timing

So I just traded my yz426 dirtbike for an 06 ltr450 that is having issues. Heres the story on it... started smoking on the previous owner & slow starting so he dropped of at a guy that worked out of his house to have the top end rebuilt with a 480 bigbore or something like that. 7 months later...

I know it might be hard to tell from the picture but does it look off to anyone or is it just me? also would this cause it to be harder to start when hot and stall? i took the valve cover off to check the valve clearance. Sorry tried to post a pic but don't have a high enough post count

Hey guys, I've hit a bit of a problem and was hoping some of you could help me out. I'm a member of Northwestern University's Formula SAE team and I'm responsible for tuning our engine, which is a mostly stock '06 LTR450, only mods are a custom plenum with a 20mm restrictor and exhaust (not...