anudderbrokechief

Help, It's difficult to find other folks working on tx/xs 500 . . . . I'm at my wits end (not a long trip my wife will tell you). . . I recently took the heads and cylinders off my 1973 TX500 to get some work done. I've reassembled everything, I've been trying to close/link the cam chain, but I can't get enough slack in the chain to get in the master link. Is there something I'm missing? I loosened the cam chain adjuster nut, and pushed the adjuster as far down as it will go (at least as far as I can push it) and then retightened the nut to hold it. I'm still about 2-3mm too short. Is there a procedure to ensure I haven't kinked the chain around the crank sprocket? I've pulled it, and rotated it backwards and forwards as far as I dare. On a different note . . . the gentleman who bored the cylinder and checked the heads told me that the exhaust valve guides do not require valve guide seals. But, the parts guide/catalog shows that the engine requires 8 valve guide seals. . . . It really doesn't make sense to me that the exhaust valves wouldn't requires seals, but this bike is new to me, and I've never been inside one of these engines. What do you think? Any help or ideas would be much appreciated. Alex