Just recently got a 2009 gs500f as my first bike. Been doing basic maintenance and decided to do a. Valve adjustment, and replace the camchain/tensioner due to a ticking noise I noticed. I found a video for each repair, but in the camchain repair the giy cuts the chains open, attaches them, loops the new one through, and welds it back together. What is the proper way to replace the camchain?

Did you measure the distance between chain links to see if yours is even out of spec? There should be a specification in the repair manuals (clymer, Haynes, Suzuki).

If you really do need to replace it, you probably press out a pin with a chain breaker tool and then press in the rivets of a new one with a chain tool. I doubt that replacement cam chains come with a master link but I've never replaced a cam chain and in the 16 years I've been on this forum I don't recall ever seeing someone else need to replace one.

Cam chain lasts hundreds of kilometers (100k km +), only if you are too savage accelerating or dumping clutch maybe it stretches..
If you are changing the cam chain yo should be splitting the case also...I mean when the chain is worn you would have to do bearings as well

I have 105,000 miles on the original cam chain. Valves tick and it is normal