Motorcycle Repair: 83 GS1100 E NOISE, bolt lengths, chain tensioners

Question
Hi Jim,
    where do I start.One day I'm at a stop light and the bike suddenly starts making this odd noise.I've been getting a speratic ticking after the bike warms up.The only way I can explain it is to imagine someone threw a small pebble in the engine and it's just bouncing around.It's hard to pinpoint where it's coming from.It sounds like it goes away when I start to accelerate.And now I've noticed the bike started pinging on the highway if I suddenly accelerate. I've tried everything I know and read on line.I took apart the clutch basket and replaced just about everything and made sure everything was correct(springs,bolt lengths,ect.I adjusted the valves which were right on,and I rebuilt the cam tensioner.I let 3 different bike mechanics listen to it.One could not tell what it was, one said don't worry about it, one said the valves needed adjustment.The bike is in immaculate condition with about 17,000 miles on it and always properly maintained.I've run out of ideas.Any info on this will be greatly appreciated for this noise is driving me insane.Thanks alot,Todd

Answer
Todd,

these air-cooled motors are prone to ticking and pinging sounds.
I would go ahead and do the valve clearance check and adjustment. The maintenance schedule should include this at 4000 miles. The cam chain tensioners are pretty solid so I wouldn't be too concerned about it. If the bike has good power and you haven't noticed a drop off in power of fuel economy its probably nothing to worry about.

Does the noise vary with road speed or engine speed? What condition is the chain in?