$80 a hole and the guy scrapes the gasket at a SMALL independent ain't that bad. The guy is going to take A LOT LONGER than APE does or a machine shop does. I use a machinist in San Antonio that charges ABOUT $150 for four holes (no gasket cleaning). A good friend named Ray is a very superior mechanic. He was the service manager of THE largest all brands dealership in South Texas till he had heart problems and he charges about $80 a hole. The reason? It just isn't what he does on a daily basis and it is super time consuming for him. He can compete with a machine shop. He does some boring business mainly on singles/dirt bikes I guess... but he is relieved when you take your four cylinder business to the big city shops. If you have the time, cylinder heads don't cost that much to ship. Use a company like APE or find the local machine shop that specializes in motorcycles. I am VERY VERY VERY leery about using a place that does car work... not so much on cylinder boring but on head work. They tend to be ham fisted and can ruin a bike's cylinder head in a heartbeat or at least cause more expense than a good bike shop would.
