Hey guys, I have a question. Is there an instructional video somewhere on how to replace the stock timing chain tensioner (CCT) without removing the valve cover? I’ve never done this before, and I don’t know how to reset it and then unlock it once it’s installed.

buy a manual tensioner. install is pretty simple. just need to remove fairing on the right side.

My?la?em o nim . Co ile trzeba go regulowa? ? Je?eli si? zdecyduje na orginalny da si? go zmieni? bez zdejmowania pokrywy zaworów i blokowania rozrz?du ? Jak go odblokowa? w silniku jak jest ju? zamontowany ?

buy a manual tensioner. install is pretty simple. just need to remove fairing on the right side.

My?la?em o nim . Co ile trzeba go regulowa? ? Je?eli si? zdecyduje na orginalny da si? go zmieni? bez zdejmowania pokrywy zaworów i blokowania rozrz?du ? Jak go odblokowa? w silniku jak jest ju? zamontowany ?

I’ve been thinking about it. How often does it need adjusting? If I decide to go with the OEM part, can it be replaced without removing the valve cover or locking the timing? How do you unlock it once it’s installed in the engine?

Poland! Heck, you're the same latitude as me. It gets frickin cold in Poland in winter!

I just got done eating a bunch of Poli sausages! ...with onions and sauerkraut! Love me my Polski wyrob, dill pickles too! My grandmother was Polish among many other things, mostly Austrian, Hungarian, Czech. Her name was Lachni, probably a shortened version of Lachinsky. Witam. I'm eating potato sausage later this week. Swedish but also a Slovak delicacy!

The OEM cam chain adjuster self adjusts but that is the problem, the cam chain runs loose and rattles at idle and the automatic adjuster is right on the edge of clicking to the next tooth. These parts wear extremely slowly, it will rattle until there's just enough slack for the tensioner to advance to the next tooth but this could take years.

As mentioned earlier, a manual tensioner probably won't require adjusting for years either. Once the cam chain has worn in, it's not going to wear a lot more for a very long time.

You must remove the valve cover to replace the OEM tensioner. You can install the OEM tensioner without removing the vave cover but you absolutely must remove the valve cover to set the OEM cam chain tensioner. All you need to do to install a manual tensioner is to remove the OEM one and put the aftermarket manual tensioner on, two bolts.

https://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=9CFD17D8-1372-66AE-3B0D2BD6B6297697

"How do you unlock it once it’s installed in the engine?"

Are you asking about unlocking the OEM tensioner? Yes, you lock it fully retracted when installing. To unlock it, you give it a good tap with a hammer via screwdriver inserted though cam chain tunnel. Step 12 here:

https://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=C12EF7B0-D56B-84E2-1547A51BCA5BD23C

Just get a manual tensioner, John. You will not regret it. One of the mods that anyone can appreciate. It works for everyday street riding and also effective for racing.

OEM here. Static is high maintenance. This is where you pull the top cover to expose the cams. Then turn the crank to watch the exhaust's move before the intake cam does. High mile slack you can't feel.

Where the stock new tensioner is literally a snap to install. Take a 50/50 you turned the crank to 1-4 at the 1st cylinder. But if at 1-4 at 4's cylinder... no problem either way.

Then just follow the video's trick of turning the crank with the rear wheel in 6th going backwards. Have the tensioner loose to move, but does not bind with the tensioner body out too far. Tensioner shows side to side, but hardly back and forth. That's the trick so a tooth wont jump if tensioner is butted up the cylinder.

Having the cam cover off is to push the slipper to trigger the tensioner screw forward. But the rear wheel bump keeps the cover on.

Rook, thanks for all your messages—they’re really helpful! Yes, I’m from Poland; it’s nice to know you have roots here.
I think I’ll consider the APE tensioner. I’m just wondering how the lubrication system is handled. Is there any drop in oil pressure? Do you have to modify the oil passage that feeds the original tensioner?

I’m just wondering how the lubrication system is handled. Is there any drop in oil pressure? Do you have to modify the oil passage that feeds the original tensioner?

