tensioner (which I did) yet still had the same problem. I went over a speed bump, the bike shut off and its been sitting the past year. I finally got around to taking it apart to see what was wrong...The Cam Chain Guide is bad again. Also the idiot who did my timing never put lock tite on the bolts on the sprocket of the intake cams, and the bolts on the sprocket had fallen out (I found them) and the intake cam wasnt moving (hence why I went over the bump and the bike shut off) My questions is why after 60 miles is my Cam Chain Guide shredded again? Is it because the misplaced sprocket or is the cam chain itself is bad. I looked at it and it seemed to be in good condition. Any advice would be great!!!!!

 

sounds like your manual CCT was possibly way over tightened. What kind of mileage did you have on the bike before all the work was done?

 

The F3 comes with an automatic cam chain tensioner. There is nothing to overtighten. As for the guide going bad again, blame that on the tech that did the timing. If the cam gears were coming loose, then they were running out of alignment which would have caused excessive wear on the guide.

I'm a firm believer that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

 

He mentioned he was manually adjusting the tensioner every 10 miles before his mechanic told him to get a factory automatic one.

 

I bought the bike 2 years ago (2009) and it came with the manual tensioner allready installed on it. When I put the bike back together (New Cam Chain Guide), I started the engine and tightened the manual tensioner until the rattling went away. Then about every 10 miles after that was finding that I had to retighten it. I did buy an automatic tensioner and the same problem. Soon thereafter that, went over the bump that knocked the bolt out of the sprocket on the intake cam. Before the work, Bike had 33,000 miles on it. The cam chain does look in good condition though. By tightening the tensioner would the chain of stretched to the point of it being bad? The chain does look to be in good condition though.

 

Also, with my automatic tensioner, can I reset it (Pull the tensioner back and lock it in place again like it was to install it) Or do I just put it in and tighten the bolts against the frame. Also I was reading some threads on installing a Automatic CCT, some recommended dipping it in oil? I just put it on, tightened the bolts and released the holding latch. Any advice on reinstalling it once I replace the Cam Chain Guide.

 

You'll need to wind up the spring inside the CCT. When you remove it from the bike, it becomes fully extended and would cause damage if you tried to just screw it down. In a HowTo I did, there is a photo that shows how to build a tool for winding up the spring and getting it to hold. You may still have yours from when you bought it. I think you were having to adjust the tensioner because the bolts on the cam shaft gears were coming loose.

https://cbrforum.com/forum/stickies-...sioner-104184/

As for replacing the chain, I think if it were me and I knew that the chain had been subjected to some pretty unusual stresses, what with the gears falling of and all, I'd replace the chain even if it looks good. A new chain is $45. Not much of an investment for piece of mind.

 

Perfect! Thank you guys so much for all of your help. Are there any sites online that you would recommend to buy the parts, or would it be better to get them from a dealer?

 

Check w/ your dealer, but check out ServiceHonda.com and bikebandit.com - they both are online OEM part suppliers.

 

Ron Ayers is a good site as well. Avoid the "Stealer" as much as possible.