It’s not hard. There’s a very significant learning curve moving from being able to figure it out over to efficiently diagnosing and repairing issues. I seek these things out to buy and fix.

Electrical issues is easy when you just replacing everything,.. but it's a nightmare to troubleshoot and find some faulty wire or components.. I just replacing whole harnesses for something like, I won't even try to find the fried wire..

As an engine mechanic I can say with all confidence electrical work is not hard. It is absolutely tedious and slow going. The main difference between someone that knows what they're doing and that doesn't is a massive amount of time. But as I've had people come in with top ends they have rebuilt completely forgetting to put in piston rings, I've seen what happens when someone tries to rush an electrical job and they don't know what they're doing. And I pity you guys. Because every knuckledraggin monkey thinks they can do electrical work, when they won't even take the time to learn how to read a wiring diagram.

@@RoamingCosmos it's only a nightmare to you because you don't know what you are looking for and how to find it. Also, wires just don't fry, so you really need to identify what that would occur in the first place.

@@bluebeard6189 100% correct. It's not hard but you need to spend the time to learn to be fast. Learning exactly how the systems work and understanding circuits at more than a basic level is what is required to be quick.

^^^^^ pure wisdom! Beautifully said my friend! Not only as a mechanic myself, I do this a lot at work. Also, it's a great life lesson, too.. Thank you for sharing such a treasure..

As a young millwright, we hit a snag. The old guy said, "Let's take a break, & don't think about the problem; let's talk about other stuff. Refreshed, & back on the job, & it was like it fell together; I was amazed.

I heard it several times, when i was young. "If your are stuck, go away, leave it there, do something different, come back later." Of course i ran into many things, like everyone. I still wonder why it works, but it helps every time.

Never a truer word spoken! I tip my hat to you, sir!! I am same as you. Methodic Fault finding is the key.

Generator engines with magnetos batteries were optional lol.

top story man!

Would have LOVED to see that bill being handed to the owner, with a giant shieet eatin grin on your face......... "$12,000, WTF man you were here for 4 hours. " It not the time its the KNOWLEDGE you are paying for SIR. GIANT SMILE !!!😁😁😁😁

@@anonimous2451 The owner was a very wealthy man. He owned many aircraft also, including many WWII "warbirds" and his own G5. He paid me super quick ($400 + a $100 tip! No tax, as no parts used!), then asked if I ever got to take time off. I replied that I did not. So; I went back to the home port onboard the boat with the captain and one crew member, at his invitation and he flew off somewhere else. I stayed on the boat for 5 days (alone and very impressed, as it was a Dutch built Feadship) at his private boat dockage in Fort Lauderdale, drank Bombay and chased women at The Bimini Boatyard!....as a, "thanks for not ripping me off, as they usually try to". He even paid for my return flight home! The captain and his wife and I stayed in touch afterwards. I got a much needed break and he paid for me to return and consult on something else, about 2 years later. Pure respect both ways and an unexpected win-win, due to honesty. Damn! I could have got used to that!

@@Dodger2879 Dayum dude, 400 bucks? Honesty pays for itself my man and MAD RESPECT for doing that.

I've been helping a friend and his girl gut and remodel interior of rv. It is insane how much random(to me lol) wiring is all over the damn thing. I couldn't fathom some ship w miles of cable

Agree, I wouldn’t want to be seen with a bike like that in my shop

That's a project in itself

No wonder they went under

Why this is not a hard job other than it takes a bit of brain power. Unfortunately in my 40 years of being a mechanic working on everything from heavy equipment, road tractors, dump trucks, light trucks, cars, and motorcycles (admittedly only Harley Davison’s, vintage English bikes) have found the majority of mechanics don’t take the time and or don’t have the skills to properly diagnose/troubleshoot all but the simplest of problems. Side note the “thin wires” Graig was referring to are mil-spec wires and use ultra thin strands (but more of them) and high temp insulation, the advantage to this type of wire is it can carry more current and amps in a smaller overall package which of course comes with a higher cost per foot but if you are building a custom bike with very sanitary routing (hidden) wiring etc this type of wiring is worth it’s wait in gold. Side notes when repairing a vehicle that has had someone trying to jumpstart start it with 24 volts and burnt wiring and control module it is almost a sure bet that the coil has been damaged this sort of damage can be avoided if proper fusing/use of relays is incorporated into the design of the wiring harness for the vehicle/motorcycle

Haha thunderheart!! The shop Rebuilding my bike is a Big dog authorized repair center. Creativecycles Umatilla FL

Agreed!

stupid taking on a bike that has almost no real after market. Had buddies who were into choppers expensive ones, only person that makes money on them is builder in original sale, after that worth pennies on the dollar. No one wants someone elses dream bike unless they had same dream.

