1982 kz550-c tick/ knock about 3500 rpm

The carb sync, new exhaust gaskets, manual cam chain tension er, and new valve shims have removed almost every little annoying sound this bike made after i re assembled her.
what o need some advice on is where to start looking with a tick/ knock at about 3500rpm on the road only.
i can have it on center stand in neutral and slowly or quickly hit red line smooth and steady but as soon as i get on the road in any gear it makes this knock.
i am going to look closely at clutch wear and springs because i have had it slip on high gear accelerations.
the knock stays present through the higher rpms although quieter (maybe because the louder exhaust)
I do have pods with stock exhaust and no noticeable air leaks with carb cleaner sprayed around
Please Help!
Thank you!

for anyone wondering, here is what my plugs look like after a chop in the mid range

Does it sound like a bunch of tiny men with tiny hammers beating on metal? Does it happen at steady throttle, or just under acceleration ?

I'm thinking it might be detonation / spark knock.

.

Tried to get a recording of it but the wind is a little louder at 60 mph.
and yea it sounds like a small hammer and it increases with the engine speed i checked my advancer and it seems totally free but im out of 2 in 1 so i haven't actually serviced it.
what else should i look at. it happens after about 3,000 but only under load. so if i let off slightly on the gas it goes away but whenever im accelerating or just riding along above 3,000 its there.
i was happy to not see aluminum bits on the plugs based on what i have read about detonation on here.
thank you!

Here is the best video of the knock.
I can't even think about riding this thing around untill it's figured out. PLEASE HELP!

Here she is

Here she is

For real now

edit......moving my response to the other thread....

That doesn't sound like detonation knock to me. It sounds like mechanical interference. One of my engines makes a very similar sound, but only very briefly on hot days right after I start it and ride it for the first several hundred feet. After the oil pressure goes up, it goes away.

On mine I think it is a valve just barely touching a piston. Someone shaved the head and so the clearance has been reduced.

I don't think your bike would do that since the C motor has more piston/valve clearance than a gpz. But it sounds mechanical, and not good. You definitely have to find it.

You may want to take a look at my valve train page if you haven't already. It shows how to time the cams since the manuals are a little vague in the illustrations.

The plugs don't look bad. It's normal for the ring to be pretty black. The electrode and porcelain tip look ok, maybe a tad dark, but nothing to worry about.

Thanks, I'll check out your page on the timing and when I get home today see where I'm at with mine. I was able to get down to the last couple cover bolts this morning but had to get to work to get some money to fix this thing .
I felt pretty confident in the timing but I did install a manual tensioner and had to remove it later and make a better gasket as the one that came with was leaking. Maybe it skipped a tooth then? Is a compression test the best way to test for valve damage?
Your pages and reply's have kept me sane the last few months! Thank you

If there is valve damage, then yes, a compression test should show it.

As long as you did not have tension on the cam chain when you installed the valve cover, the guides and tensioner should be ok, but you never know what a previous owner may have done.

This winter when I was putting it back together before I read your awesome page and got ahead of myself I installed the cover with the tensioner in place. The bike never ran like this as I came across the page and bought a manual tenitoner before I started it and rode. If I stretched the chain I guess I'll bite the bullet and Split the case but I really don't want to. Not to mention I just got my brothers xj650 case back together. So did this bike have double walled exhaust? That seems to be another thing people are talking about but it may be just wishful thinking. I don't know why it's only above 3,000 and under load