When I recently got the bike put back together and went for a test drive I noticed that there was a clicking noise coming from the top end. I remember having this issue with the bike years ago just before I failed.
I rechecked the valve clearances and they were good. I readjusted cam chain tension but the sound persisted. The cam chain itself was brand new so that was probably not it. I decided to break down and take the top end to a mechanic to get an expert opinion.
The expert recommended replacing damn near every part in the top end- valves, rocker arms, etc. This was not what I had in mind. To me, the bike does not have to be perfect, it just has to run well enough. After getting over the initial shock at his suggestion, I decided to go forward with the rebuild. Luckily parts for the 650 are still reasonably priced and if it gets rid of the ticking noise, it will be money well spent.
The only issue is that some parts are discontinued. In particular, the rocker arms. I have dealt with the after market parts on this bike before. Some are great, many flat out don't work. I did find that MikeXS was selling brand new rocker arms of a supposedly superior design. I have heard that before from that place only to have the part immediately fail. No, from now on I am sticking to OEM where possible. Thanks to Ebay, I was able to find NOS (new old stock) rocker arms for the 650. They were about double MikeXS rocker arms, but I know that they will work with out any headaches.
The rest was easily ordered on BikeBandit. The top end and all the new parts are back at the shop and are currently being rebuilt by the expert. I will post more pictures once I get it back.
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