Thank you Stanley Gardner!

I wanted to get the bike an oil change before leaving on my trip, so I decided to give Stanley Gardner a call. Stanley, who owns Gardner Racing Concepts, builds fast engines and drag races Harleys! He’s an interesting guy and runs a great little business where he makes engines go fast. I didn’t need my bike to go any faster…see it’s fast enough for me already. I just wanted an oil change and my fluids checked. So, I stopped at GRC for some routine maintenance. Stanley pulled the bike into one of his buildings and put it on the lift. I followed, asking if I could watch. He said, “Sure.” Then I asked, “Can I take some pictures?” Again, he said, “Yes.”
I found it fascinating watching him in action whirling around my bike in his black GRC T-shirt, black jeans, and black apron. I’m guessing black so you don’t see the grease and grime he probably wears at the end of each day working on motorcycle engines.
Stanley took the time to tell me what he was doing, showing me things he thought I should know about my bike. I sat at a little bistro table that had two tall chairs. I found it unusual that Stanley would encourage spectators, but that’s how it seemed. Most garages I’ve been to, you sit in a waiting room for an endless amount of time waiting for the work to be completed. This was different and I liked it.
At one point Stanley came over to where I was sitting with two small boxes in his hands. He looked me square in the eye and said, “You look like someone who cares about the environment.” I said I was. He proceeded to tell me about the differences in a lifetime oil filter or one that you just threw away each time you got your oil changed. He showed me the lifetime filter and how it worked. It came in black or a chrome-like finish. I asked him which one he thought would look best, he quickly answered the chrome-like one. So, I said that’s what I wanted.
After about an hour of working on the bike, Stanley finished and I asked what I owed him. He said, “Nothing.” I said, “What?” “Nothing”, he repeated. I told him I couldn’t ride away without paying him, but he insisted saying it was his way of helping me with TEAL on WHEELS. What a great guy!
Thank you Stanley Gardner…you are a gem!