My bike is an 89, has 25k on it and when it idles it sounds like the bb's in a can just a slight rattling noise from the engine from both the left and right sides, I have been reading a lot of the older posts and it sounds like I have a problem with the CCT, how do I know for sure this is the problem cause it sounds like its a common problem among the bikes, and then where could I get a replacement and how hard is it to replace?

thanks in advance

 

Not sure about a non-OEM replacement for an 89. APE is always the way to go, but I don't know if they go back that far. Replacement difficulty I'd rate it a 7 out of 10. But really, it's not necessarily a sign that somethign is broken, only replace it if the sound annoys you that much.

 

thanks thats exactly what I wanted to hear, cause I never noticed performance losses or anything just kind of thought it is a 20 yr old engine thats all

 

Yep. Give it a minute, someone should come in here soon and tell you I'm out of my mind and you should replace it ASAP. Bottom line is nobody has ever been able to show a situation where the cam chain being loose has caused something to not function properly. Sure, it will break eventually, and THEN you should repair it, but there are tales of people putting 10k on a noisy CCT without any other issue.

 

I figured I'd ride out the rest of this season with it and then replace it for next season, only will get another 1k on her before the end of the season, unless it just doesn't snow in east

 

Ron Ayers has the parts you need (CCTL & gasket) at $48. Installation is pretty basic so long as you have the right tools: LINK. As for diagnosing the noise as specifically being CCT related, I think you'd have to have a Honda mechanic have a listen to it. If it were me, I'd just go ahead and replace it and see if that fixes it. If it doesn't then you know it's something else, lol. Let us know how you do.
BTW, see if you can download a service manual (if you don't have one); very helpful: LINK.

 

thank you very much for the sight but I'm having trouble finding exactly the part I need the diagram shows a few different things, it lists: cam chain, tensioner chain cam, guide cam chain, adjuster cam chain, and theres two different gaskets to choose from

edit: those the right ones?
http://www.ronayers.com/browseparts....e.ronayers.com


http://www.ronayers.com/browseparts....e.ronayers.com

 

Yeah, those are the right ones. Nice thing about the Ron Ayer site is they give you the actual part number. With the gasket, you'll notice on the bottom it says, "This item has be Superseded to a new part number:" so it notifies you that there is a newer part available.