Just installed one. Gotta get the valve cover back on and everything buttoned up before I can fire it up and give a listen. Anyone else using one?

yep

It's on my list. I should have bought it from Privateer last year!

Got mine from Schnitz, no more start up rattle.

http://store.schnitzracing.com/categories/kawasaki/ninja-zx14/engine/camshafts-tensioners.html

Finished putting it back together today (all but the plastics) and fired it up. Sounded a little rattly static adjusted according to directions, so I turned it in a bit and it went quiet.

Awesome! I will be putting mine in early spring.

Wouldn't it been cheaper and easier to have turned down your hearing aide so you didn't hear the rattle?!?!

Your motors will thank you!

The APE manual CCT is on my list of things to do this spring.

Wouldn't it been cheaper and easier to have turned down your hearing aide so you didn't hear the rattle?!?!

What? Speak up! Try using the caps lock and maybe bigger font!

P.S. Mine wasn't rattling. Yet.

* Last updated by: Danno on 1/21/2013 @ 1:38 PM *

I'm actually looking for a ZX-12 modified CCT. How often does one have to adjust the Ape?

It's in the NA14. It almost sounds too good to be true not listening to those damned marbles at startup.

How often does one have to adjust the Ape?

If it starts getting rattly, you unlock the stop nut and twist it in a couple of turns until it quiets down again. takes about 10 seconds. I doubt if you have to touch it more than once a year, but I'll find out for sure over time. You have to pull it every time you adjust valve clearances anyway, but it's a lot easier than what you have to do to re-set the stocker. I think the issue with some (but not all) stock CCTs is they lose their hydraulic prime when the bike sits overnight and it takes a bit of oil circulation to get them working as designed again.

I got tired of explaining to all my Suzuki riding buddies that the start-up rattle was completely normal.
My bike had 30,000 miles when I finally spent $50 for the APE and installed it.

It's likely not a serious issue, especially if you let it idle until it stops, it's just annoying. Makes an otherwise fine machine sound like a shitpile.

P.S. Don't forget to swap or replace the tensioner o-ring. There's no gasket.

* Last updated by: Danno on 1/22/2013 @ 12:05 AM *

I'm actually looking for a ZX-12 modified CCT. How often does one have to adjust the Ape?

I sold my Carter modified ZX12 CCT last year to someone on this forum, lol I forget who.

I was lucky to get one, frankly. Carter really only makes them for the engines they build. But every engine they build gets one.

And yes, you bolt it in, adjust the preload bolt, and you are done. From then on, oil pressure is all you need to keep it adjusted right.

The only reason I sold mine, which I purchased for my 2008 ZX14, was because I traded the ZX14 in before I had a chance to install it. Since I was riding so much on trips to rallys and such.

I know the guy that purchased it PMed me and told me his engine got really quiet, which is what is expected.

* Last updated by: privateer on 1/22/2013 @ 11:24 AM *

Is there any advantage to the modded 12R tensioner compared to the APE? APE tensioners are readily available in the $50+or- range.

Is there any advantage to the modded 12R tensioner compared to the APE?

Modded 12R auto adjusts. APE is manual & Much cheaper.

I'm not convinced auto-adjustment is an advantage when the adjustment of the APE is so quick and simple. To me, the more idiot-proof things are, the easier it is for idiots to get involved.

* Last updated by: Danno on 1/22/2013 @ 6:33 PM *

I know, right? Since Carter puts the 12R modded CCT in all his high performance (drag) engines, I guess he is an idiot.

Is there any advantage to the modded 12R tensioner compared to the APE?

I can't believe it but the APE is .2 oz heavier than the OEM CCT and I would assume heavier than the modded 12r CCT. It's a small dif like but for something that was made simpler, you'd think they could easily make it lighter.

The unit really isn't complicated...you could actually make your own...following their build.The bolt anyway...could be lighter....

I know, right? Since Carter puts the 12R modded CCT in all his high performance (drag) engines, I guess he is an idiot

I wouldn't know. Never heard of him or his engines. Race parts don't always work well in street use. If his modded CCTs are all that great, he should be blowing APE out of the water selling them. Sounds like something a racer would come up with when there's no cheaper alternative. What do they sell for? What's the modification? How is is better than stock? How well do they work over the long haul? You saying they're great and then getting sarcastic when someone asks for facts is meaningless.

Who is Carter ????

Carpenter ??? I think this is maybe who you mean ?

He's also selling Joe Gibbs Racing Oil. Got to get me some of that.

Nothing on the site about modified camchain tensioners except as a part of the race packages. Guess you have to know someone who races and wait until their motor blows up to get one. Or you could buy the race package, throw the rest away and then you'd have a fancy CCT.

* Last updated by: Danno on 1/24/2013 @ 4:48 AM *