Old Bike is Back

Knock on wood Marc..you did the right thing at the right time. Looks like that old bike needs a new tranny/engine before they resell it again.

Very soon there will be no choice but EFI.

Not long ago we had a simple fixed slope ignition module, coil and sensor. Easy to troubleshoot yet, there were some factory trained H-D "wrenches" that did not know how to use a multimeter.

Then, we had the first generation of the TC88 with carb and sensors including a cam position sensor. How many H-D mechanics took the (if available)courses to learn the new systems?

In 1996, the very first EFI was released ten (10) years later there are a lot of H-D wrenches that still refuse to learn the "black box".

It isn't the technology, it's the lack of mechanics willing to get up to speed.
That and H-D being cheap in training courses.

Got a friend that works for Acura. They receive training on new stuff several times a year. He makes big bucks because he took the cert courses.

The other major problem is that we are so far behind technology wise. Cars have OBD that can dump codes easily and narrow problems down very quickly.
We are still in the hmmm, if the sensor didn't pass break out the multimeter and...mode.

CD, I have a friend, Duncan Paul, that teaches motorcycle and marine mechanics at Cedar Valley College south of Dallas in Lancaster, Texas. He's been there over 30 years. Before that job, he was a service rep for Kawasaki, going around updating mechanics on the new models.

His school teaches the regional school for HD and Suzuki, or did last year anyway. It varies year to year who they contact with. He's very good with the tools and machining and such, built my little KX motard race bike's engine and front wheel arrangement which took some machining. Anyway, I was kinda wondering, is it up to the DEALERSHIPS to pay for that update course, sent their mechanics to it? I know I had an update course last year with Briggs and Scrapiron paid for by the hardware store where I worked that fall before I quit 'em in the spring. They paid for it, paid me a salary to go. It was only a three day school, but it set 'em back a couple hundred. I didn't go back to work there cause of the arrangement. I'm working for myself now here and in Edna and set my own hours and make a LOT more per hour and have the same benefits package (none).

Anyway, if the dealer is supposed to pay for his service manager or someone to go, then I'd reckon service would vary from dealer to dealer. Those cheap SOBs are not going to be up on things not having had their mechanics updated year to year, would seem to me.

Duncan's class is at Cedar Valley College Motorcycle Mechanics course. That's Duncan with his hands in the V twin on the page.