TOPIC:

This bike had a quiet ticking sound when I bought it. It has gotten a little bit louder since then but not by much. As this is my first bike I have no frame of reference of what these sound like normally. Is this normal noise for this bike?
If not, I have read here about things to do that might fix this and in the course of getting this bike back into decent shape I have already done the following:
I re-seated the valves about two hundred miles ago. The cam chain was tensioned, engine rotated by hand about 20 times and the timing marked lined up dead on. Chain seemed to be tight but I never measured it for stretch. I set the valve lash to 0.17mm.
I just replaced the exhaust header gaskets about 50 miles ago.
I replaced the coil with a Dyna coil, added new wires and plugs. All wires are tight and the plugs are tightened to spec torque.
Carbs were synced when I cleaned and re-jetted them for I a stock air-box and exhaust.
Also, if this is not normal, I guess it is time to check/replace primary chain guides, check piston rods and then replace cam chain.
Sorry this is so long but I wanted to give some background on this issue.

Definitely doesn't sound normal. I'd double-check your valve clearances and ensure they're all set correctly -- The first time I did mine one of the valves was set way too high (probably close to 3-4 thousandths off. The exhaust valves are particularly harder to get to than the intake, from my experience. Also, .17 (~6.7 thosandths) seems a bit low on the clearance. The manual calls for 0.17-0.22, and I'd err on the larger side of that to ensure you don't have to redo the clearance as quickly.

Thanks. I will give that a try tonight and see what happens.

I re-set the valve clearance to 0.20 mm. Didn't change anything. I did notice that when the timing cover was off you could really hear the noise. I am going to pull the clutch cover off and take a look. I will replace the guides while I have it off and then go from there.

Good luck! A tip with the clutch cover (I just replaced my clutch cover gasket) is to sort of line up the bottom chain guide with the cover tilted away from the engine on the top. Get the bottom edge right up against the engine. Then carefully tilt it back towards the engine and get the cover lined up. Make sure the seal around the end of the crankshaft isn't folded out too, or that might cause a leak.

Also, be sure to make a mark across the timing plate and onto the inside of the cover. That will help you get the timing placed back dead on compared to when you took it off, which will be helpful for sure. Otherwise you might need to use a timing light to re-time the engine.

So I pulled the clutch cover off. Bad news is that is not the problem. Great news is that one of the PO's had been in there. Both guides are the same tolerance as the new ones. No wear at all. The chain has a slack service tolerance of 27mm and mine measures just under seven.

So I pulled the head off today to replace it as I have a stripped plug socket. I bought a used head that looks almost new for less than the insert tool costs) Now I am trying to see if the cam chain is roughly in tolerance. The manual say to measure a twenty link length. Service limit is 128mm. If I do a ten link, it should be under 64mm. If I measure a ten link , it is roughly twice that. If I measure a ten pin, it looks to be the correct way to measure it. So my question is, do I count pins and measure or links?

I wouldn't worry about cam chain stretch.
Find out what is making the noise.
Try turning it over by hand.


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I measured the cam chain ten link pin to pin and the overall stretch is about 6mm under the service level, The cam chain guides are about 2mm under service level. I will replace them when I get the courage and time to take the motor apart. Until then, I will put it back together this weekend and try your suggestion of turning it over by hand. Thanks for helping me with this.

Well, I put the top end together this weekend. Cam sprocket mark is dead on at TDC and chain seemed tight. I cranked it around a bunch but heard no odd noises. I put the rocker arms on and adjusted the valve lash. Cranked it around and still sounds like it should. Then again, I can't crank it at 500 RPM. I am awaiting exhaust gaskets now and should have the exhaust on this weekend. Then I will see if the click is still there or if it is really gone. Maybe the automatic tensioner was sticking?

I installed the exhaust this weekend and started it up. A bit less ticking probably due to better exhaust gaskets but it still has a the noise that something is not quite right. I guess the next thing is to tear the motor apart and check the rod bearings. That is going to have to wait until this winter as house projects are going to keep me busy this summer.

I had an '83 440 LTD with a similar issue -- the pins can wear the rods over time (Presumably from unequally worn rings? Not sure) and give you a left/right shake on the piston pins. Definitely also want to check the crank side bearings for a similar wear if you didn't find anything on the cam chain. My ticking got worse with RPM but still ran without noticeable power loss, you're just stuck waiting for a rod to fly through something if you don't address it.

Well I found a couple of guys close by that run a small shop that work almost exclusively on bikes from the 70's & 80's. They also are DIY friendly to the point that you can rent space in their shop including tool and lift use. I brought the bike down to them and one of them listened to my bike. He said it was the exhaust. I asked if he was sure and he said yes and you are running a bit lean to. (I knew I was as I had adjusted the mixture recently a bit and hadn't dialed it in yet) Anyway, I loosened up the exhaust and carefully tightened it up making sure all was as close to even as my eye could do. That fixed most of the noise. I then re-adjusted the clamps and tightened them up. Now the bike sounds like it should. The only issue is it runs like crap now. Time to readjust the carbs.
Thanks for the help on this issue.