Curious ticking..

recently reringed bike and head cylinder head completely rebuilt..question...upon initial startup all is normal..but when bike reaches operating temp it develops a very slight ticking from the top left side of engine..never gets any louder but is fairly constant..could valves need adjusted so soon after a rebuild? And if it is a valve is there any danger of doing damage from riding it?? Like i said very slight tick..most people probably wouldnt notice unless i pointed it out..just curious..thanx in advance..

Ok....seems to me the valve clearance could be off...have you checked these and if so what are the numbers.....have you done a compression check? did you install new valves?? On riding the bike with noise....Any tic is a sign of a problem. A healthy engine shouldnt tic....you need to be concerned and actively hunt this issue. I wouldn’t blow it off....Spencer

Exhaust leak at head can also make that same sound. Check bolt tension and exhaust gaskets before going to far.

i would check for a exhaust leak. like oldschoolz said

OldSchoolZ wrote: Exhaust leak at head can also make that same sound. Check bolt tension and exhaust gaskets before going to far.

+1 Yep, this could be it.

If it's an exhaust leak, it will get louder if you crank open the throttle.

If it's a loose valve, it probably won't hurt to ride it but check it anyway.

Check the cam chain tensioner,too.

I have a little tick in the left top end , had it for a while, twenty + years :woohoo:
It goes away when it warms up.
Note: it hasn't been rindin since 92

I know it's not the valve clearance , they're right where we're suppose to be.
Maybe somethings sticking :huh:

Maybe the exhaust ?

My plans are to pull the motor this winter and after a bit of work go with my spare motor.

If that works out it will be time for a top end job on the old girl

90% sure it is not an exhaust leak..vlves are not new but had three angle valve job done and new bronze guides..place that rebuilt head is pretty reputable..runs great just a little tick..i've heard the old kz engines are prone to engine noise when warm..maybe just being paranoid..

Mine was ticking til last night when the tick suddenly got worse. Fortunately I was a block away from the toy box, after a thoroughly exhilarating ride.
I thought a bad exhaust gasket, but still there after replacing the set. And the engine has lost it's K-Zam.
The compression in #2 is now 150-155, vs. 165 across all prior.

I'm thinking it was a sticky valve that got a little bump.
Man, I dread the thought of pulling that head off again. But, it will likely come to that.

False alarm...whew! :whistle:

daveo wrote: Mine was ticking til last night when the tick suddenly got worse. Fortunately I was a block away from the toy box, after a thoroughly exhilarating ride.
I thought a bad exhaust gasket, but still there after replacing the set. And the engine has lost it's K-Zam.
The compression in #2 is now 150-155, vs. 165 across all prior.
I'm thinking it was a sticky valve that got a little bump.
Man, I dread the thought of pulling that head off again. But, it will likely come to that.

Would not pull the head until first performing back to back compression tests to compare dry test with wet test.

And also performing a leak-down test.

Would double-check tightness of exhaust clamp nuts, and fitment and condition of the exhaust clamps, to assure no loose nuts or cracked or broken clamp.

And also double-check the valve clearances.

And assure oil is reaching the top end as it's supposed to.
And clean fresh oil at proper level. Plus a fresh clean oil filter.

Good Fortune!

Could it be a slightly bent valve that ticks when it rotates a certain way? According to a long time KZP mechanic (from another site I belong to) there can be a slight tick that comes and goes. He never found out why as no police department was willing to tear down a good running engine to find out (if it ain't broke don't fix it type of thing). The rotating bent valve stem theory was his idea.