The stock cam chain tensioner maintains pressure against the cam chain by the force of a spring inside the tensioner. There is also an oil passage into the stock tensioner and that is undoubtedly to assist the spring in maintaining tension in the cam chain. ...so, there is an oil galley feeding to the stock cam chain tensioner. You will see the small oil hole in the stock tensioner in steps 4, 5, 6 and 7 here:

https://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=C12EF7B0-D56B-84E2-1547A51BCA5BD23C

The APE manual tensioner keeps the cam chain at equal tension at all times, there is no movement in the APE, the tension is caused by a bolt and the bolt is locked in place by a locknut. There is no need for assistance through engine oil pressure. The APE has no oil hole nor does it have any kind of seal to block the oil galley. I presume the oil from the cam chain tensioner oil galley simply leaks over the housing of the APE tensioner and then drips back to the oil pan once it reaches the bottom of the cam chain tunnel. There is no need to address the oil feed to the cam chain tensioner with the use of an APE. Possibly, the oil runs through the stock tensioner and drips out in much the same way. Whatever the case may be, the open oil galley is not considered an internal leak and as far as I know, there is no drop in oil pressure from using an APE manual cam chain tensioner. I will mention, the APE tensioner probably will weep a tiny amount of oil externally between the mounting plate and the engine case. Like the stock tensioner, there is an o-ring on the body of the APE to control oil seepage. There is no gasket to seal this seam between the parts, nor does the stock tensioner have a gasket. I remember a member fabricated a gasket in the shape of the mounting plate and it prevented any oil seepage at all. However, the amount of oil that weeps out with the APE installed according to manufacturer instructions is very small. I used to just wipe off the spot of dirty grease at the bottom point of the mounting plate once a year. The o-ring under the locknut seemed to effectively prevent oil from creeping out of the threads in the bolt. I ran my 08 with the APE for nine years and never had a problem with it. Still have it and will use it again in the rebuild of that wrecked motorcycle.

Here's an installation tutorial for the APE manual cam chain tensioner:

https://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=9CFD17D8-1372-66AE-3B0D2BD6B6297697

@rook @hub

I just wish I had Hub-speak down.

My grandmother was Polish among many other things, mostly Austrian, Hungarian, Czech.

The OEM cam chain adjuster self adjusts but that is the problem, the cam chain runs loose and rattles at idle and the automatic adjuster is right on the edge of clicking to the next tooth.

I wonder if it would be worthwhile to take a Dremel to the chain link and mating sprocket tooth,
when all is fine, for future reference just in case there is a jumped tooth down the road..

/

I wonder if it would be worthwhile to take a Dremel to the chain link and mating sprocket tooth,
when all is fine, for future reference just in case there is a jumped tooth down the road..

My bad, I shouldn't have referred to it as "clicking to the next tooth." That sounds like a description of the cam chain jumping a tooth on the sprocket. What I should have said is "the automatic adjuster is right on the edge of advancing to the next notch." The cam chain stretches with wear like a drive chain but its a much slower process. The stock cam chain tensioner has many notches on the pusher as you see in the photo. Each notch is one adjustment to the cam chain. Each notch is a very big adjustment. The cam chain has to run loose enough to allow the spring loaded pusher to advance past the wire circle clip. Once the pusher advances past the circle clip, the circle clip locks behind that notch and that's where the pusher stays until the cam chain once again gets loose enough to allow the pusher to advance another full notch. The problem is that the cam chain may never wear enough to ever let the pusher advance another notch....or it could take years if it does ever advance another notch. The cam chain rattle has been a very common gripe among Gen1 ZX-14 owners.

...so what i was saying is, the cam chain tensioner might be right on the edge of clicking to the next adjustment but still allow the cam chain to whip inside the cam chain tunnel. That's not loose enough to permit the spring in the pusher to advance the pusher one more notch. Fortunately, oil pressure seems to aid the spring in the pusher. When my cam chain rattled, I just gave the throttle a tiny blip and the rattle usually stopped. If I waited about a minute and a half at idle, the rattle would usually stop by itslf.

So theoretically, the correct cam chain tension is when the chain is tight enough to not rattle at idle. The stock tensioner allows the cam chain to run a bit loose until it gets so loose, the spring in the pusher allows the pusher to advance a notch. Oil pressure helps the stock tensioner and you have a lot of oil pressure at high rpm. You're counting on your oil pressure to keep adequate tension in the cam chain. I haven't heard of cam chain tensioner failures but Brock and other racing people always used a manual tensioner because their bikes were run at high rpm and probably very brutal changes in load on the engine.

