Gen 1 V-Strom 650 Valve clearance check and adjust 

One thing I love about Suzuki bikes is the cam chains, they are twice as thick and last longer than most other brands

Great stuff mate! I'm about to check mine myself for the first time ever at 130,000km before I head of to SA (had a mechanic do it at 74,000 and never bothered before that as I knew it would be fine). It was in tolerance last time but I'm expecting shims this time. I'll be using this video as a guide! Thanks mate!

To Oz Adventure rider. I read an old post on a V Strom forum (2011 I think) guys talking about how hard it is too remove the rear cam chain tensioner to change shims and one guy said YOU DO NOT have to touch or loosen the tensioner to loosen the chain. When you remove the cam cover you can see the tensioner mechanism from the inside. You get a longish flathead screwdriver and push down on the wedge shape bit on the tensioner and if you pull up the chain there is play enough to move the cams out of the way to remove the buckets. I’ve got a spare V Strom 650 motor and I tried it on that. The first time I didn’t succeed but the second go I could give enough slack on the chain to move the cams to remove the buckets and manoeuvre everything back in place all from the inside. No trying to find a way to get into the cam chain tensioner. Now I have confidence to change the shims on my bike without trying to remove the tensioner. I only did it on the rear cylinder but I’m assuming the front will be the same, maybe a little harder? If you practice on your spare motor maybe you could include it in one of your videos. It is a game changer. I did it by myself but a second pair of hands could be handy because you need one screwdriver to push down on the wedge bit and another screwdriver to push back on the full length of the tensioner pin while moving the cams out of the way if that makes sense. I would still cable tie the intake side sprocket.

Excellent video, it'll be helpful when I do mine. I appreciate the extra time it takes to film and edit.

Great to have that big garage!!

Great video again! I'm pretty sure I'd have way too many parts left over at the end of a job like this. (I do use the cardboard method of popping bolts etc into the rough layout of where they should go)

Well done Ian! As much as I need to do this, it's not something I'm willing to try myself, as I know for a fact that I'll destroy the bike... This one is best done by the mechanic... :-)

very good video, thank you from Alberta Canada

Nicely done, thanks for the upload.

Bloody hell ian I’m glad you know what your doing. If that was me doing that the bike would still be in bits and I would be taking to the bike shop with lost bolts in engine. Ride safe

I've got my 15K service coming up on my 2019 next year (didn't ride much in 2020. Didn't leave the house much at all). I'll be doing air filter, valve check, coolant, brake fluid, spark plugs, anything else I can think of and certainly anything that requires the fairing and tank off, at that time.

Thanks mate, I am just about to check mine on my 2017 VStrom 650 at 52,,000km. You made it clear how the cam chain tensioner works. On other videos they show removing the cam chain tensioner bolt with spring, but not removing the cam chain tensioner itself. They show using a long flat blade screw driver pushing the release button from the top, which saves the hassle of removing the cam chain tensioner body from the bottom which on my bike is a PITA. Any thoughts you have on this would be appreciated. Good job done, I hope my attempt is as successful, thanks again , regard’s Murray

The still photos with arrows are invaluable. I can freeze frame the video while I’m working on the engine. You don’t always get that detail from the Manual.

Nice work. Did this to my vstrom too, at 35000km, but it was all good. Yo make it look easy mate😀☕🇳🇴

Thanks for sharing

Bikes done well for the ks. I think mines around 40.000 ks now but I'm not in a hurry to check them. They are such a great motor. Have you ever done the cam chain. I don't think it would be a fun job.

Looks like a pretty involved job. Are they usually within spec when you check them?

Truthfully is it possible to remove the rear cam chain tensioner without removing the rear wheel. Thanks. Also can you just loosen the tensioner bolts to get the slack in the chain or do you fully have to remove it. Thanks.

Do you have any other videos of doing this? Any good advice? My bike has done 32k at the moment and I'm unsure if it's ever been done. It's started making popping noises at low revs, similar to my nc750x.