I bought it this bike dirt cheap and put in a modded tensioner and went with the rotella oil but here is where it stands, the bike starts fine but has a weird knock/rattle from what sounds yo me like sort of the left side\top end that is only there once it runs for a minute and  it worries me something terrible. Once it starts on full "choke" and after a min I can move it to the half choke but if I try to ride there it will die and pop fire from exhaust but if I turn choke all the way off it pops fire after any kind of throttle at all and acts like the idle it too low. I realize this is kind of dragged out but just looking for any kind of insight! Btw the bike has 30,000 miles on her and the previous owner installed the raptor petcock and god knows what they did with the carb situation. The noise starts at about :50 seconds. Any input is much appreciated. http://youtu.be/nnYT5foEsnA

Alright, I will look into that. Worst case if it was starved for oil any clue as to how much a complete rebuild might run?

I hate not knowing what the previous owner has already done but I will start with the simple things you guys have pointed out and I'll post updates. Serowbot, your idea with the carbs could have some truth, I actually bought the bike coming through little rock Arkansas and I live in shreveport louisiana so there is some elevation changes there and if I read correctly in some of the posts on this forum your elevation plays part in proper jetting.

Did you rotate the engine to max rocker height?

If so, check that one off.

Now,now,don't go rejecting the poor innocent carb...

Everything in the carb was TIGHT including the jets..... and yes the vacuum tap has a rubber cap on it. I did find on the cam chain side of the engine on the top under the chrome cover the bolt that goes where the red line is in my picture was loose and leaking oil. When I tried to tighten it i found that the previous owner had stripped the threads so I removed the washer and placed a small amount of high temp silicone and tightened it down so the threads below the stripped part could bite deeper without the washer and it did tighten but i didnt go crazy. Back to the carb, from what you said I assume my carb jetting is not causing the noise, should I still rejet the carb since the bike doesnt have stock exhaust? Unfortunately its starting to sound more and more like oil starvation damage to the engine internals.   :'(

That long bolt that was leaking oil.....is the galley where the oil comes up from the bottom end to the head.  You might try using threaded rod in this location that can go all the way to the bottom of the hole, then trim the length of the threaded rod to allow you to put the sealing washer and a nut on top....the nut should be an acorn nut so it is sealed when installed....or put sealer on the threads if you use a standard nut.

Take that front cover off the front of the head again - and see if you can get a look at the camshaft lobes.  Look for wear, scratches or rough surfaces on the camshaft.

Datpoolboy wrote on 01/16/15 at 08:47:10:


The sad thing about this is that because it is an oil galley - you cannot hope to clean the hole out and JB Weld the stud in place, and even installing a heli-coil or Timesert is impossible as you don't want the chips going to the oil passages in the head.