When adjusting the APE manual adjuster, you turn a bolt to find exactly where the cam chain stops rattling. The difference in rattle or quiet is turning the bolt about one degree or maybe less. This is no exaggeration, thread the bolt in just a touch and the rattle stops. There's no way the stock tensioner can adjust with that much finesse.

* Last updated by: Rook on 8/13/2026 @ 2:55 PM *

SI' got it sir.
Good explanation.

So theoretically, the correct cam chain tension is when the chain is tight enough to not rattle at idle

So if I were to turn this into a track bike or do a lot
of track, or drags, It would be a great idea to go with
an aftermarket manual adjust tensioner, to avoid the
unsettling chain rattle.
And while the rattle under moderate street riding is
probably ok, it might be a bit scary not be
'valley girl sure' (for sure-for sure lol) that the tensioner
might not pop out to the next slot or with a higher mileage
bike might already be all the way out, and this could
be a serious predicament (guessing).
So I guess it's a bit of a shame that they weren't able
to come up with smaller increments of auto adjust due
perhaps to engineering vs material strength.

Strat, the design is fine. The spring tension is the weak link. The backyard fix it to run the spring with a tug to close the gap of the wire ring. Not bust a kink in the wire but run it closed again so it stays in the next cutaway slot.

Being the wire spreads out, it can't hold in a slot but flutters over each slot, thus the rattle you hear. The bend is oh so subtle and hardly shows a distortion when bent. Does not take much to hold the wired ears and pull and almost cross the ears.

I'm not talking about the thicker wire ring, but the thinner one almost hidden from the photo above. Repeating, it's not such a bend that brings the ends closer to close a circle, but much more subtle a move.

Hope you get the hubspeak so as not to damage the ring or it's buying a brand-new tensioner assemble to replace the ring.

Hope you get the hubspeak so as not to damage the ring or it's buying a brand-new tensioner assemble to replace the ring.

* Last updated by: Stratovarious on 8/13/2026 @ 7:09 PM *

So if I were to turn this into a track bike or do a lot
of track, or drags, It would be a great idea to go with
an aftermarket manual adjust tensioner, to avoid the
unsettling chain rattle.

Even more so to be absolutely certain your cam chain was at proper tension under all conditions....particularly those where you have vast changes in throttle openings at high rpm.

it might be a bit scary not [to] be
'valley girl sure' (for sure-for sure lol) [if] that the tensioner
might not pop out to the next slot or with a higher mileage
bike might already be all the way out, and this could
be a serious predicament (guessing).

I've only heard of the rattle happening at idle but yeah, it makes you wonder how tight the cam chain is riding the bike if it's loose at idle. As for higher mileage bikes, I don't think it's possible for the stock tensioner to run out of adjustments before other timing issues signaled a worn out cam chain. I imagine the bike's timing would be off enough to to cause poor performance if the cam chain stretched that much. ...just surmising.

So I guess it's a bit of a shame that they weren't able
to come up with smaller increments of auto adjust due
perhaps to engineering vs material strength.

I don't know why this couldn't have been achieved. My 08 Hayabusa never had a cam chain rattle and that's a similar bike.

Luckily I've only got 17k on my bike so far,
so no rattles yet.

My 08 was rattlin' long before 17,000 miles. I was hearing it soon after buying the bike brand new. The rattling stopped within a few seconds but it got longer as time went on. I wasn't too concerned, I had read a lot about the noise on the forum that I was a member of at the time. Kawasaki might have done something to address the issue because I don't hear any Gen2 owners complaining about it.

* Last updated by: Rook on 8/14/2026 @ 5:47 PM *

Had my bike on a dyno (first year) and the tensioner took a shit rattling. The fix was simple.

As far as a static tensioner, I'd take the cam cover off and adjust with the crank going back an forth so I know both cams move at the same time.

Sure you can guess at it with the cam cover on, but this may dig into the slipper and cause premature wear to both the the slipper and chain.

Then again, this is a high maintenance adjustment, meaning, removing the cover and make sure the cams move a the same time.