VLOG 011 Slack Bird

[@makethman007]

i have 2 both were fixer uppers one was a non runner as stored for 10 years wet 24000 km only greman bike once i got the fuel and brake system sorted out it runs rather well the other at 34000 miles uk bike was used most of the time but stored most of its life in the great outdoors so a lot of parts needed to be replaced due to rot it appeared that the engine oil had not been changed in a very long time as it was mud coloured this was flushed 3 times to come clear the cam chain was rattling quite a bit and i did the quick cct change this made a little improvement but still rattling i was flummoxed for a bit and removed the new cct to check it was really operative it was and i thought oh bu--er i may have the replace the chain so early but the force with which the cct pushed forward the slider is not that great so i re installed the cct and with a screwdriver " helped the cct forwards " with a light turning about 1/4 turn out and then wind back and release so as not to force things i gained about 1/4 turn overall and then the chain was snug i did a turn count on the cct to see how far i was from fully in to fully out ( 6 turns ) it came to about 3 turns so i am about at half way of travel so plenty left now the chain is as quiet as a mouse and the engine eerily quiet so the lesson is 1 check how far your cct is wound out if its over 4 1/2 turns you may need to think about the chain if its less its quite probable that the slider is stuck in place and needs a bit of help to move forwards as described above only change the chain as a last resort....

[@littlejohn9458]

I know this is a old video but I think you would be a awesome teacher at a motorbike school, I love the way you explain how everything works also I really love the fact that you do everything the Wright way the first time I just bought my first bike a Honda cbr500r and I'm learning a lot from your channel. Thank you so much for the videos...

[@jonm7272]

Except that he just wasted a huge amount of customers money changing a perfectly good camchain when all it needs was a tensioner, takes about 45 minutes to change.

[@andrewgray8389]

Before going to such great lengths as replacing the cam chain it really is worth replacing the tensioner and seeing what effect it has - the Honda OEM cct is a known weak spot in Blackbirds and normally things start getting noisy at the 20/30,000 mile mark, making themselves heard at 3000/4000 rpm. Uprated cct are readily available that should last the lifetime of the bike. A Bird cam chain has at least 200,000 miles life, the motor is pretty bullet proof with many seeing over 500k miles and a few 1m+ miles. For the vast majority of Birds a CCT swap will solve the problem, a twenty minute diy job for around £60/$100

[@ohreally1021]

Which uprated CCT do you recommend?

[@andrewgray8389]

S

[@andrewgray8389]

Go to Jaws Motorcycles website for all things Bird - including uprated CCT. I have no connection with them other than being a satisfied customer of many years

[@ohreally1021]

@@andrewgray8389 Thanks, I'll check it out

[@grahamrushin4384]

@@ohreally1021 jaws also sell on ebay with full price and make an offer, I got mine £5 cheaper. But don't tell anyone 😬

[@ferdiyurdakul]

Tensioner Looks similar to the cbr 600 f4 i did. That had 8k miles. Spring in the tensioner had gone soft. A manual tensioner kept him going and a fortnight later customer paid £180 ish for a genuine one. However, the garage who sold him the bike sold him a £105 oil change to fix the issue prior to me.

[@jasperbarlow2582]

Mine is fettled, longer bolt threaded into back of tensioner body takes the slop out of the worm/pushrod assembly. Go easy on the torque though, only needs finger tight and a few degrees more, ideally with a locknut to secure. Too much torque on said bolt will lock up the mechanism, although luckily it doesn,t put unwanted additional tension on chain.

[@colinchicoine7378]

Love your vids. Few and far apart but still Subscribed! We understand you bro!

[@nickfletcher506]

Keep them videos coming. Even if they are few and far between..

[@denisrailey777]

Replaced the cam chain myself. I think I over lubed the cams. Slippery sucker when trying to scew cam holders back on & your timing marks keeping in the correct place. Lol. Turned out ok. Should have watched this vid first?

