Soldier Surprised with Souped-up Bike

Sugar Hill, Ga. -- A performance bike shop in Gwinnett County surprised a special customer Saturday with a motorcycle makeover worth thousands of dollars.

Army Specialist Devin Carey of Flowery Branch had no idea.

"What are y'all doing? Is that mine?" he shouted after the bike unveiling on Saturday.

Specialist Carey is just back from his first tour in Iraq.

He left his 2001 Yamaha R6 at HFD1 Motorsports in Sugar Hill before he deployed more than a year ago.

"He told us he wasn't going to be back for awhile and to just take care of his bike," said owner Charlie Huffstetler. "He said he wanted something to ride when he got back."

But Huffstetler and his team wanted to do more. They solicited donations of money, parts and labor to give the bike a new engine, suspension, tires and paint.

"He has no idea we've completely rebuilt his bike, so it's gonna be quite a shock," Huffstetler said.

It was quite a shock, indeed.

"It's beautiful," Specialist Carey said. "I can't believe it. I can't wait to ride it."

He never expected this kind of "thank you."

"There's more guys out there that have done more, a lot more than me," he said. "I don't deserve this." 

But he does. And as an Army veteran himself, Huffstetler knows it.

"He told me when he signed up that he wanted to get in the fight," Huffstetler said. "It takes a real hero to go out and do that for your country."

Specialist Carey is a member of the 82nd Airborne based at Fort Bragg.

He'll have a chance to spend some time with his family in Flowery Branch over the holidays.