Yep, HD is too friggin cheap to properly coat the axles and as a result they wind up rusting into the bearings.

You can get a tube of anti-seize at any auto parts store. It should also be used on the spark plug threads.

 

Mine were pretty bad too. I polished most of the corrosion off and coated them real good with anti-seize. I picked up a tub of it off of Amazon some time ago. It has come in pretty handy.

 

New ME880's on the bike and we passed the test run - nothin' fell off so I guess I did it right. Wow, it's a completely different bike with these tires. The old Dunlops must have been in worse shape than I thought. Steering is much tighter and more responsive, cornering feels a lot more in control, smoother ride. I'm definitely liking it. Thanks for for all the help guys. Here's some pics

 

Looks good exemexer. It's amazing that the road walking that was taken for granted with the dunlops is gone with the metzlers, isn't it.