Lee's love...NAKED!

As Lee took her apart, he tagged and labeled parts, to aide in putting her back together.

NAKED, engine, gas tank and seat removed.

Engine out!

Yes, I admit it...for 9 years my husband has had a lover....I like to call her the "Red Headed Bitch". Actually she is not that bad, she gets him to and from work everyday. Ok....so she is his motorcycle....he loves her! Lee got her the week he made the 15 year mark in the Coast Guard. He dotes on her.....she still looks brand new. This past couple weeks though....she is all over the garage and her engine is in the shop. After 9 years, something finally wore out on her...something to do with the transmission. To save money on labor, Lee took on the task of removing the engine himself...he did a great job and saved a couple hours work. We took the engine in.....part of it was great news...the top end looks fantastic, not at all like a 9 year old bike-a tribute to Lee's relentless maintenance....the bad news the bottom end where the transmission is wearing out...our estimate quickly doubled (Thanks Dad for the help!!). Lee and I went in to review the estimate, see the parts in question and see what we could do about the price....Lee says he likes when I get sassy with them, it meant over $100 off the bill. Yeah! The kicker to this whole thing...the engine and transmission are sealed in a casing, so you have to replace every gasket when you put it all back together....that "paper like" gasket set alone is $181!!!!

Motorcycle repair happens very slowly, it will be another 10 days or so until we can trailer the body of the bike to them for final assembly. Meanwhile, Lee has been polishing bolts, lubricating parts that need it and just giving her the TLC she deserves. I hope this takes her another few years....gas is at $4 a gallon here now, she saves us a chunk of change every month!