Hello all,
So I have noticed a rattling sound coming from somewhere at the front of my bike (2008 GS500F - 2700 miles), which I can't tell if its coming from the engine or not.  The rattle starts at about 6000 RPM and goes away by the time I hit 7000.  Somebody who  may or may not know what they are talking about (I know very little about motorcycle mechanics) told me that it may be caused by an issue with the cam chain tensioner.  I have noticed recently that my bike is having a difficult time sometimes getting into first gear from neutral or second, and today I was cruising at about 45mph and the bike seemed to "jump" out of gear for a brief moment.  Not sure if these issues are related, or if anybody can diagnose whats going on.  Should I just take her in for a service?  Thanks for any and all advice!

Cheers 

A bad cam chain tensioner will tend to make noise at a much wider RPM range.  Without hearing it I can not comment on your noise.  From a dead stop it can be hard to shift into first gear, try rocking the bike forward while trying to shift from neutral.  It is also hard to shift from second to first until the bike is moving very slowly.  This is normal, don't try to force it or you can bend the shift fork.  Jumping out of gear is usually caused by not enough force being applied to the shift lever when changing gears or incorrect/old oil.

-Jessie