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I recently bought a 2000 V-Star 1100 Classic with 35,000 miles on it. When I bought it, the valves would tick slightly once the engine got hot. It was not audible until the engine was hot. I had never done a valve adjustment before, but I adjusted the valves according to my Clymer manual (.010 Intake, .015 Exhaust) and the ticking got worse. At this point the ticking was audible as soon as the bike was started. So, today I tightened the valves down to about .005 intake and .010 exhaust. It sounded great for a few minutes, so I decided to take it out. After about 15 minutes on the highway, when I pulled into a parking lot and the wind noise wasn't loud, I noticed the ticking again. It is faint, but definitely noticeable.
So.... My question is... Am I being paranoid, or what? How loud of a tick is a problem and what does it mean if it is ticking when adjusted to be tighter than the manual says it should be?

Thank you for the help.

Matt

It is an air-cooled engine with screw and locknut adjusters. It will never be quiet. I set the valves to their tightest allowable setting. .003" for the intake and .005" for the exhaust. The range is .003" - .005" intake and .005" - .007" exhaust.

I am sure you know to make sure you are at Top Dead Center Compression and not Overlap.