G,day guys,,,

Put a few hundred K,s on the bike today and coming home there was a kinda screeching noise coming from the water/oil pump area, so have decided to order the bits and replace all in there.
What I wanted to ask is what does everyone do about the timing chain , change it at an interval or wait till it gets noisy , I thought I might change mine while I,m doing the pump,, any thoughts

Cheers Ballsy

The BMW timing chains are usually long lived and will go many miles
If you do go in there check the plastic chain guides for wear and cracks, chips, or missing sections. that is the weak point IMO.

BMW say to change the chain at 60k intervals but I and many others here have found that the tensioners are the main thing to watch as Dale has said. Age seems to be the enemy there more than anything else.
To check if the chain needs replacing I turn the engine in the direction of rotation then with the top run of the chain tight check to see if the chain will lift away from the sprocket midway between where the chain meets the sprocket and where it leaves. If you can get the chain to lift away there replace it. Do that a few times to make sure I have been caught when the engine moved backwards slightly on compression and the chain was a bit slack. Now if you know anyone that needs a chain kit for a K1100 remember I have a spare.  
My experience tells me that the chain usually only suffers when the engine has been run while the tensioners aren't or can't do the job.

RicK G wrote:BMW say to change the chain at 60k intervals but I and many others here have found that the tensioners are the main thing to watch as Dale has said. Age seems to be the enemy there more than anything else.
To check if the chain needs replacing I turn the engine in the direction of rotation then with the top run of the chain tight check to see if the chain will lift away from the sprocket midway between where the chain meets the sprocket and where it leaves. If you can get the chain to lift away there replace it. Do that a few times to make sure I have been caught when the engine moved backwards slightly on compression and the chain was a bit slack. Now if you know anyone that needs a chain kit for a K1100 remember I have a spare.  
My experience tells me that the chain usually only suffers when the engine has been run while the tensioners aren't or can't do the job.

Thanks for the info Rick

Cheers Ballsy