Motorcycle Repair: 1983 Kawasaki KZ550-M1 engine rattle, kawasaki kz550, cleanup work

Question
I just bought this bike (1983 Kawasaki KZ550-M1 LTD)from a friend, it has 14k miles on it.  It has been sitting in his garage for 12 years.  I just did some cleanup work on it and changed oil.  New battery. Pulled the plugs and sprayed some lube into the cyl's.  Cranked the engine with the plugs out to get oil circulating.  Cleaned the tank (was nearly full of old gas, but did not smell bad).  Thinking previous owner may have added Sta-bil to the gas.  Tried starting it and it started almost instantly; really surprised me.  Drove it a couple of miles, pulls well.  It sounds great above idle, but engine rattles and clanks a lot at idle.  I have read that these engines had problems with the timing chain tensioner, but do not know any details.  It appears to be self adjusting, but kind of funky if you ask me.  I have ordered a manual for it, but still waiting on delivery.  Meanwhile this noise at idle is concerning me.  Is there a way I can know if my timing chain tensioner is working or not?  Previous owner does not remember it having this noise when he parked it 12 years ago. Thanks.

Answer
Hi Bill,

Remove and inspect the cam chain tensioner. The service manual describes how to inspect tensioner operation.

The cam chain and cam chain guides wear. The tensioner automatically adjusts and compensates for this wear.

Check valve clearances and adjust as necessary. The valves may be part of the noise.

Visit Kawasaki's website. Enter the VIN in the appropriate text field to see the history of your MC as Kaw has it. Navigate the site to view microfiche parts.

www.buykawasaki.com

Respectfully,
Mark Shively