Tear in if you like, but odds are, that oil isnt from the head gasket. Look around for oil leaks & rubber plugs.

Check out the
"OIl price Up Not Down
thread.

Keeping the bike relatively stock my be most reliable for a long tour.

Power comes from jetting & exhaust flow & matching, A better carb & a Lancer cam. Theres no Hop Up stuff for the engine guts. POwer increases are generally bolt on. Someone had their cyclinder coated with some fine thing & its a bonus, but I sure wouldnt be going into the main guts of it unless I had no choice, but IF I was forced to puill the head & piston, Id do the bore coating, clean up the intake & exhaust ports, replace the cam & do the cam chain mods that allow the most miles.

Simon,
 Bensalem Pa???   You're just down the pike..... I'm up here just outside of Allentown.  

I bought my bike with the engine in pieces.  My advice... check the compression first.  If it's in spec, then get a real real bright flashlight and look up in the hole above the exhaust port.  That's the home of the rubber plug the covers one of the head bolts.   IF there's oil there then it's the plug, about a 2-3 hour fix.

If you think the bike was abused, next oil change, pull the right side cover off to check two things. First, check the tensioner to see how far out it is.  Second,  pull the clutch and check the thickenss of the plates.   Be sure you take the clutch parts and lay they out nicely as you take them off.  Some parts need to go back facing the same direction they came off.

Next advice... cardboard is your friend.   Whatever you are taking off the engine, get an old piece of cardboard, draw a rough picture of it and where the bolts are.  When you take the bolt off, push it thru the cardboard at the appropriate spot on the picture.

Got to get that bike running. We're talking about a spring run and most likely another Sept run when Red Whine comes back to PA.

Personally, I would not want to bet what is possibly the trip of a lifetime on a first-time teardown and re-build. Odds are those Suzuki production people put it together in a fashion that is more reliable than you will be able to do.

If you try hopping up yur engine you may be in the same predicament as a good friend of mine. He had a perfectly nice Aprilia but wanted more horsepower. "It's all about speed, baby!"

Hot cams, high compression pistons, etc. He paid the local "V-Twin Guru" to do all the work, and the guy was so particular that he insisted that all the break-in miles had to be done while accompanying my friend. The Guru really did a nice job, and boy was that thing faster!!! They both were absolutely and supremely confident that this four month project was about as perfect as it could get.

What happened? That engine let go on my friend on a short and not-that-fast 200 mile trip through the Jemez Mountains nearby. The cams were too hot for his riding style and some high performance springs were way too strong. (Maybe valve springs?) My friend spent the rest of the summer tracking down another engine and installing that one so he could get back on the road. He missed the entire season. His sport touring style just didn't go with the new racing engine.

After spending about $7,000.00 total on a $5,000.00 bike, he's right back where he started from. But with an engine that he doesn't really know, instead of the one he had babied all its life.

High performance is attainable, but if it's at the expense of reliability, IMO it's not worth it unless you are going to race it. And the Savage is not a race bike. Hot cams and racing pistons are not needed on commuter cruiser that will be pressed into service as a cool and retro  long distance tourer.

Racers can rebuild after every race. You don't want that to happen 100 miles from town on your trip.

But I'm just a girl, and I could be wrong.

While looking to make a cross country trip on the bike I would tend to go with the mod's that improve reliability and enhance performance modestly.  I did not notice that you told us how many miles are on the engine, and if not excessive then leave the bottom end alone and just work the top end.  
Regarding the Performance Camshaft, it is designed for low-midrange torque and as long as the intake and exhaust allow good air flow it makes  for a great road going ride.  With the cam and a VM carb swap and good exhaust, my milage went from 50-52 to 48 mpg.  The extra torque made cruising so much easier, passing multiple trucks a breeze, and riding just more fun.  This is not a RACING CAM just real good efficiency.

Cylinder work was mentioned; I had that done to mine during a necessary rebuild due to massive oil loss on the highway when something knocked a hole in the bottom of the engine case.  The work was done by "Bore-tech" and what they do is called a silicone carbide treatment .  It is not a coating like chrome, it is some kind of fussion with the metal, and no breakin is required.  It you are going to go with a larger bore then this would be a logical thing to do at the same time.  I sent my damaged cylinder & the new piston to them and they did the work and had it back to me in less than 2 weeks.  I think the current cost for a bore job and silicone carbide treatment is ... well, here is list fromt their site:

Prices Per Cylinder      

Price
Carbide Bore Process      
$115.00

Cylinder Boring and Honing      
$60.00

Cylinder Honing Only      
$22-30

Bore, Hone and Carbide Bore Process      
$165.00

They will also clean, bead blast, and paint the cyl for $45.  Good deal.


I cannot recommend the silicone carbide treatment enough, it makes a noticeable difference from the getgo; less friction between cyl/piston which leaves more power for going down the road, less engine heat, MUCH longer cylinder life, etc.
I had mine done about 5 years ago and the price is basically still the same...a super deal.  I am tempted to get the biggest piston available (97mm) and have another cylinder bored/treated.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand.   You have a small oil leak...fix the plug or cyl head bolt that is leaking and tune the carb well and service the bike from end to end.  If you really want to pull the top off the engine and make more power then go with Bore-tech or another good company for boring and treating the cyl.  The performance cam would add good usable torque for touring, and be sure you have a good jet/tune on the carb...I would suggest that after the engine work is done that you spend the $$ for a dyno tune to be sure it is really dialed in.