head work

[blackmetallic]

It's cold out and the bike is resting. I figured this would be a good time to dig into it. My plan is to go through the valves and check out the head. I've got a slight oil leak from the head so thats the main reason for this and I'll probably check out the cam chain and tensioner since I believe that's making some noise, but back to the main point: I've read through some of the how-to's on here about what im gonna do and I've got a Haynes manual to guide me. Is there any advice and/or suggestions for while I've got it apart to check out or replace? I'm assuming I'll need a head gasket. My bikes a 1992 with about 17000 miles.