Mechanically Ignorant

I have not given up. I have simply been putting it off. Why? Every time I think about the state of the engine I feel sick to my stomach.

Flashback to October 2010. Ted dropped by to look at the bike and was brutally honest with me. The bottom line is 1) I made a lot of errors and 2) I focused on the little details instead of, oh I don't know, making sure the engine works!

I made some huge errors on the cylinder head (I don't even want to talk about it but, suffice to say, it is definitely messed up beyond repair and will need to be replaced) and the exhaust won't sit right. Also, the timing of the pistons are off and I've messed up the points somehow.

So I was left pretty discouraged and, with winter on the way, I really did not want to even look at the bike. I felt embarrassed. I'm failing at this.

Last summer came and went. I was pretty busy with summer school for the first half of the summer and August just flew by. I didn't do any work on it. I knew I had to seek professional help but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

This spring my father-in-law bluntly asked me what I wanted to do with the bike. I said that I wanted to get it running but I need to get a professional to look at it. He proposed that we bring it down to Ultimate Cycle, a motorcycle garage in Hamilton, and get it done right.

That was what we did today.

When Bryan, the owner, asked when it last ran and what I wanted done with it he simply wrote down on the work order: 'Get it running'.

My thoughts exactly.