Leo walked toward the motorcycle.
"That engine isn't completely stock."
Rusty's expression hardened.
"We know it's modified."
"No," Leo said.
"You don't know how it's modified."
Silence.
Leo pointed toward the engine.
"My father told me about this motorcycle."
Jim's eyes narrowed.
"Your father knew Dutch?"
Leo nodded.
"He worked on it."
Something changed in Jim's face.
"What was your father's name?"
"Arthur Hayes."
Jim went completely still.
"Arty Hayes?"
Leo nodded.
Jim removed his sunglasses.
"Arty was one of the best mechanics I ever knew."
Leo looked down.
"He was my dad."
Jim stared at him for several seconds.
Then he looked toward the FXR.
"Tell me what your father knew."
Leo stepped closer to the engine.
"Dutch broke the original engine during a race in Reno."
"That was 1992," Jim whispered.
Leo nodded.
"He didn't have enough money for factory replacement parts. So he used parts from an old Shovelhead."
Rusty immediately shook his head.
"That makes no sense."
Leo looked at him.
"My father said Dutch didn't care if something made sense."
Several of the bikers smiled despite themselves.
Leo continued.
"He modified the cam gear to work with the Evolution bottom end."
Rusty's smile disappeared.
"The factory timing marks aren't correct anymore," Leo said.
He pointed at the engine.
"They're twelve degrees off."
Rusty stared at him.
"How do you know that?"
"My father showed me."
Leo's voice remained calm.
"When the engine is timed using the factory marks, the spark happens at the wrong point in the cycle."
He looked toward Jim.
"That's why the engine kicks back."
Rusty slowly stepped toward the motorcycle.
"And the battery drain?"
Leo pointed beneath the fuel tank.
"Dutch added a hidden ignition switch."
Old Pete, the shop's electrical specialist, frowned.
"We checked the wiring."
"Not that wiring."
Leo pointed again.
"Under the left side of the tank."
Pete looked at Rusty.
Rusty looked at Jim.
Jim said only one word.
"Check."
The Secret Beneath the Tank
Old Pete removed the fuel tank.
At first, he saw nothing.
Then Leo pointed toward a bundle of wires hidden deep inside the frame.
"There."
Pete pulled the wires free.
His expression changed.
"Oh, man."
A tiny toggle switch was concealed beneath the frame rail.
Rusty stared at it.
"That wasn't in the wiring diagram."
Leo shook his head.
"Dutch didn't want anybody knowing about it."
Pete traced the wire.
"When the switch is open, the starter still turns..."
"But the ignition is grounded," Leo finished.
Pete stared at the boy.
"Exactly."
The garage fell silent.
Jim looked at Leo.
"How did you know?"
Leo shrugged.
"My father taught me."
Jim looked at Rusty.