[bootup]

hello guys, my 450 2002 is ticking since the day i bought it, 3 months ago. I have changed the cam chain tensioner, re shimmed the valves, however they were not that much out of spec. but now they are as should. set the decomp clearance as well. By feeling, the cam chain is not loose. It definately coming from the head area. Bearings looked fine, when i was shimming the valves. It drives me crazy, my only option is change the cam chain, but maybe, some of you can give me other advice, what it might be. Thanks.

here is the video from the sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXpgRkK7VdI

[JimDirt]

Hard to tell , sounds "kinda" normal , but it could also be the timing chain , they do rattle when loose , and since you checked the Tensioner , then the next logical thing would be the chain , since you noted valves were not too loose , so that eliminates them , if the cam is not loose then that eliminates the bearings .... it could be a clutch rattle , I have seen where the basket gets wobbly and they make a bit of noise , and you pull the lever and the noise goes away or quiets up some .... have you tried operating the clutch lever while idling to see if the noise changes when pulled ??? ... other than the chain , that would be the only other thing I can surmise from the video sound that might be a possibility ......

Also , not sure if the choke was on or not , but the idle seemed a bit high ...

[bootup]

i replaced the timing chain, made sure valves, decomp clearances are in spec. sound still remain the same. what else should i check? take off head, and inspect valves, crank, piston?

[JimDirt]

Did you notice any difference in the sound with the clutch lever pulled (engine running) and when it is just free ??? , even my 2020 has a rattily clutch , its part of the noise of the bike ..

You don't happen to have a aluminum skid plate on it do you ??? , I had a Devol on my 02 and the engine noise was reflected and amplified thru the aluminum , right back at you , and it made the engine sound much noisier than it actually was , I thought something was wrong , but it was just normal engine noises reflected and amplified by the skid plate