You Pay For What You Get.

I dropped off my crank last week to get ground to spec.  I left the book so in case they had questions, they could see all the tech data.  This was Quinlan Automotive in Indy, by the way.  I asked, what's the estimate?  They said about $70.  Okay.

I picked it up today, and was a bit surprised.  First, the bill was $110.  WHA?  Then the tech went on to explain that they not not only did the proper grinding, but they had to drain the grease trap, which help over a pound of sludge, before they could do the grinding.  Oops.  I was intending to do that, but didn't realize that I should have done it first.  Anyhoo, the not only cleaned the crank to new condition, but they reset it with new divots, too.  Also, they ground the crank AND the bearing to match, so it would fit perfectly, and not constitute a bigger bearing if I wanted to redo it in 20 years.

They also said that this was the first BSA crank that they'd done in 40 years, and were all very interested in it.  Part of me says that I got charged an extra $20 since it's an expensive rare bike, and they could get me to pay it.  Another part of me says, it's an expensive rare bike, and it's really tough to do it right.

Lo and behold, I'm told that I paid well under what a Harley guy would have paid for the same thing, so at worst it's a respectable rate.

Also, Mark had to go to a benefit that was honoring his dad tonight, so the bottom end goes back together tomorrow.  (On the plus side, I found the extra motor stud for my friend Mike's CL175, so he saves $20 and I get some credibility.)

*addendum - The planets misaligned and we couldn't get together last night.  No worries, since with a bit of luck, the 0.313 (7.95mm) reamer will come in the mail in the next few days and we can do the top and bottom end together.