2. Wash
This is one of the most important services you can perform to ensure a long and lustrous life for your motorcycle, especially if you live anywhere near an ocean. A simple post-ride water bath from a garden hose and quick wipe-down removes the salt and other erosive chemicals you may have acquired along the way. Like the walk-around, washing gives you the opportunity to make a close inspection of all the bits and pieces.

3. Wax
Most of us have seen examples of bikes that have been exposed and never cleaned, or waxed. It is pitiful what such simple neglect will do to a beautiful bike. Modern paints and powder-coat clear aside, wax is still the best protection you can give your bike's painted surfaces. The same is true of chrome and bare aluminium, too. Waxes provide a chemically neutral (mostly) barrier between the world and your precious motorcycle parts.

4. Corrosion
Rust never sleeps. Nor any other form of corrosion. And it can quickly ruin the finish and value (both economic and visual) of any Harley-Davidson motorcycle. All one has to do is wait. We cannot completely stop corrosion but we can sure slow it down with a bit of "elbow grease" and a few chemicals. Oxygen is the major enemy. It uses most everything motorcycles are made of or finished with to fuel corrosion. One of the best things you can do to preserve the value of your Harley-Davidson is to invest some time and money in proper waxes and protectants.

5. Lube
Anything that moves against something else will wear as a consequence. Piston rings, chains and sprockets, fork sliders, folding footrest assemblies, even wiring harnesses--if one part can rub against another, they will eventually wear out. The trick is to minimize that wear with lubrication. We all know about engine oil, but tend to forget that the same rules apply to items like the part that make up a footrest assembly. Without a barrier of lubricant, moving parts chafe and tear each other apart. Semi-setting lubricants such as those meant for chains make excellent stay-put lubrication for metal assemblies like folding footrests, hinges and clutch/brake lever pivots. Silicone oil or grease greatly reduce chafing between plastic or rubber parts and whatever they vibrate or move against.

6. Adjustments
First and foremost: make the bike fit. Reposition the handlebar and hand controls for comfort and ease of operation. Adjust the position of the rear brake pedal and shifter. If necessary, install a new handlebar and/or seat. Readjust the location of the controls enough to get it right. This is the single most effective thing you can do to ensure maximum riding comfort. Keep track of the cable adjustments. Throttle and clutch cables wear slowly and we tend to lose track of how much they have changed. An overly loose clutch adjustment makes shifting rough and noisy; it isn't good for gear teeth, either. Too much play in the throttle cables makes fine control difficult and can make you look like a beginner at parking-lot speeds.

7. Rubber Mounts
Rubber mounts and the links that control their movement wear out and affect ride quality, chassis alignment and stability. The front mount on FXR and most FLH series bikes sag after tens of thousand of miles and let the engine shake the chassis. There are two links that control the alignment of the power train in the chassis on these rubber-isolated motorcycles. When they wear, the powertrain (engine, gearbox and rear wheel assembly) can become misaligned and moves around" in its mounts. In turn, the motorcycle can develop a dangerous wobble or weave. You must inspect these links by the book and replace them when they've worn. Most FXR-series motorcycles go more than 40,000 miles before the links wear enough to matter. Few FLH touring rigs go past 20,000 miles without needing at least one new link, usually the top one. When control links are replaced, the chassis must be realigned according to factory specs.

8. Alignment
"Crooked" motorcycles (misaligned wheels) are not stable. They also handle badly in that they turn differently to the left than the right, and transitions from one to the other can be quirky and unsettling. Harley-Davidsons can be crooked in two or three ways: The front fork can be twisted, which can be fixed with an adjustment. The rear wheel can be crooked in the swingarm; another adjustment. And in the case of the models with rubber-mounted engines, the powertrain can be out-of-line with the rest of the chassis. The fork can be straightened by first loosening most of the bolts holding it together and then, with the front brake on, pumping the fork to align all the moving parts. Re-tighten the bolts. The rear wheel and rubber-mounted powertrain can be aligned by following the procedures given in your shop manual. It is important that these latter two adjustments be checked every 10,000 miles, if not more often. The stability and handling qualities of your Harley depend upon it being aligned.

