A little leaky
 

Hey there folks.
So, I got a flat and well I figured since I'm taking the tire off I should look into the other stuff going on.
I have a bunch of oil, what seems to be all over the place and I was wondering if anyone had some insight on exactly what I should be looking for.
I'm a complete newbie on motorcycle maintenance, but not unfamiliar with getting my hands dirty and tools, so what better way to learn than to get into it.

I've got the back tire off and the gas tank removed but I thought I would check in with those that have much more experience and knowledge than I do and see what I get before I get deeper into it.

Alright, got some pics to put up. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.

Armando

Two possibilities here. Either it's leaking from around the exhaust clamps or from the head gasket. Usually, a leak from the exhaust is a lighter brown than the darker colour from the head gasket. When mine showed a blackish brown leak the mechanic tightened up the head gasket bolts and cured it.

Some of the brown gunk on the head is what every single GZ ever has had. Best we can tell, it's the old shipping oil seeping out. It's not a serious problem.

Clean your head with foaming engine degreaser and then watch for anything new that develops.

Honestly, what you have is pretty common for the bike and not really anything to be concerned about. Keep an eye on it, obviously. And check your oil level like you should. But it looks like a bike in pretty good shape to me. Just enjoy it.;)

PS: If it bothers you, grad a service manual and torque all of your head bolts to spec. You're good to go.

Fair enough.
One other thing, while I'm at a light, or standing still with the bike on, there is some smoke coming out. I'm sure it's from oil that is dripping out and truthfully that is bothering me a bit.

Thanks to both of you for the reply and advice. I'm going to clean her up while she's apart, tighten up all the bolts (I happen to have a service manual), and see where it goes from there.

Where is the smoke coming from, generally? The crush washers on the headers where they meet the head work themselves loose over time and need to be snugged back up. You can also replace the little copper gasket that's there if it's really bad. There is a little vapor hole on the underside of the muffler near where your feet are. Some exhaust will seep out there from time to time, and it looks more like smoke when there is moisture trapped inside, but that usually burns off after just a couple of days.

Just some little common things to think about as you're tracking it down.

Well as far as I can tell and see, the smoke is coming from the left side of the cylinder head. I can't turn it on right now because, since I got a flat tire, I've taken the opportunity to kind of get into it and it's taken apart right now.
I did clean up the oil with some engine cleaner. Got in there with a rag and a toothbrush and did some scrubbing. Also took off my chain to do some inspection and it has some rust on it and I'm going to replace it just to so I know exactly when it was done and start fresh.
I did take off the valve inspection plate and the O-rings on both of them are pretty much shot. Going to replace those.
I scored a nice torque wrench on craigslist for $25 (don't think the lady knew what she had, but hey) and I'm going to tighten down the bolts to shop manual specs. Put her back together and go from there.
Here's some pics so far.

You take nice pics. Very clear and easy to see. If you are replacing the chain you might as well do yourself a favor and get a new front sprocket too. It looks like it is past it's prime and will just do premature wear to a new chain.