Possible camchain rattle

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Any dealer can supply new cam chains for the bike. They will often have after-market options available too, that can be a bit cheaper.
Service limits would be listed in a service manual, as well as valve clearances, which would be a good thing to check also as they often cause rattles. A good dealer should be able to tell you what these are too.

I'd suggest taking the bike to a mechanic to change the cam chains if you haven't done it before, the process can be fiddly and it's of dire importance to get the cam timing EXACTLY right when re-assembling to avoid engine damage, especially in a 2-cylinder motor.

Depend on the model bike you have. This is not uncommon especially if you have one of the Dresser models. You can try to locate the source of the rattle and try to remedy it but nearly all H-D bikes do this. My Dyna Wide Glide does it and there just seems to be nothing there that should rattle.

Steve

No! Generally, the timing chain or camchain that controls the valves is tensioned automatically. To change the position of the timing is not possible without a tear down of the top end of the motor, but moving chain just one tooth would result in severe damage to your valves. piston, rockers and cams etc. Minute valve timing is achieved by camshaft node shape. Camchain tensioners are so designed as to take up the slack on the trailing side of the chain. when chain begins to stretch and wear past this tensioners limit, your chain MUST be replaced before inevitable engine death or worse!! Electrical timing on post breaker points bikes (mid 1970's) is controlled by the placement of stator backing plate in relation to the pulse pick up coil. Some engines do not have any room for change here, others have about 6 degrees rotation. This can only be done with a stationary motor and is a matter of trial and error. Generall a mark is etched at TDC as is the magneto rotor. Your bikes make, model and fear would be needed for further assistance. Cheers.

only the usaul problems for a bike that age. camchain, listen for any rattling noise from the motor, and also shim adjustment, or valve clearance, and carburetta syncranization. Other than that, they are bullet proof! I had one and put over 180,000 km on it.

The cam chain has an automatic adjuster, you cannot adjust it maually. If the camchain is rattling badly it probably needs to be changed.... a big job.
The valves on your bike have old type tappets. These can be adjusted by anyone who has done early model cars or bike engines. You will have to find out what the clearances are. Then it's simply a case of taking off the tank and rocker covers. The gaskets are reuseable

That is a lot of oil - is it blowing smoke? Is there any indication of where the oil is going?
The GSX engine is bulletproof - normally - and doesn't use much oil at all. I have serviced 35,000 mile bikes after 7500 miles and the oil has been spot on.
Looking on the net, it seems the 1400 is a bit vulnerable to oil-cooler damage. With an air/oil cooled bike this could be an indication of where the problem lies. The engine won't leak oil while stationary - well, maybe a drop... but when it is warm and under revs any hole in the oil cooler could be a direct exit point for oil. Look for stains on the exhaust headers - if you are driving and there is a leak, that'll be the first place the oil will go.
It would be the first place I would look - as well as oil cooler, pipes, connectors...
Run the bike for a while and try to inspect it to see if there are any leaks you can spot while the engine is running.

normaly timing chains last for aprox 30,000 miles. it is possible that the cam chain tensioners are sticking. you would also be better off giving the bike some serious throttle at times as this stops the adjusters from sticking, my advice would be to take it out for a ride and giving it some redline action for a while then listen for the noise if its any better or worse,if worse replace camchain and tensioners together...hope this helps

this could be a sticky cam chain tensioner as the oil gets hot it releases the adjuster to work normaly. 2 bolts it if you wish to take it off and clean it.

Hi ...... Does noise 'go-away' if you pull in the clutch ? Could be a few things, cam chain needs adjustment or replacement (35,000 miles-ish), rotor on some Kawasakis made up of steel centre,alloy middle & steel outer. Parts can become loose, short term solution is to centre tap/spot sections but ultimately replace rotor. Have you ever had the left casing off ? Is there a gasket fitted or a thinner pattern type fitted ? When was the last time valve clearences checked/changed ? Did they change shims on that side ?
Let us know how you get on.