Cam Chain Tensioner

[MACHPANG]

Hi, I have been reading that the Rockster can suffer from a problem with the left cam chain tensioner and that there was a retro fit replacement available with fewer parts and which cured the problem of slackness in the chain on start up. Just wanted to know where You can pick these up in the UK / Cost etc. and has anyone had any experience with this modification. Cheers

[riceburner]

I've done it - it's an updated part available from BMW themselves. Quite an easy job.

Can't find my record of buying the thing, so couldn't tell you the price. Sorry!

[NoRRmad]

I think all the parts ran $63 or so when I got mine done.

[Hottech]

$91 dollars at the BeemerShop.com I plan on installing mine this week. Bought a 15mm & 17mm Flex head wrench set so I will hopefully beable to do it without removing the throtle body.

[Oilhead]

Bought a 15mm & 17mm Flex head wrench set so I will hopefully beable to do it without removing the throtle body.

Let us know how you make out with that.

[Oilhead]

$91 dollars at the BeemerShop.com I plan on installing mine this week. Bought a 15mm & 17mm Flex head wrench set so I will hopefully beable to do it without removing the throtle body.

I just got mine from BeemerShop and installed it today. I don't know how you are going to do this without removing the throttle body as the tensioner is in a tight spot even with the stuff removed out of the way.

[BoxerSteve]

I just got mine from BeemerShop and installed it today. I don't know how you are going to do this without removing the throttle body as the tensioner is in a tight spot even with the stuff removed out of the way.

I replaced mine on my former '02 R1150R without removing the throttle body. It was tight but I managed it with regular tools, no flexie wrenches required. Maybe things are tighter still on a Rockster though.

[spoon]

I did my Rockster without removing the TB. A flex adaptor and a box end wrench. And the proper moon alignment.

[MIXR]

Ditto on my R1150R which is the same as the Rock. TB stayed in place. The GS has a thicker telelever arm and the TB has to be moved out of the way.

Tools required:



Orientation:

[Oilhead]

Never thought about attacking it from that angle. Very clever!

You couldn't post this before I did mine? Anyway it's all done now and taking the parts off was no big deal.

[grwrockster]

Is the LH Tensioner failure THAT common then, and should I be doing mine?

I have a 2004 Rockster with 34-odd thousand miles on it. Is there a typical lifespan or likely fail mileage for this part?

I suppose the LH one fares worse as it's 'the wrong way up' so drains out of oil when stationary (thus leading to the initial boxer rattle on that side on startup)?

Think I need to start a shopping list (FD pivots, Fuel QD's & Stick coils have all gone phut in my 32k miles & 5 years of ownership of the Rockster so forget those bits).....

1. Clutch Slave Cylinder Swap (precautionary/preventive mtce measure)
2. LH Camchain tensioner Upgrade
3. ????

(Note I'm discounting any mention of clutches and splines under the optimism principle of 'I've got a good 'un & so it won't happen to me' school of thought. Any other suggestions will receive due consideration though ).

[BoxerSteve]

Is the LH Tensioner failure THAT common then, and should I be doing mine?

I think it's more of an annoyance rather than a failure, installing the new style LH tensioner will make the bike quieter on startup. Mine used to rattle pretty bad for the first few seconds after startup until I replaced the tensioner.

[Oilhead]

I have a 2004 Rockster with 34-odd thousand miles on it. Is there a typical lifespan or likely fail mileage for this part?

I'm not sure what year BMW started using the updated cam chain tensioner. I thought it was 2005 or it could be 2004...maybe someone who knows will chime in.

Do you hear a cam chain clatter coming from the left side cylinder when you first start up cold?

[MIXR]

I have a 2004 Rockster with 34-odd thousand miles on it. Is there a typical lifespan or likely fail mileage for this part?

Do you hear a cam chain clatter coming from the left side cylinder when you first start up cold?

Or when decelerating down a hill? Or when pulling up at the lights when it's really hot?

I think the change was during 2004. Check the head size. 17 mm is old type. 15 mm is new type. There was an intermediate 15 mm type that didn't work real well, but I think it was only available as a replacement, not OEM fit.



Old left. New right. Spring is built-in and is internal to the cylinder on the new type.

[grwrockster]

Mixr.

Thanks for the detailed reply and the pics - the change in bolt-head size is handy and good to know. I'll have to go and peer at my bike and check it out, as my bike was registered in 2004 so I suppose it could be either.

As for rattling.... well, it's an air-cooled boxer so it does clatter a little bit, and get a bit noisier on tickover if it's hot (not much chance of that this year with the truly awful summer we've had here). But my bike engine isn't loud, although I don't really have another BMW around to compare it with back-to-back.

The BMW R1150 isn't v popular around where I live (SW Wales) - I don't come across many (& those that I did were mostly GS's of course while a Rockster is so rare that I've only seen a couple of others in nearly 5 years of ownership). As you'd expect maybe, R1200RT's & GS's are seen more often. Some of that is possibly that the nearest dealer is in Cardiff, some 80 miles away.

One thing you do get with Rockster ownership is exclusivity at reaosnable cost. Mind you - that might just be because hardly anyone else wants one . I'm pretty happy with mine.

[kirby]

1922

[Hottech]

Can anyone tell me the torq setting for the newer 15mm cam chain tensioner ? I can not budge the older 17mm cam chain tensioner off and am afraid of stripping the head. Any suggestions on breaking the old one loose?

[kirby]

1560

[MIXR]

The crush washer makes them stick. Swap the ratchet for a fixed bar and give it a good 'tap' with a hammer to break it free. Try and hold the socket down on the head as you do it or the socket might slip and burr the head. Protect the telelever arms with some slit tube from a mountain bike (bicycle) or similar.

[Hottech]

Replaced my cam chain tensioner without removing anything. It took a total of 20 mins using the ratchet extension and universal socket elbow like the pictures in the previous post. My only problem was that I could not fit my Torque wrench on so I just tightened it to the max of what I could apply without stripping the bolt. By the way I did not use any flex head wrenches. They were to thick to fit in the small space I was working in.