Alaska: The Aftermath

Motorcycle cleanup ... for something I really don't care to do, I admit to being a bit ... shall we say overzealous? ... about it. Getting the Haul Road corrosive crap off my headers required steel wool and a shitload of elbow grease. You don't even want to know how many hours that part of the cleanup alone took.

Here's the bike dismantled for cleanup and service. Rear view (swingarm, drive shaft, and everything stripped down to the frame):



Front view (though the heads are coming off next for a valve adjustment):


One scary thing. When I dismantled the bike, I discovered the bolt holding the lower end of my shock to the swingarm had been sheered in two. It was just hanging there ... hadn't fallen out. If it had dropped out at speed, spiking my shock absorber into the rear wheel or the pavement...? Well, it would have been interesting to say the least. There's no telling how long it's been that way, though. Could even precede the Alaska trip. Scary.

Oil change. Transmission and final drive fluid change. Valve adjustment. New K&N air filter. Some other maintenance stuff. And the bike's ready to go somewhere else exciting.