I just got a 2002 Honda Recon 250 ES and I have some issues with the idle surging high sometimes, Idles normal and I tap the throttle it comes back down then surges to idle high, found something about adjusting the cylinder valves fixed this but I notice there is a tick with the engine, I am not sure if this is normal or not? Havent owned an ATV before or been around them much for that matter.

 

The 250 engine is not the smoothest in Honda's line up. That slide throttle carb tends to surge a bit, if it is bad enough to make the machine set off, if in gear, you may need to do something about it, like clean the carb out, check the float level and very carefully adjust the slow running jet.

Air cooled engines are not the quietest either. I'm not sure from your text if you have adjusted the valves, if not, do it. The 250 is prone to wear on the cam chain, but listen to a few other engines before deciding if yours is particularly noisy.

 

For piece of mind it never hurts to check valve clearances for the ticking noises. I am not sure that would fix the surging though.