BMW S1000 XR How to reduce startup rattle & camchain noise by swopping the Camchain Tensioner Cap

How to swop the original black camchain tensioner cap to the silver cap. A BMW replacement part to reduce startup rattle and camchain noise.

BMW Part No.11318534849 Silver CCHT Cap £27.90

At 34,000 miles, my camchain got really noisy. I also found that some XR owners complained about a start up rattle, especially where the bike had been parked up for a couple of weeks or more. I have never really noticed the start up rattle on mine as it lasts only a second or so and never bothered me.

Initial research showed a few owners replacing the BMW camchain hydraulic tensioner (CCHT) with a manual camchain tensioner; this mechanical tensioner has to be manually adjusted & fixed at the right tension.

I then found out several other owners had gone with the BMW fix, where the original "Black" cap which held the CCHT in situ was replaced with a "Silver" cap that had an extra 6mm of depth to push the hydraulic tensioner in further in against the camchain guides. I decided to try the BMW fix and see if it solved my noisy camchain issue. I also felt this fix would retain the hydraulic tensioning and the right tension would be applied to the camchain automatically as intended. And at the same time this fix has reduced the startup rattle.

BMW say that the Silver cap is only to be used on bikes that have mileages more than 9k miles (or 15k KMs). If the cap does not solve the issue then it should be removed and the original black cap refitted back on.

Disclaimer: Carry out the work and this fix at your own risk. This video as an aid memoir to help anyone who wants an idea of what is involved.