I just bought a 1983 kawasaki 550 LTD. It was dirty and sort of a mess but the price was right and it did clean up pretty well. I have 2 issues that I hope are either easy fixes or a result of my inexperience.

The first is a knocking when the engine is cold at low idle. It does go away after I ride and the engine warms up.

The second is that it doesn't seem to shift into the high gears. At low RPMs I can get it to shift into all gears but at 45 mph I am at 6000 RPMs. That doesn't seem right to me.

Any suggestions? Thanks!!

Ok first let me start by saying I am not a bike mech but I have had some time working and listing with bikes and bike savey people. The the knocking when the engine is cold could be just a lag time in oil getting to everything that it needs to get to, and then when it "warms up" the oil is in the right places!
With the shifting, do you here and feel it shift into gears? If so it is a smaller bike by todays standards and it is more than likely a higher reving engine so it could very well be in gear and running fine but sound different because it is made to be a higher reving higher RPM running motor.

Ok so maybe this will help and maybe not, just my 2 cents. Enjoy the ride and maybe the weather will even start to get better for us someday!!!

Thanks. That is pretty optimistic. I do appreciate the input!

I guess I'd have to hear it, but it could be as simple as a cam chain tension adjustment.

But 6000 at 45? That sounds way too high....should be 5 gears, can you feel each one? Have either of the chain sprockets been changed?

I'm with Macgyver on this one when he mentions cam chain tension. However, when it's cold outside (below 40) my 99 Shadow knocks a bit for about 20 seconds until things warm up.

Are you running 20-50 oil? If the oil was changed and just 10-30 or 10-40 was put in (this is more common than you may realize) you're going to get a knock.

I agree. My brother had an older Yamaha Maxim X which was a 750 and that thing was running higher rpms at a faster speeds. It was a little buzzy by nature, but 6XXX at 45 mph does sound a little too high to me.

The guy did put 10-40 oil in it when he changed the oil right before I got it. I should probably change it out along with a filter.

How tough is it to check the cam chain tension? I have a service manual (Clymers) so I'll check there when I get home but would be interested in hearing from someone who has done it.

The bike has six gears and at slow speeds I can hear it go into each at slow speeds and on the stand but it still does not seem right.

On these LTD's if I remember correctly, your engine oil is also your transmission oil.

Get some 20-50 in it and see what happens.

the proper oil will also help the shifting.

Although ATV's are a different animal, I had a machine that was suppose to run synthetic oil, but I went cheap on an oil change and put the cheap stuff in. It never did shift right after that until I went back to the synthetic.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not recommending you run synthetic in the bike, just making a point to run the suggested viscosity. As mentioned above, I would go with the 20-50.

i just put 15 40 in my 85 honda. there is a tag under the seat that tells you what to use. or at least there is on my bike

Some older Kaws and Hondas had AWFUL cluth basket rattle, and that combined with improper oil could be culprit. Does the knock stop if you pull in the clutch? You have to run a specific motorcycle oil in bikes because the oil also lubes the wet clutch. DO NOT use a regular automotive oil that says "energy conserving". They have additives that are too slippery to use in mc clutches.

I think that may be your problem. Cluth rattle at idel and slippage at higher rpms, seeming like you should have another gear when actually the clutch is slipping.

Right on with most everything. The rattle at idle when cold is there whether the clutch is pulled in or not. My brother drove it (much harder than I do!) and said that the clutch is slipping a bit so I am definitely going to change the oil and filter in the next day or two.

Thanks!