630 Cam Chain & Tensioner Replacement

[jtemple]

Mine is probably due for replacement. I'm at around 11,000 miles on the odometer, and I'm taking my clutch apart for new spring cups anyway.

I have read through the various threads & videos showing how it is done on the 610, but the 630 is quite a bit different.

Does anyone have any more info on how this is done on the 630? The shop manual isn't much help.

 

[elpedro]

I sent an email to Husqvarna to ask whether my 630 is supposed to be recalled for warranty repair and they replied these problems are present only on huskys with VIN up till AABV000616. Thought one might be interested...

 

[elpedro]

Sorry, messed up. I asked about the clutch problem, not cam chain..

 

[Fast1]

Isn't there a measurement for the cam chain length to determine wear/stretch and if replacement is required?

 

[jtemple]

There's a picture of a pair of calipers on the chain showing how to take the measurement. But there's nothing in there that tells you what values to look for.

 

[7point62]

Remember that the 630 top end is basically the same as the other Cagiva twin cams so the cam drive isn't quite so suicidal as the 610's.,,

It is a bit strange that they omitted the chain measurements from the 630 shop manual, but assuming it uses the same pitch chain here's the measurements for the other twin cams:

BTW if you're only disassembling the clutch side of your motor it will be extra faff to take the chain out to measure it. Perhaps pull the tensioner to see there are plenty of "clicks" left before diving in (remove the centre bolt and spring from the tensioner before removing it from the cylinder otherwise spring pressure will will push the plunger out).

Any reason to suspect the chain (ticking / thrashing noises etc)?

 

[jtemple]

Remember that the 630 top end is basically the same as the other Cagiva twin cams so the cam drive isn't quite so suicidal as the 610's.,,

It is a bit strange that they omitted the chain measurements from the 630 shop manual, but assuming it uses the same pitch chain here's the measurements for the other twin cams:

BTW if you're only disassembling the clutch side of your motor it will be extra faff to take the chain out to measure it. Perhaps pull the tensioner to see there are plenty of "clicks" left before diving in (remove the centre bolt and spring from the tensioner before removing it from the cylinder otherwise spring pressure will will push the plunger out).

Any reason to suspect the chain (ticking / thrashing noises etc)?

Thanks for the info.

Maintenance schedule calls for cam chain and slider replacement at 12,000 miles. I'm pretty close to that. I'm hearing some engine noise, but I'm not certain it isn't just normal valve train noise. I figured while I'm taking the bike apart for this clutch basket work, checking valve clearance, etc., I might as well swap out the cam chain parts.

 

[7point62]

Fair do's - may as well get it all one in one go!

 

[Kenneth Webb]

Does anyone have any more info on how this is done on the 630? The shop manual isn't much help.

I spent some time with the manual last night and it does not spend much, if any, time with cam chain replacement. It's kind of covered with the engine overhaul, but that's it. The chain looks pretty heavy duty compared to the one on my BMW, or on previous Hondas. Still, it has to be replaced at 12K, along with the sliders, etc. There isn't much on puttin new sliders in either. Replacing the chain means replacing the gears as well. It does not appear to be an easy thing to do, but 12K intervals fall into regular maintenance as far as I'm concerned. That's making me a little reluctant to use it on the highway getting to and from far away ride areas, and that's not good. Heck, I would have had to set the valves along the trail when I did the TAT had I been on the Husky. Exotic machinery means more wrench twisting, I know.........

Some info from those who have long miles and have done the cam chain replacement would be helpful. Is this the same chain that is used on the 610? Sounds like it is.

 

[jtemple]

I spent some time with the manual last night and it does not spend much, if any, time with cam chain replacement. It's kind of covered with the engine overhaul, but that's it. The chain looks pretty heavy duty compared to the one on my BMW, or on previous Hondas. Still, it has to be replaced at 12K, along with the sliders, etc. There isn't much on puttin new sliders in either. Replacing the chain means replacing the gears as well. It does not appear to be an easy thing to do, but 12K intervals fall into regular maintenance as far as I'm concerned. That's making me a little reluctant to use it on the highway getting to and from far away ride areas, and that's not good. Heck, I would have had to set the valves along the trail when I did the TAT had I been on the Husky. Exotic machinery means more wrench twisting, I know.........

