After our Sunday ride, the local forecast here called for a drop in temps from the mid 60's ,to the mid 40's with rain every day
....So there will be no riding this week. I decided to start cleaning my XII and the more I looked the less I liked what I saw. The affects of rock salt are everywhere,even though rarely exposed to it. I couldn't do a good clean up of the back area so off came the rear section of the exhaust system :
Not liking the looks of this mess at all ! All of the fasteners came out o.k., but one clamp screw busted and will get replaced. The rust will be removed and the back sides of the chrome exhaust side covers will be primed and painted.You can see the bottom weld of the new progressive shocks
is already rusting,as well as the powder coating of the trailer hitch after only a short time.
These issues will be addressed also :
So as long as I have the bike this far apart for "cleaning" ,and the rear ct came in along with the front Dunlop E III..... let's have at it !
. I remember a post someone made ,sharing the procedure of laying a full dress goldwing on it's side to remove the rear wheel,and thought about doing that for a few minutes but decided against it,and grabbed a forklift instead.
This only took a few minutes to throw a couple of straps on the bike and out comes the tire.
I remember other members that posted of difficulty getting the ct 's bead to seat on the rear rim,
so I left my new tires in the house near the heat, and off to the dealer I went to have the mounting and balancing done..... OUCH ! was charged one hour labor at $89.50 plus a $ 3.00 shop material fee ( that must have been for the slippery stuff
) ... My son no longer works there, so NO price breaks 4 me ......but I was told to come back in an hour and they would be ready ...as luck would have it ,there is a Frickers next door ,and made for a perfect place to pass the time 
I asked the service manager when I returned,if the mounting of the ct went smoothly, and he said his tire guy said it beaded up no problem, so keeping the tire warm helped out.
Now tomorrow after work I can spend another evening out in the shop,listening to country western music ,and working on my motorcycle.......Ahh,,,life is good...
...........tony 
. moving.....is easier said than done !.....................tony 
You would have to spend more time riding. 
I am surprised it looks that bad! 
I am afraid to look at the bottom of my bike now 
....soooooo next winter....my XII should get my FULL attention !