BOF (40 years of Bodging..

Okay Smokie. The link is http://www.totalbikebits.com/ I'll let you know how it goes. I rather hope the stuff will be good for repairing carb diaphragms as well - my XS850 won't rev past 5000 rpm in any gear, and I'm pretty sure it's the diaphragms. BOF

Agree with you, Yoda, but I got what I got. If you know where I can get a low-mileage shaft-drive tourer with bevel drive cams for £350, let me know!! And for you, Jinxed: they're like drive chains, only they cost a lot less and last a lot longer and don't need new sprockets.... Thinking about it, though, if the camchain is a bit stretched, maybe I could take a link or two out...... Yeah, all right. I wish the tensioner was as easy to access as that on my XS850 - a minute's work with an Allen key will have that in my hand! Ah well. It'll have to come off anyway, just to check, but the symptom suggests to me that as it gets really warm, the chain stretches just enough to give a little rattle. Perhaps it will stop on the next click of the ratchet? Perhaps not? Has any other 900F owner had this small niggle, and did it go away? Do they all do it? And from the lack of response to the actual original question, can I assume that the 900F does NOT have any known tendency to sticky camchain tensioners, or is it just that not many 900F owners are on here? BOF

Thanks for that, Yoda. I assume you mean that at 60k the chain and tensioner are worn out; I doubt (hope) they wouldn't be at 25k - it's not a Honda..... BOF

The tanks all go sooner or later at the bottom rear corners. The stuff Frosts are selling sounds OK, but I'd find out first what exactly it is. I've heard some bad reports of Petseal, which is I think fibreglass-resin-based, breaking up in the tank (though plenty sells, and many people swear by it...), but a synthetic rubber slosh sealant should be OK. Try Googling- Wassell Lincoln -and there's info there on their own product - I've just bought half a litre to do my own 900F. I agree with you on the 900F - it's an absolute cracker. I've got a 900 Divvie as well, and that's going - I'm going to replace it with another 900F - the 900F is just a nicer bike. I should have got one years ago! BOF (40 years of bodging...)

Hi there guys. Newbie here (to the forum, not to oily hands...) I've just been to look at an XJ900F with 60k miles on it, and the camchain rattles once the engine starts to warm up (two or three minutes), though not when it's cold. My own 900F, with only 25k miles on the clock, has a slight sizzle/rattle once it's full warmed up (10 miles' worth of riding). The factor common to both of them is that they had spent some time standing during their lives. My thoughts are that the 60k one probably needs a new camchain, and on mine, I'm hoping that it's just a sticky tensioner. Do these bikes have any history of sticky camchain tensioners, and would 60k miles be about right for a new camchain being needed? Please help...... BOF (40 years of bodging...)