Some info from those who have long miles and have done the cam chain replacement would be helpful. Is this the same chain that is used on the 610? Sounds like it is.

Same cam chain, I think. Different replacement procedure. It looks a little bit easier than the 610. Pull the flywheel, cams and water pump, and the whole mess comes out.

I'm not entirely sure about the gear on the bottom end of the chain, how to get it out of there, whether or not it needs replaced, etc. The shop manual lists these as needing replacement:

TIMING CHAIN
TIMING CHAIN SLIDER
TIMING DRIVEN GEAR (I assume this is the top gear)

As far as I can tell, this is the largest scheduled maintenance job that the bike has. Other than a top/bottom end rebuild, this is probably as hard as it's going to get.

I'm not sure I want to keep racking up miles on my 630 either. I'm thinking about picking up a street bike, but that won't happen until next year.

 

[SilverBullet]

I don't fully believe and agree with the Husky stated intervals. If you study all the maintenance tables they go up and down all over the place, some way too early some way too late. As I still have 4 months remaining on my factory warranty I will not elaborate further here but if you're interested in something particular send me a PM. As 7point62 stated this is not a 610 head with the known tendency to go through cam chains.

_

 

[jtemple]

The gear on the bottom end of the chain is machined onto the crank. It is not replaceable without replacing the crank. Hall's says not to sweat the lower gear, but they would go ahead and replace the chain, sliders, and upper gear, as stated in the manual.

I'm going to go ahead and do it pretty soon. It doesn't look terribly difficult.

 

[CJBROWN]

I guess I skipped that part in the service manual.

Seriously, KTM and Honda call for piston and rings on their race bikes at 25 hours. Can you imagine? My 250 went 110 hours and still ran like a champ, but did have ring gap way beyond spec. The piston was still like new though.

The reason I mention this is that sometimes these replacement intervals are in place for percieved or anticipated wear. I would measure for stretch and see if you can see serious groove wear on the sliders. And yes, check out the tensioner and it will tell if it has taken up a lot of stretch.

On the other hand, twelve thousand miles on a dirtbike motor is quite a bit. And I imagine the parts are pretty cheap, comparatively. I would think you should pull the jug and measure ring gap too. I dunno, mine is almost a year old and has 3K on it. That means I'll get about 4 years before I need to think about it. I also trailer mine for distant offroading. I just can't see slabbing it for hundreds of miles, it's just not that great on the freeway.

 

[jtemple]

I think my days of slabbing this bike are over. I did one 2500 mile road trip and two 500 mile ones. The rest has been local riding. I'll probably be trailering out for the longer trips any more. There's just not much enjoyment in riding several hundred miles on the barren roads we have around here.

 

[SilverBullet]

The reason I mention this is that sometimes these replacement intervals are in place for percieved or anticipated wear.

Or put in place for CYA. Case in point Husky surely knows about the 610 cam chain issue. So not taking into consideration everything that is different between the two systems a decision could have been made to overkill the interval. They took the easy way out IMO.

I think my days of slabbing this bike are over. I did one 2500 mile road trip and two 500 mile ones. The rest has been local riding. I'll probably be trailering out for the longer trips any more. There's just not much enjoyment in riding several hundred miles on the barren roads we have around here.

But even less enjoyment riding that same several hundred miles of barren roads in your car or truck pulling your bike. If I have to trailer my TE around everyplace then I bought the wrong bike. If it isn't a reliable dual sport capable machine then I'll move on to another bike. So far however it has been excellent under all conditions. I wouldn't hesitate to jump on it and ride any distance if there is dirt to ride upon arrival. If no dirt then I have better bikes for that. And if I need to trailer then I have better bikes for that also.

