The International CBX Owners Association

Hi Guys

Is it possible to replace the exhaust left hand cam shaft with a good used one (or a complete assembly), or do I need to set everything up again, cam?cap clearances etc. I know if you change a cam bearing cap, you have to set that up again, but do the cams themselves just drop straight in, maybe apart from setting the valve clearances again? my tacho drive is chipped in places.

Any help would be appreciated.

cheers

Martin

The issue with the cam caps is alignment to each other. Originally they are line bored on the head. If you change one out, you need to make sure that it aligns and the clearance with the cams is O.K. If you change the cams, they should be O.K. without checking again. I know people who plastigauge the cams/caps each time they take them off, and you can do that to be on the safe side, but I have changed cams without and never had an issue.

Hi
Thanks for the reply. Does this mean I can change just one side?
Regards
Martin

I don't see a reason why not.

Thank you very much for your help
Martin

+1 Totally agree that replacing just one cam would be fine.

But at the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious, it would be prudent to check and adjust your valve clearances on all 24 valves once the new camshaft is installed.

I agree 100%, thanks for your help
Best regards
martin

I wouldn't worry about the chipped gear on the tach drive. I've run mine for 45,000 miles with the same situation and never had a problem. The dealer did it when performing the 500 mile service and I didn't find out until I started doing my own service later. Tach works fine and there's been no issues and I've had lots of chances to change it over the years.

Dave

Hi Dave
As I've never run the bike, I don't really know what to expect. There is an area on the cam where a couple of the drive teeth have chipped exactly where the tacho drive gear meshes. This was was damaged by someone levering the cam cover off without removing the tacho drive spindle first i suspect. It also broke the tacho spindle holder on the cam bearing cap as well. This has been repaired by SEP in England along with the a complete valve /head rebuild. Once the head is back on and timed up, I can check to see if it turns around OK then. Is this common damage on a CBX?

Best Regards

Martin

Yes, the whole thing about pulling the valve cover w/o removing the tach drive is kind of common. Damage can range from broken drive, chipped teeth and broken holder. That's why Honda supplied the tach drive cam holder separately for a while.

Dave