HAMILTON, Ohio — For nearly two years, Scott and Erin Combs waited for the day they could see their motorcycle again.
It wasn't just a motorcycle.
The limited-edition Harley had taken them across the country. It had won trophies. It was a source of pride. It was a labor of love they had poured time and money into.
Then Scott was diagnosed with cancer.
While he focused on treatment and getting healthy, the motorcycle sat inside Xtreme Bagger Audio, a Butler County motorcycle audio customization shop where the Combs had paid for upgrades.
When WCPO first told the story last month, the Combs were among several customers who said they had been left with missing motorcycles, missing parts and hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.
Then police raided the shop.
WATCH: Police raid a Butler County motorcycle shop
And for the first time in nearly two years, the Combs could see their motorcycle again.
"It's missing a seat, bags, caps, gas tank," said Erin Combs as she walked through the shop during the raid and tried to figure out what was left of the motorcycle.
Weeks later, the bike was finally home.
But seeing it in person brought a new reality.
The damage was worse than the Combs expected.
"The pictures and videos and you know your piece on TV didn't look as bad as it really is in person," Erin said.
Scott sat in the garage with the motorcycle for hours.
"I sat in the garage for two hours and it was just sickening," he said.
The audio system they had paid to have installed was gone.
So were wheel spacers, bearings, bolts and other hardware.
Scott pointed to the ignition. The key didn't work.
"As you can see, (the keys) do absolutely nothing," he said.
And every time Scott looked closer, he said, there seemed to be something else missing.
"Every time you walk back, you find something new," he said.
The Combs estimate the motorcycle could cost more than $20,000 to repair.
Now, the bike is headed to Queen City Harley-Davidson, where it will undergo a full inspection. The Combs' insurance company will ultimately decide whether the motorcycle is totaled or whether it can be rebuilt.
For Scott, the possibility of losing the motorcycle comes with mixed emotions.
"If they totaled it out, I would be done with motorcycles," he said.
He still hopes the bike can be saved. But after everything that happened, the thought of starting over with another motorcycle isn't as appealing as it once was.
Then there was the seat.
For Erin, it had become a symbol of everything that had gone wrong. It was one of the first things she looked for when she was allowed inside the shop during the police raid.
About a week later, something unexpected happened. Parts that had been missing began to reappear. The bike shop owner's father-in-law contacted the Combs and returned the gas tank, the seat, windshields and other miscellaneous parts.
"Somehow miraculously, they showed up," Erin said.
It wasn't enough to make everything right. The motorcycle was still missing thousands of dollars in parts and equipment. It still needed to be inspected. The Combs still didn't know whether they would ever ride it again. And the investigation wasn't over.
Fairfield Township police say they have turned their evidence over to the prosecutor's office, which will decide whether to pursue criminal charges.
But the Combs are trying to focus on what comes next. As the motorcycle was loaded up and taken to Harley-Davidson, the couple began closing the door on the chapter that brought them here.
They gathered the last of their Xtreme Bagger Audio merchandise: t-shirts and hats. A physical reminder of a business and an experience they say they want nothing more to do with.
Then they threw it into a burn barrel. The flames consumed the shirts and hats as the Combs watched.
For nearly two years, they had been waiting to get their motorcycle back. Now, they are waiting to find out whether it can be saved. But whatever happens next, they say they are ready to move forward.
"It's time to just get this going and move on now," Scott said.
And if the bike does come back?
"We'll have the bike bigger and better than it was," he said.
For the Combs, that is the hope at the end of a long, frustrating road. The motorcycle may not look the way it once did. Their lives certainly don't, but they are ready for what comes next.
