So I mentioned that I seem to have a tick.  The bike, not me!    I did a valve adjustment and that seemed to help a little, but after a couple of weeks, the ticking started again.  I've done quite a bit of research, as well as starting a couple of threads, and the general consensus seems to be cam chain/adjuster.  I will be taking a look at that sometime next week, but for today, I decided to do "Lancer's simple carb tuning".  The average for me was 2.75 turns out (time to rejet   ).  Took her out for a test ride, and what do you know, the ticking is all but gone!?!?   Huh?   What gives?  Can adjusting the carb mixture get rid of a tick?  Or is the noise just in my head?  Still backfires though on shut down though.  

Having a "tick" is actually normal.  So the relative question is, how much "tick"?

I don't know your experience level with bikes, but if you are only familiar with auto engines or 2-strokes, then you may not have any problem with what you hear.  Just remember that you are SUPPOSED to have some valve lash on your adjusters, therefore you will have some "tick".  The valve train is totally mechanical, unlike the hydraulic lifters in a car or some bikes.

So, with that in mind, the only factors that are important are how well the engine runs, the location of the noise and how many miles are on the engine.  

You are riding a Thumper and they have their own personality...

Besides, it's kinda like the clock on my shop wall.  When it's really quiet, it also has a "tick"

SavageWahine wrote on 12/22/07 at 17:31:58:


The Savage Ladies are so cute!  

That would be a 155 main and 52.5 pilot, by the way.

Savage_Greg wrote on 12/23/07 at 06:36:03:
Aint that the truth. Honda 750. All different settings, ran great. Set the same, ran terrible.    Hutch

eanon wrote on 12/22/07 at 14:36:01:

I betcha the tick is off your engine although related to the rpm due to vibration.  Check your headlight.  Many different sounds can come from it I've discovered.  So every time I hear an odd sound I'll reach forward and grab the lense, if it goes away I'm done.  

Hutch wrote on 12/23/07 at 07:25:55:

I don't have those fancy vacuum bars.  I just have the old style gages

Ya, sound travels, and with my tinnitus, I don't even know the direction sometimes.  Have to use an element of educated quesswork and a long screwdriver or stethoscope

It has been suggested that you have the pilot screw out no further than 3 turns to avoid having it vibrate out somewhere on the road.

But, hey if you think you need a new one, be gregs guess.  

I just wanted to reinforce a little of what Greg said earlier.

The engine on our thumpers is a refined mechanical beast. With the exception of spark timing (which is solid state), everything else depends on timing and adjustment. The Savage is unlike the modern era of cars and some bikes where you can basically hear nothing from under the hood.

If you hear NOTHING, you have the adjustments set too tight.  If you hear an excess, you are set too loose.

To be honest, if your bike sounds like an angry sewing machine (rhythmic and mechanical without being over-loud) you have it dead on where it needs to be....

Come to think about it, when was the last time you saw a carb or mechanical lifters on a car?  Mine was my 1986 Bonneville.  Since then, every car I've owned has been fuel injected with an over head cam.  It's no wonder people are intimidated by something as mechanical as the Savage.  We (the older guys) grew up setting points and dwell and had to actually worry about keeping the engine in tune.  Today, all that is done by a computer.  A modern tune-up is no more than replacing worn spark plugs...  I miss the old days... Maybe that's why I love my Savage so much!