Time with my dad

We spent a few days at my parent's house so my dad and I could do some work on Blue.

First, we took off the primary to get the gasket behind there where the shift lever connects.

The shifter was shaking like crazy and we had decided while I was still in California we were going to take it apart to see why.  Then the mechanic in Arkansas said there was a leak back there.  Changing out the gasket was a cheap, somewhat easy thing to do.  

Funny... Sometime my dad and I get a little occupied in our thoughts and we forgot to unplug the battery...  When my dad was loosening up the primary from the other side he hit the cables that run right there... Here I am on the other side looking in... 

Me: I see smoke, why would there be smoke?... oh crap, I see fire!! 

It was just a little flame and it went out right away.  We cracked up the rest of the day about that one.

We also checked the chain while it was out and there isn't any loose spots so it is good to go for a bit longer.

Then we checked for other oil leaks.  We took off the Oil Bud Oil Cooler because that has been my suspicion.  We pressured washed it since you can't get a good clean from between the top of the Oil Bud and the bottom of the bike... Since there has been an oil leak for quite a while now it was full of gunk so we washed everything off to get a better view...and let it sit while we worked on the forks.

I started to get a fork leak in Nevada... Too many potholes and off roading. Haha.  So we took apart the forks and changed the gaskets and refilled the forks.

All of this is pretty simple once you realize exactly what the service manual and YouTube videos are showing you.   With the forks you obviously have to take off the front tire, fender, front of the faring and the fork lock.  The fork lock took a bit but once we got it it wasn't an issue.  Same with getting out the gasket in the fork.  The first one took some time but then we figured out what was going on and now we will be able to do it quickly.

The frustrating thing about this "American Made" motorcycle is that it is more "Assemblesd in America".  Gotta love it when you pull off a factory part to see "Made in China" or have to find a metric tool to take off a part.  Luckily, my grandpa was a Honda and Kawasaki rider and when he passed away my dad got his tools.  It saved us a few times from having to buy a new tool.  There were a couple of tools my dad still had to buy to finish the job.  He started working on his own Harley after playing with mine so the tools will be used... It is quite addicting.

Once the forks were done we started putting everything back together.  We put some lock tight on the front connection of the Oil Bud as it gets loose and I believe that is where the leak is coming from.  Then we put everything back together and my dad took her for a ride and so did I.  No leaks!  She was good for a couple of days on the trip to New Hampshire and then a leak again from the front... The Oil Bud connection, I believe... I need to find something better to lock that connection tight.

So in my mechanic journey so far I have changed oils and other fluids, brake pads, spark plugs, changed out the fuel lines in the tank, fuel filter, primary chain tensioner, completely taken apart the primary, taken off the front tire, changed the front fork oil, done a little bit of electrical work... Where it concerns the trailer, and who knows what else... Pretty good start.  I can a least give her a good tune up.  :)

My dad and I have a good time and this time neither one of us swore... Which is quite the miracle. Haha