Valve tap? Exhaust leak!

[nj1639]

Always fiddlin' with the '83.
Had a bit of an oil leak around the left side, top. Cam cover or front valve cover. Had some down time from being on 'stand by' for work, so I decided to adjust the cam tension and valves, re-adjust the hang of the exhaust system too.
Got everything put back together and broke out the baby powder to check for the oil leak. Got the top left side powdered up real good and cranked her over. Started fine but ? Nasty tap from the exhaust valve area. Allright, pulled the plug and the alt and ehxaust cover, double checked the setting, a nice .006". Hmm, could it be? Put her all back together again, started her up and tried blowing smoke over the header flange...too breezy. A handfull of baby powder on the flange and a few revs of the engine and the culprit was found. Re-adjusted the header and all's well.
Now to see if the leak is resolved, just gonna have to tell work to 'stand by' while I do a 20 mile loop.

 

[anysnail]

funny. i just adjusted my valves and much to my delight it's a quiet running bike. i got so accustomed to the constant clicking that the brief ride down the road and back was almost disconcerting. just a few more parts and my bike will be road ready for at least the rest of the summer.

 

[nj1639]

Sounding good there, anysnail!

Pic after the dustoff loop - no oil leak, cool.

 

[NorazDad]

Dude, I think you addressed my situation
I just did a complete top end and I'm getting a little oil from the right side of the engine
I think it's the header as well
The pipes didn't snug up just right on that side
I'll get er in line tomorrow
And tomorrow is seven years from your post
How cool is that?