Out $2500

After a week at the mechanics the bill totalled $2500. Not what I was hoping for. There was a lot more wrong with the bike than just a cooked stator. The mechanic had a soft spot for me and gave me a reduced bill. All added up the standard charge would have been over $3000. Here is everything that was repaired:

• New stator
• New rear seals/gaskets, including water pump seal
  
• Replaced rear differential
• Replaced clutch assembly
• Replaced clutch cable

This brought the total investment in the motorcycle to a staggering $3700. You can buy a pretty nice touring bike for $3700. The mechanic actually got Ike Thiessen's phone number from me and called him in order to find out how he could charge someone $1200 for a bike in such condition. He first placed a call and then added to the email chain later on:

"with the charging system in it's current state, it would only go about 40 km's max before the battery would be useless.
secondly, with the clutch cable the way it was and the clutch assembly dragging so heavily, there is also no way it would have gone that far.
with the coolant leak , that was poorly repaired, leaking so badly, it also would have ran the cooling system dry and fried the motor, and lastly, we have taken apart the final gear housing, to find it not only completely dry, some dumb moron filled it with grease, and there is metal chunks everywhere in there.
it will have to be completely replaced, and is over 1000 dollars from Honda!
luckily i have a good used one to throw on.
shame on you IKE, i know it's buyer beware, but your actions were beyond the normal limits that i have ever seen being in this industry for 10 years."

I really appreciated the fact my mechanic took a personal interest in my injustice. It had been a very unpleasant experience in all. But I was determined to make the best of the situation. Get out and ride before the rainy season started. My wife and I enjoy two road trips. One to the Gulf Islands and another up Vancouver Island.