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What do you think that ticking is? Loose timing chain?

Was it a cold start? You need to warm it up well then listen. Mine has all sorts of noises on cold start, then they quiet down as the bike gets warmed up, the gaps in the engine 'correct' themselves as the parts expand and the oil fills all the places.

I don't have an opinion about this clicking, hard to say exactly where it is coming from, although it seems like left lower side. I have seen someone with a similar clicking and what turned out was flywheel hitting some static parts. I think it was bolts in his case. I'd buy a stethoscope and try to pin point the source.

bluefan44 wrote: What do you think that ticking is? Loose timing chain?

At this point I would be pulling the valve cover off and having a good look around especially the nylon gear on the camshaft chain. Lots of trouble with these and at this age, being nylon and oil soaked, can become brittle and shatter. Noise- unwanted sound by definition. you need to find it.
The other not as common issue that crops up from time to time is the starter clutch dog pins hanging up and driving the starter when the clutch should have released the starter once the bike is running. Happens with bikes that have sat for extended periods of time.
But what I'm hearing is a steady tick that sounds like valve train related or slop in the camshaft drive chain. The camshaft chain is driven by the secondary shaft which is behind the crankshaft and the slop in the chain which is taken up in the tensioner would show itself on the backside of the secondary shaft, which is around the starter but lower in the engine. I'd still pull the camshaft cover and have a look around. While you're at it, pay attention to the oil laying around the valve buckets and make sure they are all nice and wet. Normally when I start up an engine that's not run for more than a year, I like to pull the valve cover(s) and pour oil all over the camshaft/ tappets or buckets and get everything in the top end lubricated before starting up a dry engine. It can take some time before a timed out engine starts feeding all of the different areas with lubricating oil and the last area to receive oil is the top end

Looking pretty good in carb 2 and 3. 1's jets were garnished. Dont have a drill press so I wrapped a rag around the screwdriver and cranked down on the screws on the outside. All but one came out ez pz. Luckily it was in the bracket between 2 and 3 and I was able to spin it out with the bracket. Jets came out pretty easily with a standard screwdriver since I dont have a grinder either. Any links to the specific flathead tools I should be using? :Edit: Are these the right ones? they look similar to the ones in scotches photos. www.z1enterprises.com/yamaha-xs650-impac...et-4-short-type.html

Float bowls refused to come off until I walloped on them with a rubber mallet. Carb rebuild kits in the mail now.

Can I pull the float valve assembly out without pulling out that screw? The first one started to strip before I quit messing with it. I'm not able to find a labeled replacement for it online either so I cant just drill it out.

Diaphragm and needles on 2 was sticky from varnish but cleaned up well with WD and a soft rag. So they all raise and fall at the same rate now. All the ports look good, but I'll find out when I put everything back on if i need to replace the floats with brass ones. What exactly is that supposed to do for me anyways?

You're going to get frustrated if you don't "stop the bus" and go and find yourself a set of Japanese Industrial Standard drivers to properly fit in to the JIS Philips like screws. When you know what you're looking for there are easy to find. The driver bits you linked in the last post have PH2 and PH3 which is Phillips 2 and #3 bits and they don't fit a JIS screw .
All JIS screws have a tiny dot punched in their heads to indicate JIS screws. Easy to see when you look for it.
The float needle will just pull out of the needle seat. The float needle seat won't pull out of the carb body until you remove the clip.
I see varnish and sediment in the carb body so I would remove the floats and soak for a while in Lacquer thinner to loosen up the varnish and
then have a go at things with the JIS drivers once you get them.
All things considered, your carbs look to be in good shape compared to what has been showing up lately.
And while we are talking about screwdrivers Before you attempt to remove the idle jets, make sure you soak those carbs in lacquer thinner and you need to find a blade screwdriver narrow enough to almost fit down the idle jet bores in the carb and then start grinding and fitting that driver to fit in the bores and the head of the idle jet screws. If the fit is loose in the screws, you'll tear off the ears of the idle jets and then you'll be sorry. This is a must do.. And then you can label that custom driver as your idle jet driver.

Thank you, but there seems to be a mixup due to me not using the proper terms for my tools. I'm looking for a slotted driver head that i can buy to the fit of jet slots. I didn't particularly feel like picking up a grinder to make the needed slotted tool myself. I already have the JIS tools no thanks to every single tool store in 25 miles. Thats how I was able to unscrew everything from the carbs in the first place.

Again, sorry went to graveyard shift at the factory and i'm still trying to stay awake so words are not great now.