Motorcycle Repair: chattering noise, head gasket, cylender

Question
i have a 1982 fl roadking i purchased about a year ago.on a fairly long ride i noticed a chatter like noise sounded like it was from the front cylender.after a little more time it seemed 2 be more frequent. only seemed to notice it when i reached a steady speed.not when i accelerate and not when letting off the gas.looks like oil leaking from front head gasket.doesnt smoke,runs and starts good,i hope these are common traits and only the head gasket needs replaced.Any feedback will be greatly appreciated thanks.

Answer
The noise you are hearing might be coming from the head gasket. When they blow, they do make some noise with compression. I would go ahead and replace it and then see if you still hear the noise. If you have alot of miles on the motor you might want to check the pistions, since you have the head off anyway. Another thing I like to do is if you are changing one head gasket change the other one. Later on if the old one blows you have to do the same amount of work to get to it, so why not change it while you have it apart.
Good luck and happy riding
Mike