Big day working on the bike at George’s shop—no doubt one of the last I’ll have. Got the truck and trailer last night when the rain stopped. Loaded the bike first thing, took my wife to work (probably got some looks driving up in a giant truck with a motorcycle on a trailer behind it), drove to the shop, unloaded the bike, cut my leg bad on the trailer’s light fixture thingie, put the bike on George’s lift and we got started right away. I had to leave no later than 3 PM to make sure I could pick her up from work.

Installing the new alternator was surprisingly easy and we got it right on the first try. I’m as stunned as anybody. Disconnect battery. Remove front wheel and fender—not necessary, but made things easier and for better photos. Remove front cover. Lots of oil-based grime in there indicated a leaky front main seal. George was unsure if he had a new one—that would have stopped us cold. He did, and it turned out EME included one in the alternator kit anyway, we just couldn’t see it because we didn’t bother to turn the stinking bag over. (Idiots!) Old alternator was in poor condition but obviously still functional. It came off easy—a couple of hammer taps on the removal “tool” (a bolt) (also included) and a few turns of the bolt and boom! Not at all like the knuckleheads on YouTube I’ve seen go after the alternator with a hammer like it welched on a bet. Used my shiny new seal puller and the leaky seal came right out. George suggested I let him install the new seal since he didn’t have a 100% correct tool to do it. I graciously acceded to his request

Took some time and effort to figure out how to properly mount all the various other things and rout the wires, but we got it. The starter cover had to come off as well. Installing the electronic ignition system was a little tricky, but what ended up working was me reading the instructions out loud with George following along step by step. We had to jury-rig the install of the ICU (ignition control unit) a little with Velcro and zip ties, but it’ll be fine where it is under the tank. I have to say EME’s included instructions for everything were spot on and super handy—I’m going to be sure to keep the booklets in case I ever need to troubleshoot anything we put on today.

Took the wheel, fender and fork lowers off to make for easier access and better photos. We’ll finish the fork seal replacement tomorrow, reassemble it all and I’ll give it a test ride to warm up the engine and transmission for a full service.

I’m concerned for the rear main seal and the trans input and output shaft seals. They are also 50 years old like the front main seal was, the one we replaced. But I’m maybe a little too eager to get to riding the bike—it’s March already, and the end of March at that, and I’ve hardly done any riding because of cold, weather, family obligations, etc. etc. Frustrating but I’m trying to zen it out, remind myself that it’s all going to be OK in the long run and there will be plenty of time to ride this year.

Exciting to have success on this install, especially since we did it all at once, which is usually dangerous. Having George to lead made all the difference.