winter maintenance project

Well, it's been about 27 days since I last rode the bike. On that last day, I took it to the self-serve high-pressure car wash and gave it a good scrubbing. Then I rode it home and parked it in the temporary shelter (winter tent) I setup in the back yard. Raised it up with my big bike lift/stand.

I removed the side panels, seat, gas tank, and battery (and hooked it up to the Battery Tender in the basement). Since then, I had been waiting for a mild day to pull the engine. Today was that day. That leaky base gasket needs to be replaced before the new riding season.

The crankcase/gearbox is still in the frame... it was starting to get dark and my arthritic hands & wrists had taken about as much as they could for an afternoon. It's all unbolted, so I'll just heave it out of there another day.

The gasket kit is now on order at the local Suzuki dealer, along with a few parts for the kids' JR50 (my other winter project).