Oil leak from valve cover - valve adjustments

There is a very thin film of oil coming from the engine and dripping onto my garage floor. Not a huge puddle. Maybe a quarters worth of oil on the floor...its usually larger the longer of a ride I go on....
It seems to be coming from the valve cover - as there is a film of oil coming from that area and seeping down to just below the head gasket.
Could valves with incorrect clearances cause this oil leakage? I cannot tell if I am hearing a "tapping" coming from the cylinder head as i do not know what this should exactly sound like. It has been about 1700miles since my engine rebuild and where the valves were adjusted.
I plan on doing my own valve adjustments as soon as my feeler gauge comes in from amazon.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be causing this leak? Or any advice on how to correctly do the adjustment?
(I have the shop manual, the Haynes manual, and the Clymer manual...so I'm set with instructions...but they can't beat advice from experience).

1980 KZ750E 4cyl

No; it's unrelated to valve clearances. Clean it up really good then go for a short ride. Then see it you can find the source. Ed

Check where the tach cable attaches to the front of the motor for a leak, the seals on the tack drive usually deteriorate & cause a leak from there, & it's a cheap & easy fix
Pete

Get a can of spray on deodorant with powder in it. Clean area and once dry spray on deodorant. Once it's dry go for a ride. The oil will show up easily in the white spray. Wash off the rest and fix the leak.
Ken in Orlando

Thanks for the info guys
I wiped the engine clean, added some oil, and turned her on and let her warm up, then went for a short ride, maybe about a mile and a half.
I definitely noticed oil coming from the valve cover.
The owner of a shop called The Garage Company told me that this is because of incorrect valve clearances, yet nothing sounds abnormal in the cylinder head.
Does anyone have any sound clips or youtube videos to what that sounds like on the KZ's? Haven't been able to find much.

Like 650ed said, valve clearances have nothing to do with a leaky valve cover
order a new valve cover gasket, make sure you have an inch pound torque wrench, & follow the procedure in your manual for replacing it, & the proper tightening sequence , & torque for the cover bolts
Pete

What the guys said

I have the same bike.
Buy a gasket. Take off the gas tank. You need to take off the brackets that the coils are attached to before you can remove the valve cover. Dont bother removing the coils from the brackets.
Clean the surfaces and install the new gasket.
While you have the cover off it's easy to check valve clearances. Just follow the instructions in the manual. Haynes is fine. And pay attention to the torque values when putting the cover back.

Thanks, Ill be getting on this as soon as i can.
Ive watched every damn video on youtube with a classic motorcycle experiencing tapping or knock, and I don't think thats whats happening to me...but i could be wrong.
Just ordered the new gasket.
I noticed the guys who did my engine rebuild put gasket sealer on the valve cover ends where its leaking from...i wonder if they reused the old gasket...

I noticed the guys who did my engine rebuild put gasket sealer on the valve cover ends where its leaking from...i wonder if they reused the old gasket...

Probably. Although thats fine if done right. I put mine on dry and re use

These old air cooled motors do tend to rattle quite a bit and it's mostly normal. The primary chain in the crankcase rattles a bit at idle and the cam chain can rattle with a higher pitch if slack. If you need to pin down a rattle use a big screwdriver as a stethescope with the handle at your ear.
It is very very difficult to diagnose a noise from a video

The shop owner is talking utter shit and shouldn't be allowed to own a garage with the comments he has made.
I wouldn't ask for anymore advice from him as it will probably cause more harm than good.
The oil weep is probably down to the gasket but could also be the tacho drive seal or even the cam end plugs, neither of which are a major issue and are an easy fix.
Grease both sides of the cam cover gasket when fitting and it will help it seat evenly, reduce the wick effect of the gasket material and also prevent it from tearing on removal of the cover which will allow it to be reused.
Some noise from the cam followers is preferable and better than none.
The top end on these gets quieter as the valves bed in and a really quiet top end could be the start of unsufficient valve clearances ,loss of compression, loss of power and burnt valves so keep those clearances towards the top end of the recommended range and all will be ok.

Also after gasket is replaced & you put 50-100 miles on it, recheck the torque on the cover
Pete

I have to agree if some goof ball told me my valve cover gasket was leaking because the valve tolerances were off, I would never step inside that shop again. Period. Like already stated, valves have nothing to do with valve cover gaskets. If the shop did the work, they need to fix the leak. But with the answer you received I would run far far away from the idiot.