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Main Area => General GS500 Discussion => Topic started by: the mole on September 21, 2009, 03:15:54 PM

Title: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: the mole on September 21, 2009, 03:15:54 PM
Have just done a service at 21,000 km on my '06 and noticed bad wear on the cam lobes. Exhaust is worst, RH side lobe has a lot of the hard facing chipped off, LH and both intakes are starting to go. Bike has had regular oil changes every 5,000 km and has been ridden conservatively since I bought it at 3,500 km. What happeneed to my nice reliable bike??  :dunno_white:
Has anyone else had this happen?
Can the cams be repaired or am I up for new ones?
Any advice would be welcome, thanks.
(Will try and post some pics later.)
Title: Re: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: The Buddha on September 22, 2009, 01:25:34 PM
Cams are pretty inexpensive ... if you find em from someone on here.
If no one can sell you a set, PM me, I'll sell ya some I will have to then scramble about to find.
Cool.
Buddha.
Title: Re: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: tt_four on September 22, 2009, 01:48:36 PM
Were they bad enough that you could tell they were going bad just from looking at them? Or did you actually measure them and go through all of that business? How were the clearances on your shims? I would think camshafts being worn is more a sign of the valve clearances being out of adjustment rather than how hard you're running your engine.

I'm sure someone on here has a pair they'll sell you.
Title: Re: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: the mole on September 22, 2009, 04:00:07 PM
Thanks for the replies.
Update:  I removed the cams and took them to a bike shop, the guy said he'd happily take $300 and have them resurfaced but he didn't think it was worth doing and I should just run them as they are and check them each time I do the valve clearances. I'm the kind of person who likes evrything to be 100%, but I guess its a lesson that it isn't always so, and that's OK.
I'll keep a close eye on them.
Title: Re: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: The Buddha on September 22, 2009, 06:59:14 PM
I'll sell ya the cams I got lying around for 50.
You dont want to run shitty cams, it will wear an egg shape in the guide as the valve will get shoved sideways more than opened.
Cool.
Buddha.
Title: Re: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: joshr08 on September 22, 2009, 07:08:59 PM
whenever someone tells me there the part really isnt that bad my very next question to them is " would you run it like that in your bike or whatever"  9 times outta 10 they wouldnt run it like that if they are being honest.  Im not trying to push for you to buy buddhas cams but if its something your personally not ok with dont be ok just cuz a guy at a shop said they would be ok.  i personally dont like OK on anything with 2 wheels.  Lock up a motor and see how ok OK really is.  just my 2 cents
Title: Re: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: 5thAve on September 22, 2009, 09:25:57 PM
Run it on the old crappy cams while you have Buddha find you a replacement set.

Also, Servbot6 had a couple of heads he was selling. Send him a message and see if he still has the cams.
Title: Re: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: intergalactic on September 23, 2009, 08:19:33 AM
Running too loose a valve clearance can set up some ugly forces on the cam and valves. I doubt this is the case. But it is possible.

Probably a bad heat treatment on the cams?


Quote from: the mole on September 21, 2009, 03:15:54 PM
Have just done a service at 21,000 km on my '06 and noticed bad wear on the cam lobes. Exhaust is worst, RH side lobe has a lot of the hard facing chipped off, LH and both intakes are starting to go. Bike has had regular oil changes every 5,000 km and has been ridden conservatively since I bought it at 3,500 km. What happeneed to my nice reliable bike??  :dunno_white:
Has anyone else had this happen?
Can the cams be repaired or am I up for new ones?
Any advice would be welcome, thanks.
(Will try and post some pics later.)
Title: Re: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: GeeP on September 23, 2009, 02:35:27 PM
If the cams are spalling they should be replaced.

Otherwise, you'll end up with metallic particles in the oil, some of which will make it past the oil filter and destroy the engine's bearings.  I've seen this first-hand numerous times.

20,000 miles on a set of cams is NOT right.
Title: Re: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: KasbeKZ on September 23, 2009, 07:28:41 PM
do you mean it's not right to put 20k on cams or it's not right for them to wear out at that point?
Title: Re: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: the mole on September 24, 2009, 04:58:36 AM
GeeP, I agree, and its only 12,000 miles! (20,000km).

Buddha, I might take you up on that offer, will you ship to Australia?
Also, I don't think the guides will suffer as the buckets keep all the force on the valves straight on the stem.

Valve clearance hasn't changed in 15,000 km (0.05mm). At the moment there is some good cam surface contacting the shim at any point of rotation so I'm OK with running it a little longer.
Title: Re: Camshaft wear, not happy!
Post by: The Buddha on September 24, 2009, 06:53:43 AM
Ditto on manufacturing defect.
PM me, and yea I'll ship to australia but you pay shipping ... USPS prolly would be 20-40 USD - my guess. You need sprokets too ... it wont save ya any $ except on shipping. Much smaller box without sprokets.
Cool.
Buddha.