9. Steering and Wheel Bearings
The most critical adjustment on any motorcycle, for safety's sake, is that of the steering-head bearings. If they are either too loose or too tight (see the Shop Manual) the machine can go into a wobble or weave. A high-speed wobble (usually 60 mph or above) can lead to a crash. A low-speed wobble is more rare but given grossly loose steering bearings it can also result in a crash. H-D steering bearings stay in adjustment for thousands of miles but they must be inspected at the first service and at least every 10,000 miles for the life of the bike. Late models have a grease fitting in the steering head so that it is not necessary to disturb the bearing adjustment to lubricate them. If your Harley does not have a fitting, you can install one.

Harley wheel bearings need more attention than those on most other motorcycles. The grease seals aren't all that effective and dirt can find its way in, especially if the bike is ridden in the rain and if a high-pressure stream of water is used to rinse the wheels. Also, bearing end-play adjustments may settle when the bike is new. They should be checked a couple of times during the first 5,000 miles or so, and annually thereafter. Be sure that you follow the book on wheel-bearing inspections and lubrication. Use the genuine factory bearing grease. It is water resistant and has the proper consistency for use in the cool-running bearings of a motorcycle wheel. Do not use heavy-duty automotive wheel-bearing grease.

10. Spokes
About half of all Harleys currently produced have wire wheels.  Without attention, particularly in the first few thousand miles, these wheel spokes loosen up enough to require repair rather than simple adjustment.   If two or three spokes in a loose wheel break, several more are about to.   They all need to be replaced.  When loose, enormous strains are placed on individual spokes and many of them will develop fatal cracks.  Your bike won't handle very well with loose spokes, either; it will feel sloppy and might even become unstable at high speed.  Properly tightened, spokes will last the life of the motorcycle.   If they are tightened at 500 miles and again at around 2,000 or so, they will stay in tune for many thousands of miles.  However, should you ignore your spokes until they break or become loose enough to move freely with your fingers, you'll have expensive trouble.

Article Two:

Tool Kit Ideas for the Open Road

Take the Important Stuff
Motorcycles and tools go together like peanut butter and jelly. If you ride a motorcycle, you should own at least a rudimentary tool kit and take it along on your two wheeled travels wherever you go.

Years ago, the last import bike I owned came with a basic tool kit. It was nothing elaborate: a few open-end wrenches, a screwdriver with a reversible bit for slot or Phillips screws, pliers, a spark plug socket, and a weird-looking spanner that didn't seem to fit anything. The best part of having that tool kit with me on the few occasions I had to use it was what I learned from the experiences.

Lesson 1
Do not carry cheap tools in your tool kit. Cheap tools will bend, break, strip out slots on screws, and round off nuts and bolts. Then you will have three problems: a broken bike, useless tools and damaged fasteners. Carry quality tools in your tool kit.

Lesson 2
Learn how to use the tools you carry. If you want to work on your bike, you should know the difference between a #1 Phillips screwdriver and a #2 Phillips screwdriver. You should know which wrench fits what nut or bolt. You should also be aware that there are a few metric fasteners lurking on your Harley. Improper tool use can hurt you and damage your bike. By the way, that weird-looking spanner referred to in the intro was a combination shock adjusting tool/fork neck tightener, which brings us to Lesson 3.

Lesson 3
Carry multi-purpose tools whenever possible. I don't mean you should use a wrench as a hammer or a screwdriver as a pry bar (unless it's a dire emergency). I mean you should carry tools that have more than one use. For example, the screwdriver I carry in my tool roll has two double-ended bits for slotted screws and Phillips screws. The reversible screwdriver shank serves as two sizes of nut drivers. The locking pliers have a wire cutter built into the jaws. The large hex key functions as a handle for the spark plug socket.

