My name is Al Beix (Pronounced Bikes) I recently purchased a neglected 1986 Concours that has excellent bones but needs a bunch of attention paid to address its current condition. The first item was the carbs which when fuel was added leaked like a PO had rebuilt them and forgot to include any gaskets. Removed them and ordered new float bowl gaskets - leaks solved. While we had them out we cleaned all jets and ensured that all jet passages in the carb bodies were clear. That done the carbs got an ultrasonic bath. Reinstalled and all is good on that front. Engine fired right up and settled into a nice even idle but had a weird ticking noise emanating from the left side of the engine. Noise varied with engine speed and appeared to be about 20 to 25% of engine speed. Shut off the engine and spent some time puzzling what the source might have been. Finally settled on it must be timing chain related so pulled off the covers and rotated the engine by hand while watching the timing chain. Turns out one of the internal plates on the chain (recall that each link is 4 plates wide) had somehow broke loose on one end and and was sticking up above the chain. As a result it was hitting the top chain guide every time it passed by. So new timing chain on the way.
The noise can be heard at the following link - https://photos.app.goo.gl/4UPrcZ5xDMQgbUdK9 On the video it is a light ticking about twice a second. In person it is quite a bit more noticeable.
The noise can be heard at the following link - https://photos.app.goo.gl/4UPrcZ5xDMQgbUdK9 On the video it is a light ticking about twice a second. In person it is quite a bit more noticeable.