Motorcycle Repair: 1981 yamaha 850 special, valve shims, bolt nut

Question
hey bill, when the bike is running and you can here a slight tickety tickety,is that your lifters or rocker arms loose or is it more serious its not a knocking just a slight and even tickety depending on idle speed?tanks johnnyveee.

Answer
jonnyveeee.....  I actuall owned one of these things about 20 years ago. There is a certain amount of mechanical noise associated with these engines. A three cylinder engine has a lot going on inside and they have their own special cadence and engine sounds.

I would have the valve clearances checked as well as the camchain tensioner adjusted, if that is an option. Tensioner is on the back of the cylinders and you can remove the outer cap to look at the end of the tensioner rod. Loosen the lock bolt on the side and slowly turn the motor over by hand, watching for the tensioner rod to move as far IN as possible. When it has moved inwards and stops, then tighten the locking bolt/nut and replace the cap.

These motors are DOHC with valve shims, as I recall, so no rocker arms to adjust or worry about.

Bill Silver