At just over 34 thousand miles the front cam chain on my Suzuki 650 vstrom wore out completely and the rear one was in not far behind. I replaced the chains, guides and tensioners but couldn't find any cause for the failure. The spockets and cam journals look fine and the cam lobes aren't worn. The engine has been fed a steady diet of high end motorcycle oils at less than 5,000 mile intervals. This engine is also used in the SV 650 and early cam chain failure doesn't seem to be a problem at all. I haven't tested the oil pressure yet but I would expect the bearing journals to fail, not the chains if that was the problem. I'll check it though when the thread adapter I ordered gets here. The engine is a liquid cooled v-twin.
The bike is a daily commuter that is ridden year round, sometimes in sub freezing weather. The coldest ever was 17F degrees but normally it doesn't get nearly that cold and I don't know if that has anything to do with the problem anyway. The trips are normally 15 to 20 minutes. I don't bounce off the rev limiter or do wheelies. I tried Amsoil, Torco, Castrol and Silkolene before settling on Redline 10w-40 for the last few changes. I am thinking of going with a 5w-40 like maxima for the better start up flow in exchange for a (probably) lower HTHS. Any thoughts?
The bike is a daily commuter that is ridden year round, sometimes in sub freezing weather. The coldest ever was 17F degrees but normally it doesn't get nearly that cold and I don't know if that has anything to do with the problem anyway. The trips are normally 15 to 20 minutes. I don't bounce off the rev limiter or do wheelies. I tried Amsoil, Torco, Castrol and Silkolene before settling on Redline 10w-40 for the last few changes. I am thinking of going with a 5w-40 like maxima for the better start up flow in exchange for a (probably) lower HTHS. Any thoughts?