_

 

[CJBROWN]

But even less enjoyment riding that same several hundred miles of barren roads in your car or truck pulling your bike. If I have to trailer my TE around everyplace then I bought the wrong bike. If it isn't a reliable dual sport capable machine then I'll move on to another bike. So far however it has been excellent under all conditions. I wouldn't hesitate to jump on it and ride any distance if there is dirt to ride upon arrival. If no dirt then I have better bikes for that. And if I need to trailer then I have better bikes for that also.

I disagree, and here's why.
Ten of us just got back from a fantastic Grand Canyon north rim trip. 800 miles over four and a half days, camping off the bikes, riding the roads of Kaibab Plateau, and Dixie Forest and Zion of southwest Utah. Three 950SE's, a 990, 2 ktm640's, a DR650, G650X, and my TE. We trailered all of the bikes from LA to Mesquite Nevada, except for the G650 as he was just a hundred miles away from our staging location. For the rest of us, round trip was 700 miles of slab in desert heat across CA and NV.

With your logic we were all idiots, right? All had the wrong bikes, right? No? I didn't think so. Here are the reasons we trailered:

1. All bikes were shod with good dot knobbies. For most of them, just the slab segment would have burned off more than half of the tire tread.
2. A low pressure storm approached the departure day and winds were 40-55 with gusts to 65-70, across Mojave Desert and the Great Plain of Nevada. None of us wanted to ride through that. Instead we all arrived at the staging location - Virgin River Casino - had a swim in the pool, nice dinner out, and hotel rooms. We were fresh and rested to start our journey at 8am the next morning.
3. There was no way I was going to slab-ride my Husky for those 700 miles. Not that it couldn't do it, it's just not what it was made for nor what I wanted to do with it.
4. If anyone would have had bike trouble then all we would have needed to do was get it to the staging location. Riding out there would have meant renting a u-haul to drive one back.

Nice RR here if you want to see what kind of adventure trip it was, even if we trailered out to a staging location. Apparently a few have enjoyed it as we have over ten thousand views http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=796890

 

[SilverBullet]

With your logic we were all idiots, right? All had the wrong bikes, right? No? I didn't think so.

Your ride was a dual sport ride correct? So a street legal dirt worthy bike was required for which the TE630 is best suited. You didn't have to trailer you just elected to.

Read again what I wrote. It is a personal statement by me about my use of my bike nothing more. And only written after the concerns of some that they shouldn't be racking up miles on their bike due to longevity concerns. Nothing related to the reasons you stated not to ride your bike.

_

 

[jtemple]

If you think about it, it's not so much a longevity issue as it is a maintenance issue. The faster you rack up miles, the faster you're going to need new cam chains, top end rebuilds, etc.

If you have the time and money, you could theoretically put 100,000 miles on a 630 and keep on riding it.

But, the reality is, I don't have the time to keep doing what I'm doing to my 630. As a result, I'm limiting my around town riding and shopping for a street bike to add to the garage.

 

[CJBROWN]

Your ride was a dual sport ride correct? So a street legal dirt worthy bike was required for which the TE630 is best suited. You didn't have to trailer you just elected to.

Read again what I wrote. It is a personal statement by me about my use of my bike nothing more. And only written after the concerns of some that they shouldn't be racking up miles on their bike due to longevity concerns. Nothing related to the reasons you stated not to ride your bike.

_

Maybe I just misunderstood what you were getting at.

A lot of 'adventure' riders feel you have to ride your bike to the adventure or you're just not real. The term poser comes to mind. I guess that's the GS rider in klim wear that rides to starbucks. I don't not ride my husky to keep from putting a lot of miles on it, but I don't use it for communting or general around town riding either.

It will probably take me three or four years to get ten thousand miles on mine. I'll deal with what maintenance it needs as it gets there.

 

[bushwa]

Fyi. The numbers referenced above for other twin cam cagivas don't match the te630. I just pulled mine, and measured 135mm between 21 pins. Bike has 15,000 km on it at the moment. I had already bought the new chain, and compared it to new, which also measured out to 135mm between pins. No measurable wear.