Cam Chain Slack--am I being paranoid?

[kevink]

So I was working on my friends  GS500E--doing a valve adjustment. I swap out the shims and get the camshafts back in and torqued down, rotate the crank around--and then notice that I hadn't reinstalled the tensioner. Okay--that was stupid, but I think no problem, I'll just retime it according to the manual. I get the marks on the rotor lined up while pulling the chain up taut, arrow 1 on exhaust cam lined up level with the surface, count over 18 pins from 2 and match the 3 arrow on 2nd camshaft, torque down and reinstall the tensioner this time.

Manual says there shouldn't be slack between the two camshafts--but I can push the chain up and down a bit. If I rotate the engine around, checking slack, I find that some parts seem nice and taut, while others seem a bit loose. Is this alright? If I take a flatblade screwdriver and check to see if I can push the chain off sprocket, it doesn't seem like there's enough slack for it to come off. Then again--chain should get looser as the bike heats up right?

I'm assuming the tensioner is working--I meet stiff resistance when I push back on the nub. When I install it, I wind it clockwise all the way until the rod is recessed, hold it this way until I have bolt retainer bolts installed--then pull away the screwdriver and see visually the chain getting jolted as well as hear the tensioner unwind and hit the guide.

I've double checked the marks and am sure I've done everything by the book, but it says there should be no slack. Am I just being paranoid, and a bit of slack is okay? Do I have anything to worry about if I just button her up and ride?

By the way, the bike is a 2002, with ~20k miles.

[kevink]

Anyone have any thoughts? I would say the perceptible up and down slack is about 10 mm or less.

[T1z3R]

there will be a bit of movement. imagine how tight it would need to be for it not to flex even a little.

just to be safe though you do have the front chain guide installed dont you?

[kevink]

there will be a bit of movement. imagine how tight it would need to be for it not to flex even a little.

just to be safe though you do have the front chain guide installed dont you?

Yeah, both guides are installed and seated correctly.

I hadn't really checked to see how taut the chain was before working so I didn't really have a reference after putting it back together, but I thought it should be slightly tighter.

I just realized there is also a guide on the valve cover. Maybe this will help with taking up the slack?