“Dutch broke part of the original motor a long time ago.”
“When?”
“Reno.”
Jim’s expression changed slightly.
Leo continued.
“He was racing somebody. My dad said Dutch missed a shift and hurt something inside.”
Jim stared at the boy.
“What year?”
Leo frowned.
“I don’t know. Before I was born.”
One of the older bikers behind Jim spoke.
“Ninety-eight.”
Jim looked at him.
The biker nodded slowly.
“Reno run. Dutch disappeared for two days afterward.”
Jim’s eyes returned to Leo.
The boy pointed toward the engine.
“My dad said they couldn’t get the right parts fast enough, so he changed it.”
Rusty folded his arms.
“Changed what?”
Leo looked at him.
“Some Shovelhead parts went inside.”
Big Dave laughed once.
“That makes no sense.”
Leo shrugged.
“That’s what Dad said.”
“An Evolution with Shovelhead timing components?”
“Not all of them.”
“Which ones?”
Leo hesitated.
“I don’t remember all the names.”
Big Dave looked at Rusty.
Rusty rubbed his face.
Jim remained focused on Leo.
“What do you remember?”
Leo pointed.
“The mark you’re using is twelve degrees wrong.”
Big Dave stopped smiling.
“What?”
“Twelve degrees.”
“You know what twelve degrees means?”
“Yes.”
Big Dave crouched slightly.
“Show me.”
Leo approached the motorcycle.
Rusty instinctively reached for him.
Jim gave him a look.
Rusty stopped.
Leo pointed toward the timing inspection area.
“My dad said if somebody used the factory mark, it would kick back because Dutch changed the inside.”
Big Dave looked at Rusty.
Rusty looked at Milo.
Milo slowly walked toward the bench.
Rusty frowned.
“What?”
Milo picked up his notebook.
“We had kickback.”
Big Dave nodded.
“We assumed ignition instability.”
Milo flipped pages.
“Eleven to thirteen degrees depending on the test.”
Rusty stared at Leo.
The boy looked uncomfortable under the attention.
Then he pointed beneath the left side of the fuel tank.
“And there’s a switch.”
Jim’s head snapped toward him.
“What switch?”
“A hidden one.”
Rusty almost laughed.
“There is no hidden switch.”
Leo looked at him.
“Yes, there is.”
“We’ve had that tank off.”
“Not all the way.”
Big Dave stepped closer.
“What does the switch do?”
Leo answered immediately.
“It grounds the ignition.”
Rusty’s expression disappeared.
Leo continued.
“My dad said Dutch hated thieves.”
Jim slowly removed his sunglasses.
“He did.”
“The switch lets the starter turn, but the bike won’t spark right. If you keep trying, the battery goes dead.”
No one spoke.
Rusty looked at the motorcycle.
Then at Big Dave.