Hey all I'm new here and maybe you guys can help me out.
I have a 1983 nighthawk 550 that I'm having some issues with. First off, one of valves (I think) makes a ticking sound sometimes that sounds kinda like when a kid puts a baseball card in the spokes of his bike. I can't pin point it, but it sounds like its coming off of one of the left cylinders. That doesn't bug me too much, and usually if I up-shift and let the engine pull at a low rpm for a few seconds it will go away.
The bigger problem is that the left exhaust is spitting out some oil smoke (pretty sure its oil - the smoke is bluish and smells like burning oil). Its only the left exhaust, so its one of the two left cylinders, and its probably burning all the time but is much more noticeable when idling at a stop (for obvious reasons). Is this more likely to be some sort of faulty o-ring or something more serious like a gasket or something? Could it be related to the valve ticking?
I'm new to this and my knowledge of engines is pretty basic and limited. The bike has 66k on it, and as far as I know has never had a rebuild.
Thanks in advance!