AC-
I just started following this thread. Interesting story. Takes a few twists, but at one point you mentioned a loose compensator bolt. I had the same problem in my '11 RUSE. Picked the bike up new at the dealer and rode it home. At about 25 miles, I started hearing what sounded like a lifter tap. Stopped at a gas station and shut off the bike, and heard a loud clunk from the front left side of the motor. Started it back up, and had the same ticking sound. I figured that a new motor was still tight and not yet broken in, and pressed on for home.
When I reached the house, I was surprised to see oil covering my driveway. Turns out the main sprocket/comp bolt was loose, backed itself out, and ground its way through the outer primary. Only the bolt flange kept it in the motor. Had the dealer pick it up; he told me he had seen a couple other bikes with the same problem. He had the system fixed in a couple days, and I decided to address the common motor failures by getting a rebuild. Haven't had any problems since, but all this happened back in Sept. 2011. Kinda wonder why the MoCo let this problem continue.