10/15/08 Well, this could be the end of the line for the 748 after more than 9 years in my stable. SDS took their time getting around to diagnosing it but finally they did take the oil filter off and found pieces of bearing in it. So the engine has to come apart to even find out the extent of damage and since they wouldn't even guess at the cost of repairs before knowing what's damaged (understandable but still a best case/worst case estimate would have been helpful), I just decided to pick it up and deal with it myself. Of course I have neither the time nor the mental energy for that, too many other and more important things going on. That was the reason for taking it to SDS in the first place.

So, $102 and a month later, Jared picked it up for me. He restores vintage bikes as a business/hobby so he will take it apart over the winter and fix the motor. He may buy the bike from me later or I may just pay him for the work when it's done and keep it as a track warrior. Either way, the 748 is in limbo now. We've been looking at 848s for a while, as well as a smaller bike for M. So we might go that route next year. For now the riding season is pretty much over anyway so no need to rush any decisions. We'll see what makes the most sense down the line.