As mentioned in the "making cap plug leak worse" thread, I did take my Savage to the car wash for it's first bath during my few months ownership (other that one good long ride in the rain).

I gave it a normal hose down as I've always washed bikes at the car wash: Start with the top and work my way down, being careful not to spray the motor directly until it has had some time to cool down from the mist and overspray from washing wheels, fenders etc... This method has always worked well for me in the past, and seldom caused more than a bit of rough running from getting something electrical damp.

So... It didn't surprise me when the old Ox ran a bit rough when re-started. Even the having to keep the revs up a bit and re-start several times at stop signs and such didn't seem unusual to me. Lots of minor backfire on throttle shut or decell.

However, after riding it 8-10 miles, 5-6 of which were on the highway, I was surprised that it was still running rough and dying at lights when I got off the expressway. Went into a store and bought some new shoes, hoping that in the meanwhile the Savage would dry out. No such luck. Still running a bit rough and lots of popcorn fart backfire. (No huge shotgun blasts). I reached down and turned the idle screw up a quarter turn to make the stalling go away.

7-8 miles ride back to home on the blvds, and it seemed to run ok, but not all up to full power. Once home, I left it idling in the driveway while I went into the garage for my idle jet sized screwdriver. It stayed running due to the above loping idle I'd set it at.

Taking a wild guess that the backfire was from a lean condition, I opened the idle screw a half turn, and sure enough the backfire all but stopped (back to "normal").

Having to turn the idle speed back down a bit didn't surprise me, but what did was the sudden development of considerable smoke from the cylinder head area!!!

I looked in the area of the notorious cap-plug and the smoke seemed to be coming from above that level. Checked the header gasket for leak, and it appeared normal. This smoke seems to be coming from under the chrome cylinder head dress pieces. Looks like from both sides maybe. What the heck you suppose is leaking under there enough to smoke with the engine good and warm, but not enough oil to run out where I can see where it's coming from? Oh yeah, for the first time ever, the bike actually required that I add about 1/4 quart of oil.

Any blind guessing much appreciated...    I'll get a chance in the next few days to dig down to the problem and see where it is, but in the meantime my curiousity is buggin' me. Cmon folks, you have my open invitation to go out on a limb here and take a shot in the dark: Head cover gasket? Cap-plug tricking me? Spark plug a bit loose... Your guess is as good or better than mine. Just hope it's nothing serious, as I much prefer spending money on new bling rather than repair parts  

Thanks and regards,
John

Well you did say [glow=red,2,300]blind [/glow]  8)guess so here goes....

Maybe the water pressure from the car wash wand blew the crankcase breather hose off of the vent on the head cover. It is under the right side cover right above the "plug". That being the case the oil could be blowing out of that opening and out onto the head.

Maybe?

Thanks for the guesses guys. I got it in the garage and ran it with good lighting and ventilation where I could see well, and it turned out to be a pool of oil in the recess behind the header pipe... so that's the cap plug I guess.  Not so bad (yet) it all gets burned off in smoke before it can drip . I'll just ride it a little easier until I get a round to it, or the leak gets worse. 6500 miles on an '87, and I don't know if the valve lash has ever been checked. Probably time I had a peek at the chain and tensioner anyways. I don't think the car wash had anything to do with it, as I specifically avoided that area, as evidensed by the glob of dried oil residue still in the recess. Guess it's just my turn.  

Sometimes it's just so nasty I feel like the car wash is the only place to go. Thanks for the info. I was always careful, but now I will be careful in more places.