Picked up my 2004 1300S model last Friday. Been riding big bikes for many years. I believe the ticking noise is from the exhaust. There is a large explosion taking place in the individual cyclinders as they fire. When muffled down by the exhaust it may sound like tick to some people but really is muffled exhaust leaving the engine. Mine makes this noise right from mile one and I don´t mind it at all. If this were a Harley you wouldn´t hear it because they manufacture the bike to make a particular exhaust note or sound. To me this noise is pure music as it lets me know of the power within this engine. I used to hear this when building High Performance engines for my racing cars. After putting headers on and then muffling it with exhause mufflers, you would hear the same sound except more of it for each individual cyclinder firing.