MiCarl

It's all in the technique: Right hand on the passenger grab bar, left on the left hand grip. Push down on the center stand arm with right leg. Rock the bike until you feel that both legs of the stand are on the ground. Right arm straight, right leg bent at the knee. Stand up on the center stand arm while keeping your right arm straight so the bike comes up with you. Make sure you're not pulling the bike forward, but straight up. It should pop right up. With a little practice the steps will become automatic.

I've had one friend (61) and a former customer (79) die. To my knowledge no one else in my circle has contracted the disease. My wife has a usual get together with some other women Thursday nights, which stopped with the stay home order. Last night they ordered carry out from their usual restaurant and ate on the parking lot sitting in lawn chairs they took with them. One of the women works for a local hospital system that is running antibody tests and she tested positive. She thinks she probably had the disease in February when she had breathing issues, blood clots in her lungs and loss of taste and smell. At the time they had no idea what was wrong with her. Obviously she has recovered.

It's hard to keep up with the rules, dates and various exceptions. In that part of the state though I believe many businesses are closed through June 12.

My understanding is that as many as half of carriers exhibit no symptoms. So they can spread it without showing any sign of the disease. I wear a mask when I'm inside a public place, even though I am symptom and maybe disease free. In fact, in Michigan it's the law. There is a lot of non-compliance here though. I think people understand the mask won't protect them and are either unaware it's to protect others or just don't care. I place not wearing a mask in a public place in the same category of sticking gum under the chair. Very poor manners.

The earlier versions used a dust seal rather than a boot. The part number for the outer tube changed so it's not easy to tell if you could just put on the earlier dust seal. Maybe someone here knows, or would be willing to pop a dust seal loose and measure the bore diameter to see if you could use one. In any case, I would try to avoid running it with just the oil seal. You need something to keep grime from getting to it and causing it to have a short life.

Lots of dirt bikes have them. I wouldn't be surprised if you could find a universal replacement. I believe the technical term for them is "fork gaiters".

I try to run the Supertech oil in everything I own. Unlike 'puc's experience though, my local stores can't be counted on to have it on the shelf.

I've never tried to sort out the mechanics but air leaks into the exhaust are a well known cause of popping on deceleration.

Unless there is a strong sweet smell to the smoke it's probably oil. I don't think the cylinder head gets hot enough in the area you circled for leaking oil to smoke. Odds are it's smoking near the pipes and you just don't see it until the smoke is rising clear of the engine. It may be leaking well away from where it smokes. Oil tends to migrate along the fins until it finds a place hot enough to cook off. The cover gasket is a likely culprit, particularly given it's probably 14 years old. If you successfully find the leak I'd be willing to bet it's near the center line of the engine. If the cover gasket is leaking it's likely not the whole story. The cover bolts don't tighten the cover, they tension little rubber donuts that push down on the cover. With age the donuts lose elasticity and don't put enough down pressure on the cover. Unfortunately given the quantity needed you'll spend more on those buggers than you do the gasket.

There isn't a carb overflow tube. There are vent tubes that should be routed up near the radiator. Is this where the fuel is dumping from? If that's where it's coming from there there is one or more float bowls over filling. Float bowls overfilling can be caused by: Mis-adjustment Bad float needle and/or valve Leaking around the float valve Sticking float A crack in the carburetor body. I check overfilling problems by removing the carburetors, remove the float chamber covers, invert the carburetors and blow (by mouth, not compressor) into the fuel inlet. Spray some soapy water around to help find any leaks. If the fuel is running down at the carburetors it's likely to be something else. I wouldn't throw kits at it until I understood exactly where the problem was. The kits won't necessarily have the part needed for a fix.

I'm not a fan of Kreme. If it's not installed perfectly it can come loose and I'm not sure how well it ages. The MEK in it will instantly ruin paint (so if you were to Kreme it, do it before paint). Also, it won't fill holes. I prefer epoxy liners. If installed properly it'll still hold fuel if the tank rots away. It will fill and reinforce pin holes. If you want the insurance of a liner I'd go that way (I'd still do it before painting).

And I thought negative interest rates were insane.

It's properly called the "jet needle". When you say needle valve people start to think of other things...... The specs on that spring probably aren't super critical. It's designed to keep the jet needle extended while permitting some flexibility so it doesn't rub in the needle jet. You might be able to make a substitute by cutting down a spring from a ball point pen.

Good news for sure. Congratulations!

For me (6' 240#) the Goldwing feels cramped. When they have case guards I tend to get my toe hung up in them putting my foot down. The low center of gravity makes the Goldwing a breeze to push around. It feels like it wants to stand up on its own so you have to remember to put the stand down. The Goldwing has reverse but I think it's probably more trouble than its worth. Just remember to park so you're not having to back uphill. Hard to beat how smooth that opposed Goldwing engine runs. Service is WAY easier (and cheaper) on the Royal Star.

Factory front springs are pretty soft and if yours is stock you'll want some air in there. Progressive front springs are a pretty popular upgrade and usually people don't add air pressure with them. Mine had a heavier spring than stock but didn't appear to be progressive, it was fine with no pressure in the front. Mine did have a progressive rear and still needed some air to keep it from bottoming. I think I ran it at 40 1 up and 65 with my wife on. The maximum weight rating of the motorcycle is something like 360 lbs. With a passenger and a little bit of gear it's real easy to get to that.

If it's in good condition it won't bleed down. I never noticed any change on the rear of my '89 (ran 0 in the front). I was constantly checking/changing depending on if I was alone or if my wife was with me.

I checked it pretty much before every ride, and I usually did it without putting the motorcycle on the center stand. It will make a few psi difference in the reading but is no big deal. I suspect the reason the manual specifies to do it on the center stand is to keep the bike from tipping if you're on an uneven surface. I always did it on a very flat garage floor.

It probably is oilless. Just the factory lube is only good for 30 years or so....................

No change for me because I was social distancing when social distancing wasn't cool.

I just re-read the original post. The creeping and difficulty finding neutral definitely won't be a weak spring and probably not bad plates either (although if they're warped they might cause those problems). It's most likely that those issues are caused by the hydraulics.

I've generally used silicone spray lubricant. I agree with the others - no sealants.

The only special tool you need is a torque wrench. You can get one at Harbor Freight for under $20. As far as shade tree goes, I have a friend rebuilt one in a hotel parking lot on a Sunday morning. I don't think he had a torque wrench but enough experience to get them good enough. It does not sound like you have that level of experience. There is a good chance the only problem is the spring, not the frictions. Ideally you measure them and Harbor Freight also sells a dial caliper that won't break your wallet. If the frictions are good I'd suggest getting the clutch upgrade kit from @Skydoc_17. It's got the heavier spring, gasket and a full friction to replace the half disc on the standard clutch. Take your time, follow the manual. It's about the simplest job you'll find.

The mutations are random - just like in animals and plants. Some mutations will be fatal, many will be benign and a few will confer an advantage - just like in animals and plants. The reason it doesn't take much time is the number of viruses is unimaginably large and they reproduce quickly. So the number of iterations that might take many thousands of years in an animal only requires a few days for a virus strain. By the way, being deadly to the host is not an advantage for the virus. A dead host won't spread the virus. From an evolutionary perspective it's much better to have a lot of hosts without severe illness transmitting the virus. There is some evidence that that's what's going on here. The virus causes severe illness or death in a relatively small number of hosts.

I started doing Roth conversions last year too. Unfortunately I already did a conversion for this year that will max me out in my tax bracket, any more will be prohibitively expensive tax-wise. If it drops another 50% I might bite off some more.