1990 gs 500 having problems

[cns]

Hello, I am mew to the board. I just recently bought my wife a 1990 gs 500. We went out for her first ride and after about two hours the problem arose. We were coming home on the interstate and she flagged me to pull over. She said that she felt and heard a vibration then started losing power. I went to re-start the bike and it fired right up, but is making an ungodly noise from the top end. My friend ( a harley mechanic) seems to think it is a cam chain. Is there any way to tell for sure? If that is the problem did she mess the engine up as well? How hard would it be to fix this? Thanks alot for any help/advice. Chris

[GRU]

well the only way you can find out for sure is to take the engine apart....to check the chain just remove the tank bolts (2) on each side and slide the tank back...then close the petcock and remove the hoses...get the tank out of the way and remove the valve cover...then you can check the valves too while you're checking the chain

[dgyver]

If it is the cam chain, do not turn the motor over. Bent valves are very likely. Since it ran, the valves may be ok. Do you have a service manual?

If not we can walk you through it. I would type it out tonight but I am very tired and probably forget something.