[@motorbike650]

Great video, thanks for posting it. I have a problem with my 16000 mile blackbird..I think ( hope) it's just the tensioner needs replacing.. but after watching your video I'm wondering if I have a bigger problem ( There is a clunking noise) I would have liked to have seen a video of where you disassembled the bike to get to the cam chain..cheers

[@Errol.C-nz]

Hondas in general have auto tensioner problems.. usually poor manufacturing tolerances.. the adjuster piston cylinders typically need replacing even at new & there's a piston cap roll pin hole needs reaming realignment to tighten the cap on the tensioner piston & a quality roll pin refitted.. you need access to a lathe or machinist to reman the cylinder tighter on the piston.. it's simpler than it sounds.. if you just replace with a new tensioner.. check there's only very minor movement in those parts Ive mentions.. or the rattle problem will persist or quickly return after.. such low miles are HIGHLY UNLIKELY to be the chain unless the engines been run long high speed runs.. I've seen BBirds doing 100k km on original chain with no hint of chain slap/rattle.. cheers from NZ

[@TheMostDangerousWayPossible]

Thanks for these videos man, really inspiring.

[@martingallagher7217]

Good information that chain and tensioner required, thanks Jim.

[@yourundoing12]

My triumph has sounded like that from new, but I think they call it character :D

[@georgeclarke1183]

here is some information that might have timeing chain issues the blackbird X11 has an improved tensioner

[@yank.my.doodleitsadandy9222]

Hello from Australia! Great video....what do you think about manual cam chain tensioners? I've JUST got a '01 Honda VTR FIRESTORM 1000 with 92000 kms(57000mls) and no cam chain noise at all. HOWEVER EVERYBODY IS TELLING ME "GET RID OF THE 2 AUTO CAM CHAIN TENSIONERS IMMEDIATELY! AND PUT MANUAL TENSIONERS IN!" What are your thoughts? Cheers

[@SteveCardiff]

Great vid but completely unnecessary to change the cam chain at 26k. There's an upgraded CCT from Jaws Motorcycles and that would have cured that noise. I'm not lying when I say I ordered one from them today for £60.95 delivered.

[@Clintcellington]

Lol if you have to order an extended length tensioner, I think it's safe to say the cam chain is worn out and needs replacing.

[@SteveCardiff]

@@Clintcellington It's very well known that the standard cct goes weak on the Blackbird. The upgraded one has a better spring so maintains tension far better. You're obviously not a Blackbird owner.

[@jonm7272]

​@@Clintcellingtonwrong, it's not an extended length cct. It's just that the mechanism in the original loosens and rattles. It's the cct that's rattling not the chain. I thought this superbike surgery guy knows what he's doing. Changing the chain at this mileage is bollox and a total waste of the customers money. I fitted the Jaws tensioner to my Blackbird at 30k (miles) , the chain was still silent when I sold it at 85k miles. Really lost some respect for this guy after watching this video.

[@MRBUN75]

Yeah , cos you just leave the chain as a professional,, I mean it's probably not been slapping around in there for thousands of miles ,,,so why bother. Honestly ,, the dumb in these comments is truly astounding...

[@SteveCardiff]

@@Clintcellington Not extended length, just a more reliable unit.

[@georgeclarke1183]

there a few guys in the honda blackbird fb group are saying there's no issues with the blackbird timeing chain its all tensioner and timeing chain guides thats the problem dont suppose you have any old blackbird chain you want to sell me

[@paultanton4307]

Fascinating Video - luckily I have a VFR .

[@mickeymouse4897]

VFR's have chains pal .... Only early ones are gear driven

[@glen3468]

brilliant video,in general how long would it take you to do the chain and check valve clearances? would you do this for myself?

[@SuperbikeSurgeryTV]

It's about 5 hours work with a few variables. Please contact me through my website if you would like to book or discuss potential work. www.superbikesurgery.co.uk/contact

[@khuzan06]

Amazing ! Loved the video ! Wow

[@danparsonage3884]

Great video

[@kevcarp7373]

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's Back :) Noooooooooooooooo it's an old vlog :(

[@georgeclarke1183]

is the camchain a big job to replace it can you do this replacement in situation or is it a engine out job no boubt a honda dealership this job will cost a small fortune

[@zzzpip]

Excellent JWR keep them coming.thanks for sharing

[@hlpang1075]

Slack bird 😂 i used to own one of these

[@paulconnaughton6498]

Your right its old vlog but yea

[@Desertduleler_88]

I know on the Honda VTR 1000’s cct failure destroys the engine in most cases, does cct failure do the same on CBR 1100 XX’s?

[@fw1421]

Ah,the joys of removing bodywork. A third of the work is removing body bits. You could always get out the shop vac and vacuum out the cam cover area.

[@HepcatHarley]

I wonder how many people just change the tensioner then sell the bike? I imagine to have this full job done would run into a lot of money.

