Time to check the valves

[frostbite]

... but I've done far trickier.

Agreed.

I think I'll wait til November when I take it off the road. Then I can just yank the motor over the winter. What bothers me is the bad design; there is no need of it - an extra 1/2 inch of frame clearance at the top of the engine and you're good to go.

It reminds me of the hole in the bottom of the ski plate. Its about 1 inch away from the oil drain plug!? Not a big deal to remove the skid plate but you shouldn't have to. It's like they had parts for 3-4 different bikes and made a new one out of them. Some of the parts just don't jive with one another.

I guess it's just part of their charm