August 4-5, 2019

When I arrived at the camp ground I noticed a line of dark gooey residue between the fins of the engine right where the cylinder and cylinder head meet.  I assumed that it was oil and thought "blown head gasket."  In the morning I pulled the tank and took a closer look.  Lo and behold the dark stuff was cable lubricant that leaked out of the throttle cables and dripped onto the fin at the rear of the engine.  This happened because I squirted an excessive amount of lube into the cables before I left L.A.

I wiped up as much as I could.  What came away on the paper towel looked mostly like cable lube but also looked like there could be a little bit of oil mixed in.  I'll keep an eye on it and will also watch for any blue smoke that could be another sign of a damaged head gasket.  It's hard to believe that gasket could be damaged.  I just installed it a couple of months ago and was pretty careful.  But.... stuff happens.