The night before our flight, our shipping broker (Brent) called us and shared that the bike kept failing the swab test and wasn't able to be cleared for any flights. That was not the news we wanted to hear since the security screening facility had already closed for the day. Since we couldn't go that night, our plan was to go to the facility the moment they open at 7am to try to sort out what's going on and learn more about the problem they are having.

Once we got to the facility the next morning, we learned that the swab test was picking up explosive debris. We figured this was gasoline or oil on/around the engine and bike. We had just drained the gas tank so perhaps we dribbled a little on the engine or the cloth we used to protect the engine. They advised that we should take apart the crate, take the motorcycle out, assemble it, go to a car wash to get it cleaned, and then come back...all of that would have taken 5+ hours and we had about 2 hours until we needed to be at the airport for our flight to South America. Austin asked, "hey could we go get cleaning material and just clean it ourselves while it's in the crate?". The security gal said sure but wasn't promising that it would work. It was our only option at that point and we didn't have a plan B.

Austin and Brent went to a shop to grab cleaning materials while I started to open the crate to make cleaning more accessible. Once the guys were back, Austin and I started scrubbing and cleaning the bike like madmen. Once we felt pretty good about the bike, we had them test the sidecar to see if it would pass. We only had 3 changes to pass, otherwise they would have to fail us completely, we did not want that at all. The man screening the bike used his tool and tapped all over the sidecar and chassis and then walked back to his desk to put the swab in the reader. In the past when the swabs would fail, we heard the screening reader beep really loud. It was the longest 30 seconds waiting to see if we would hear the beep but alas, we got a thumbs up and passed the first test, HOORAY!

The sidecar shouldn't have had much debris on it but it was still a relief when it passed. The more questionable side of the motorcycle is where the engine is since that's where the gas and oil are. I think we double or triple scrubbed parts around the oil and gas areas but once we felt ready, we had our screening man come over and test the motorcycle side of Domino. Again, it was a REALLY long 30 seconds waiting but we got a big thumbs up from the guy so we officially passed and were ready to pack the crate back up. Austin, Brent, and I were all overjoyed! We made it just in the nick of time and phew, it was a pretty stressful morning.

Fortunately, after the crazy morning, we still got to the airport about 2 hours before our flight so we even had time to shower and put on some clean clothes! South America, HERE WE COME!!!

Security screening facility:

Clean crate!

Best sticker ever!! Super official, right? haha