I am looking for a second gen Ninja (most common from 87 to early 2000s) in the north of Columbus, who has either got cam drive issues (noise) or has an engine in pieces.

Twice now I've made tensioners for riders that work fine, but don't take out the noise, leave the cam chain loose. I know what the issue is, the rocker link bottoms out. I found that on the first one I did, the second one I let the rider know the possible issue, but he tried the tensioner anyway. I also saw an engine with the problem, with the side cover off and could see the problem.

Clearly depending on machining and tolerances, this is an issue on a fair number of the Kawasaki Ninja and 250 Eliminator engines. It necessitates replacing the cam chain and sliders probably before they are actually worn out. The cam chain should last virtually the life of the engine, the HyVo design is known for durability. The fact is there is insufficient adjustment to take up cam chain slack.

Now I want to try to make a part to deal with the problem, rather than a rider having to keep replacing parts. The engine I saw was far from home, so that's out of the question. I need to see one and possibly have a chance to try the part if I can get it done. I have a few west coast people willing to help, but having a bike where I could actually see what is there would help enormously. It is about seeing what sort of clearance is available for a replacement part, designing a part, then seeing if the part can be economically feasible to have made. Another new adventure.

If anyone is interested please reply here, PM or email me. I'm about 25 miles north of Columbus OH in Delaware.