Hey now. There's a gs500 that i'm looking at that needs the cam chain tensioner replaced. the bike roughly have about 20k on it.

I personally never done that replacement myself. Is this hard (and expensive ) to wrench on your own?

Thank you.

pretty easy.. just two allen key bolts.

you gotta pull off the carbs, but that's about it. take it out, stick a new one in. but make sure thats it! 20k miles and already needs a tensioner.. that sounds iffy. even with a tensioner that's going bad, you should still be able to ride it, if you can't its something else, and run for the hills!

Agreed 

Tensioners generally last longer than 20K. What is it that makes you suspect that it is actually the tensioner that is faulty?..........not just BS from a desperate seller trying to cover up for something else like a worn or broken chain guide is it?

Or worse a vam chain that jumped a few teeth. I'd ask him to show you why the tensioner needs changing. Noisy chain? Seems unlikely.

Yea the guy is asking 500 bucks for the bike. I'm trying to ask him the same thing of why he thinks that way. Trying to see how much more I would need to put back in

Honest answers from a seller of a 500 dollar bike?!  .  Video that shaZam!! .. could go viral!

When I got my bike with about that mileage on it, it had a slight oil leak from the cam tensioner gasket. Might be worth seeing if this is the reason for the implied problem. I got my bike for about $600, but it took about another $300 to sort it out and make it road worthy.

If you can't find a used tensioner, I just bought a new OEM one from Bikebandit.com for $60. Worth a look if needed.

If you are suss of the tensioner, just replace it SAP. It's cheap, easy to do, and could save you LOTS of expense if a failing tensioner causes the valves to tangle.

Just make sure you know the tensioner released and timing is intact prior to turning the engine over. Absolutely sure.

Other then the dubious claims of a equally dubious seller there is, as yet, no evidence that the tensioner is actually faulty!

Yes I am wondering as well if it really does need replaced...? I almost replaced mine when I couldn't get a VERY stubborn oil leak to stop.