oil dripping from carbs?

Anyone have a suggestion as to what might be going on here? My new to me KZ650 runs great and no smoke. But after it sits for a week or so, its a little hard to start and it cold blooded. Once warmed up it runs / idles great. But after a short ride I noticed a fresh leak coming from the carbs. Its brown and looks like oil? See attached pictures. I stopped and wiped it off the starter cover and it didn't leak again for the rest of the ride (another 20 miles). A week later it did the same thing. What items should I check?
Thanks,
Dale - AZ

Could be the float bowl gaskets are leaking fuel by the engine heat..
Buy new gaskets and adjust the float bowl high.

That definitely looks like oil. My guess is you have a leaking valve cover gasket. It may appear the oil is coming from the carbs, but the leak is actually right above them. It's running down the back side of the head and accumulating on carbs until it drips. The valve cover gasket is a relatively easy check/repair. I'm a big fan of starting with the easy stuff.

I had the same thing going 6-7 weeks ago just before I put the 29s on........ it was my bowl gaskets on 2 carbs but to a much lesser extent..... clean it all good and then watch the valve cover it could be that as MDZ says but I would a swore my leak sure looked more like oil too.

If the valve cover is not leaking the oil could be coming from the cam chain tensioner.

If I were you I'd pull the valve cover and check/adjust the valve clearances. When done install a new OEM Kawasaki valve cover gasket and check the cam chain tensioner for proper sealing.

It's not oil it's gas leaking. Bowl gaskets or the transfer tube leaking.

Thanks everyone for looking at my pics and offering suggestions. I will do some more investigation this weekend if I can get out to the garage before it gets too hot (Arizona). You all have given me some good ideas to look at. I'll post my finding in a few days.
Dale - AZ

I use a smear of grease on the bowl surfaces to seal them. I've had them off many times after with no leaks.
Steve

baldy110 wrote: It's not oil it's gas leaking. Bowl gaskets or the transfer tube leaking.

Yep, it is the bowl gaskets. I cleaned the carbs up pretty good and I can see its from the bowls.
Next question... can these gasket be changed with the carbs still on the bike or will I need to remove them?
Thanks,
Dale

The carb bowls can be removed and the gaskets replaced with the carbs still on the bike - no problem. The key is to use a very stubby screwdriver or screwdriver bit. I use either of the configurations shown below and it makes life easy. You may also want to use a small hand mirror if you need a bit of help seeing the screws. Ed

Thanks 650ed, I have a similar setup to the pictures you posted. I'll get some gaskets ordered and give it a try.
Dale - AZ