[@712536]

How come you didn’t change the sprockets and guides too? It’s what we do in the car world

[@sidewaysaction9983]

I don't even want to think about the dreaded coil spring inside the cam chain tensioner.

[@brandywell44]

I thought I had Deja Vu.

[@giorgiobassini8138]

Ciao ma i video seguenti? Siccome vorrei fare lo stesso lavoro sulla mia Honda, hai video?

[@awaywayye]

Just found this channel by chance its great!... My cbr600 f6 ticks a little on startup and i was gonna just replace the tensioner but having watched this i might as well put it in and get the chain done too. Would u be able to tell me an approx quote to have this job done?

[@squareyes1981]

Tappy tap tap

[@redax6014]

Hi friend iam reda from morroco i have cbrxx 1100 carburateur and i have problème explosion exhaut and moto not torn on dadadada... bamdadadabam i need help m'y think you

[@paulwilson5227]

Nice job

[@MattBlackY1986]

Honda's are notorious for cam chain tensioners. Why not fit a manual one?

[@krqkan]

Because people will forget to tighten it. 😅

[@MattBlackY1986]

The Bulgarian Heist You dont need to. Set and check it at valve clearance intervals.

[@krqkan]

MattBlackY1986 oh didn't know that, thought you had to tighten it at regular intervals :) Hopefully the mechanic will know to check it, because the owner might forget to tell him about it.

[@MattBlackY1986]

The Bulgarian Heist yeah they are obviously different to look at so there's no real risk of not noticing. Some of the guys I know have done 60,000 miles without needing to make any adjustments buy the benefit is they can't really fail unless the bolts come loose.

[@krqkan]

MattBlackY1986 oh that's pretty amazing. If I get a "cam chain" motorcycle I'll definitely get a manual tensioner. :)

[@moriwaki1105]

26K.....That is crazy that needs replacing....The eternal problem with all Honda since the 70s ....Gear Drive excepted.

[@bezimeniiza9821]

интересно а есть данный блог или видео с русским переводом или субтитрами

[@kevcarp7373]

No

[@adnxm53]

muito bom o vídeo...

[@SuperbikeSurgeryTV]

Completely not true, yes the new CCT will make the noise go away but you are still running on a cam chain that is likely worn past it's service limit. When you compare a 25k plus cam chain with a brand new one the difference is night and day. It's ALWAYS a good idea to change the chain at the same time as the tensioner unless the budget won't allow.

[@andrewgray8389]

Superbike Surgery Ltd not on a Blackbird! I did over 100,000 miles on my My first Bird and the second owner has added another 60,000 - an uprated CCT at around 30,000 miles is still doing its job. I have been involved in looking after Blackbirds for over 20 years and have yet to see or hear of one that needed a new cam chain. The Honda OEM CCT is a known weak component, it's a doddle to replace it with an uprated item.

[@SuperbikeSurgeryTV]

@@andrewgray8389 if you want to do half the job and it works for you then go for it. But as previously stated I can guarantee the chain will be worn past the manufacturers service limit. That service limit exists for a reason! The HyVo chain used it the Blackbird isn't anything special to that engine. It'll be passed it's best by 40k. They always are. I've built hundreds of engines over the last 30 years and the chains always need replacing. Just because it's not rattling doesn't mean there isn't a problem. You'll be leaving a few horses on the table because of slightly retarded cam timing for a start!

[@mickeymouse4897]

@@andrewgray8389 .... You must be deaf then

[@yank.my.doodleitsadandy9222]

@@mickeymouse4897 you got CUTE EARS MICKEY!! XO

[@jonm7272]

OK, sorry, this will be the last time I'm going to jump into this old thread, I'll stop pestering you now. But I am genuinely stunned that you are suggesting that 25k miles is a service limit for a BBird camchain. 5 hours labour plus parts for a camchain and tensioner every 25k miles? This is ludicrous. You come across as a good mechanic in your videos, so this is, really disappointing. You have charged your customer hundreds of £s for unnecessary work here. Absolutely no doubt about that. Even a crappy single row chain would last longer than 25k miles. Sorry, but your defense of this total bs is a real shock to me. I was enjoying catching up on all your vids but this is just nonsense. You'd be better off taking this video down, anyone who knows anything about BBirds, and bikes in general, knows that this is completely unnecessary work. Not a single person in these threads has supported your position, and many who have lots of experience with these bikes have refuted it with huge mileages. Not a great advert for your workshop!