1981 kz440ltd tapping noise from lower end

Hello all I am new here but I have read a few older posts that have been very helpful so thank you for that!
I recently purchased a 1981 440 Ltd when I finally got it running again I noticed a tapping sound coming from the lower half of the motor it’s not constant but every minute or so ( sometimes every 30 seconds or so)
there is a tapping/wrapping I have gone for several short rides and I can still notice it at lower speeds is this normal for a kz??
Also it seems to lack top end
I am about 180lbs and it seems to take off well and pulled me up some long steep hills at a steady rate without having to down shift but it struggles to get past 60
I know I need to replace the carbs but anything else I should be looking at?

That is not a normal sound and you should be able to get well past 60mph. Why do you think the carburetors need to be replaced? A thorough cleaning and some new gaskets and orings are all that 99% of them need.
Has all of the routine maintenance been brought up to date? Doing so will eliminate a lot of common problems. Especially neglected and very important are proper valve lash adjustment and proper ignition points setup.

TexasKZ wrote: Especially neglected and very important are proper valve lash adjustment and proper ignition points setup.

Agreed on the need for maintenance, but the '81 440 will have an electronic ignition.

Replace the carbs??? Good grief - why would you want to do that??? Just clean them and perform all the normal maintenance on the rest of the bike. The odds are that normal maintenance has been very much neglected. The Kawasaki Service Manual has the maintenance list. Ed