06' S2R 800 Clicking/Clacking/Tapping metal noise as RPMs rise

[liftbikerun]

Hello all!  I wanted to try my luck here in the forums and just see what people thought with a lot more Duc experience than me.  Owned many Hondas, many 4V bikes, no 2V Ducatis until now.

My bike 06', 4100 miles now, went over the bike with a fine tuned comb, nothing is out of place, bike has been extremely well taken care of.  The bike had a service at 3200 miles, one owner bike, female, she rode it very carefully, did all services, etc.  in 2013, at 3200 miles, the bike had new timing belts, oil, plugs, etc etc.  Have receipts.  Since 2013, the bike only had 700 miles put on it, it had 3900 when I bought her a week or two ago.

Bike starts/runs/looks new from what I can tell.  There is only one concern I have, and it may be for naught, or it may be something I need to look into.

Bike idles with zero engine/metallic noise.  When riding the bike, at 4,000 or so RPM and on up to 5,500, there is a very pronounced... clack?  Tick?  tapping noise that rises with RPMs.  My honda had this as well, and I was never... happy with the noise, it always made me paranoid.

I realize the bike is due for new belts (simply due to time, not mileage in this case) and is also about 1900 miles away from the big valve adjustment appointment.

I put a 14t front sprocket on, changed the oil with Motul 300v, new K&N Oil filter, checked the air filter, it's literally brand new, cleaned/oiled/adjusted the chain, cleaned the calipers, pulled the pads off, checked all fluids, etc etc....

What I am wondering is this.  I've never owned a 2V aircooled duc, Never owned an air cooled bike for that matter.  The bikes power does not seem to be diminished, the bike doesn't burn oil, the bike has never been tracked or raced, the lady was the wife of a police officer here, and they personally own 3 touring bikes, this was her weekend around town bike, and in almost 9 years, she only put on 3900 miles, and only 700 since 2013. 

I've searched everywhere, and right now I can't really afford a valve adjustment, so I'm hoping it isn't that, if the noise is common, by all means please add your feedback either way.  If there's something wrong I'd really rather know about it now and just not ride till I have the $ to repair the issue.

Thank you SO much!  This is the most helpful community from what I've been able to tell, so many great articles and people here.

Mario

[stopintime]

Normally, the mechanical noise would be under ~4,000 revs, not above...

Is the noise there while riding, under load, or only while rev'ing standing still?
(some slack in the clutch parts might explain this(?)...)

[liftbikerun]

It's definitely under load or cruising.  I was cruising at 50mph yesterday and I could hear it, I was going around a bend and really noticed it. 

It's just weird, if you have experience with older car engines, it's like a lifter noise, like when the lifters start getting a bit stuck and they start making a ticking noise which gets faster as revs increase, that's the only real way I can describe it.

[Ddan]

I would do the valves and belts now, that would be one big possibility taken care of

[liftbikerun]

Grr, I was afraid you'd say that.  I just don't have the 1k to drop on the valves right now.  I literally put my savings into buying the bike.  I can do the belts without much issue, and I'd like to think I could do the valve adjustment as well, summer is coming....

[Ddan]

Have you got a price from the shop yet?  $1k should be on the high end of what you should expect.  If you're reasonably handy, it's not a huge project, especially if you can find someone in your area familiar with it and willing to drink some of your beer.

[liftbikerun]

Planning on making a cross country trip to Oregon anytime soon?  HAHA, thank you for help!

[stopintime]

No way a valve check/adjustment is 1K 

You could save half the labor cost by removing the tank, battery, belt covers, oil cooler a.s.o. to make it a direct operation for the mechanic (assuming you can trailer it...) Two hour labor?

[brad black]

realistically, you have a choice.  you can ride it like this and hope nothing goes pear shaped, or you can fix it.  take it to someone who knows ducatis and ask them if it sounds noisy.

it might not be the valve clearances, so don't pin your hopes on money spent there being  the solution.  but you'd probably start there.

[SpikeC]

 which direction turning makes it louder?

[liftbikerun]

If I had to say and if it mattered, to the left.  Although I've noticed a buzzing sound I've picked up in the last day or so that again seems like it's coming from the front end.  I've checked every freakin connection I could think of, and it's definitely there.  I hear NOTHING at idle, but the minute the RPM's puck up above 3k, I hear both the clicking and now the buzzing which is intermittent.