i am new to the forum but not to motorcycles and have owned everything under the sun from german to japanese. i currently ride a 99 roadking, have a 73 bonnie frisco style long bike with a fury front end and have a chubby bob/chop custom in progress. i am joining the forum to get some advice on what to do with a new problem with my roadking. needing some space in my garage i parked my bike at my buddys house with the keys and the request for him to ride it. he did and now it sounds like a diesel motor when fired up whereas before it ran super smoothly. it was low on oil but not in the danger zone and the oil pump is working just fine. i feel like the valves are clapping a little, it is all top end noise. i am worried that at the worst, the valves are warped and need to be replaced, is this an adjustment i can do myself/look at myself or do i need to bring it to a pro and have someone take a serious look at it. i have basic mechanical skills, i did put my old triumph together from parts but i want to make the right call for my bike. what do you think?

Welcome to the forum! Without hearing the engine myself it would be difficult to know. It could be many different thing that are wrong. From a bad plug wire, bad timing to bad gas. Before you tear into it you may want to have a pro tell you what they feel is wrong with it and then do the work yourself. Get the shop manual this will help you if you are going to work on the bike yourself.

Hope this helps!