Broken finger follower and camshaft locking tool

Just finishing the valve lash adjustments and discovered one of the finger followers has a chunk missing from it. The bike ran fine but I'm going to replace it before it grenades it self.

If I remove the front cylinder cam shaft assembly but do not dissasemble the cam gears, do I need camshaft locking tool to re-install the cam shaft assembly?

The service manual leads me to believe I only require the tool if I'm tightening the cam gear fastener bolts. I believe I can pull the camshaft assembly apart to replace the finger follower, without removing the cam gears.

Am I making any sense?

It's a good tool to have on hand just so you don't mess up the cam timing on reassembly, but not needed if you have been into these motors and know what you're doing without it. There are 2 other tools I wouldn't go without though, crank lock tool and the clutch hub locking tool. Can't properly torque anything in the bottom end without them.
Yes, I still make all 3 if you need them. Supposed to have the next batch of crank lock tools in hand either today or tomorrow, depending on the powder coating guy.

Thank You Again Dean!
I have a crank locking tool, a must for anything more sophisticated than changing the oil. I have changed many timing belts and timing chains before without such a tool.

Finally starting to put this girl back together, hope I remember how I took it apart. I was able to loosen up the cam assembly, remove the cam chain tensioner and cam chain guide. This allowed me to carefully slide the assembly apart without removing it from the engine. Replaced the broken finger follower and slid it back together. With the exception of a single shim that was hopping around like a Mexican jumping bean, it was pretty straight forward.

Words of advice, use a magnet to lasso the ornery shims, take your time and plug all the holes in the motor’s top end with rags. Pretty sensitive stuff, but very straight forward. I had a heck of a time finding TDC with the crank tool but I eventually got it. Hand tighten the crank tool and rotate the crank back an forth till you can get that extra 1/16th of a turn. Twice I was confident I had it lined up and I didn’t. The darn cam chain pulley obscures the timing gear marks.

DONT REMOVE THE CAM CHAIN PULLY UNLESS YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR DOING. I think the manual should br a lot clearer about that. This isn’t your timing friendly EVO motor!

Just a quick pick of my broken cam and my dirty fingers. Hopefully I will have this bike back together and running in the next couple of days.

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