If you travel light, really light, there are several multi-purpose tools worth looking at. The ubiquitous Swiss Army knife is relatively compact, versatile, and is one of the knives least likely to get you in trouble. "No, your honour, I was carrying a concealed bottle opener and wire stripper." Those tweezers and scissors in the Swiss Army knife also make it a useful adjunct to my first aid kit. The Leatherman tool and the Gerber Multiplier are ingenious contraptions that pack numerous tools into small folding units that fit in belt pouches. The American Cycle Tool from Drag Specialties includes hex keys, screwdrivers, and wrenches, but no pliers. You can't have everything in one folding tool.

Lesson 4
Carry your tools so they won't grind themselves to dust. The import bike tool kit came in a plastic pouch with numerous pockets. The tool kit I use now consists of carefully selected tools in the 14 pockets of an aftermarket tool roll. One of my riding acquaintances tosses tools and a shop rag into the fork bag on his bike. Not only do those tools rub against each other and wear out prematurely, they also wear the fork bag out from the inside. Every now and then a wayward screwdriver or hex key pokes its way out through a seam, further damaging the fork bag.

Lesson 5
Check your tools occasionally to make sure they still work. Several years ago I stopped to help a fellow rider whose rear muffler was on the verge of falling off. All he needed was an adjustable wrench or a pair of pliers. Even though he had both these tools in his tool kit, they were rusted solid and could not be used. His adjustable wrench was rusted in the position it was last used and the pliers were rusted shut. Check the tools that have moving parts to make sure they still move. Lubricate them. Check the tools that don't have moving parts to make sure they haven't started moving. A little silicon-based spray will keep rust away.

Lesson 6
This is a tough one. Carry only what you need. How do you know what you may need? I start by studying what's in my toolbox and which tools I use for routine maintenance. What tools do I need for specific tasks? What size screwdriver do I need to replace a headlight, for example? Which wrench fits the battery terminal bolts? What tools do you need to tighten any fasteners that might vibrate loose? Some of the tools I don't take on trips include my tap and die set, precision measuring tools and any bulky tools that have only limited uses.

Lesson 7
Improvise. The day may come when I'll have to use my locking pliers as a footpeg or clutch lever. Several years ago one of my riding acquaintances lost the timing plug from her Harley. After her left foot was soaked in oil, another rider pulled out his pocket knife and whittled an emergency wooden hole plug. Don't laugh; the wooden plug worked well enough to get the bike to a Harley shop where permanent repairs could be made. Years ago, a friend of mine used an oil company credit card as a feeler gauge whenever the points needed adjustment. It worked because he measured its thickness before he needed to use it. Emergency repairs alongside the road are not the same as repairs made at home or in the shop. Think of emergency repairs as first aid and scheduled repairs as a trip to the hospital.

Lesson 8
Carry tools safely. Many riders carry tools in a fork bag. Harley doesn't specify a load limit for fork bags. However, I've heard of handling problems caused by overloading a fork bag. My solution is to carry the tool roll at the bottom of one of the saddlebags. Some riders can carry their tools in leather or chrome tool boxes available from the Harley parts and accessories catalogue. The point is to carry tools where they won't upset the balance or center of gravity of the bike.

Lesson 9
Carry a few spare parts.  It's not unusual for tourers to carry a master link for the chain, spare light bulbs, a battery terminal bolt, and a pair of spark plugs.  Ten feet of wire, and small rolls of duct tape and electrical tape make my mechanical first-aid kit complete.

Lesson 10
Emergency repairs are no substitute for routine maintenance.  It's easier and cheaper to check the electrolyte in the battery and top it off with distilled water occasionally than it is to replace it in the parking lot of a farm implement dealer 400 miles from Ocean View, Idaho.  It's also easier to lubricate and adjust the clutch cable than it is to replace it on the way to Sturgis.

Article Three:

The Guide to Beer Drinking