Motorcycle Repair: 2001 suzuki bandit 1200, suzuki bandit 1200, sport bikes

Question
I know u work on Hondas but the guy i bought the bike from had only put about 2 qt of oil in it instead of 4 1/2 now about every five sec. or so a tink is heard at idle did he hurt the motor it seems to run fine at a higher rpm with no noise so what would make a tinking sound thanks derrick

Answer
Derick, little clinking and tinkling sounds are usually indicators of:

Damaged pistons from seizure due to overheating/lack of lubrication

Valve clearances out of specifications, due to excessive camshaft wear.. due to lack of lubrication. You could have damaged camshaft bearings in the head or excessive clearances in the cam/bearing fit now.

Camchain tensioners not staying in place. Many models of Japanese Sport bikes have had camchain tensioner upgrades. Check the Suzi dealer for any TSB info.

Drain the oil and look for signs of metallic contents floating around in there as well as whatever comes out of the filter.