I do this work everyday (motorcycle shop) so I feel ya. As a side note, I work on Harley’s almost everyday and have never heard a Harley motor (or Harley clone motor) crank over so fast. Even with no plugs in it they don’t quite sound like that one did. What starter is on that bike? I’d seriously like to know as I build some dragrace Harley motors with big cubes and often stock starters aren’t up for it. Does the bike possibly have a 16 volt racing battery or something making it spin so fast? Sometimes on out big bore hayabusa drag bikes we set them up with an extra battery wired in series only to the starter and feed it 24 volts to make it spin super fast and start it otherwise they can break the starter clutch or idler gear/boss in the crankcase. Before someone comments that’s it’s impossible that it would fry all the electronics on the bike, re-read where i said it only feeds 24 volts to the starter motor. I can explain how exactly you accomplish this if anyone is interested. But anyway, that thing spun really fast for a Harley. Almost sounded like the cam timing was off and it wasn’t compressing right. Usually Harley (big twins at least, don’t have much experience with the smaller ones) you can actually hear every stroke of the engine during starting as it noticeablely slows on compression stroke right before it lights off!

Exactly

i agree its got all the hallmarks of timing off i had my first harley a 67 sporty and redid the top end and had tried every thing including having friends push me down the street did lots of snorting and popping.a friend came by and looked under my mag and seen i was 180 off he set it on tdc and reset my mag and it fired right up ! happy mf after all that!

@@1219husky it's happens more times than guys think.. because they are too proud to tell their buddy, the timing was off!

It has little to do with how skilled you are. It's all about knowing where to start to trace down the issues and how many man hours it will take to get to the source of the problem. Any competenet mechanic will know where to start and then its just a matter of how long it takes to meticulously eliminate all of the possibilities in order until you get the the actual problem and then the BIG ISSUE is whether or not the customer is willing to pay those man hours. Customers have no clue how long it takes to trace these things and seldom do they do anything but freak out at the bill when the bike is fixed and running. No matter how you try to explain it to them they still think you are ripping them off! I will always give them a "worst case scenario" and if they are not ok with the prospect of paying that then I politely show them the door. After all, you are running a business not a charity right!

Yeah...and when the bike owner sees the final bill, refuses to pay, hands you a title and leaves you with a bike less than your labor...how does that end? Very stupid move to take this on unless you got a huge service deposit or some other ironclad guarantee of payment beyond worth of the bike.

GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcohol beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.

@@Lexx1976what a buzz kill

@@Lexx1976 I'm English, but to put it in Scottish dialect... "Getti fack ya knob goblin friiiik"

@@jake6618 👍

@@Lexx1976 -- Let me guess . . . single?

What he said! My 1st thought when I saw it backfire. Timing!

@@nhbountyhunter first thing i thought of was timing too, especially when it did tried to fire and backfired. it's an S&S motor. those people are VERY helpful to S&S motor owners. Pop that evo timing cover off. two screws. see what's in there !

I'm another mechanic who believes it sounds mostly like a mechanical timing issue.

It's all electrical, I dont believe the carb cleaning affected it much . With that one wire melt I'm surprised any of the light bulbs still worked every thing wiring, and charging probably good a good voltage spike . Along with the ignition coils.

Quite right! We put a compression tester on EVERY bike that came in the shop because what's unmeasured is unknown, and air-cooled top ends on old bikes are prone to issues. I bring a comp gauge when I check out used bikes before purchase.

I noticed the speed of the cranking is really fast compared to any Harley I’ve ever heard turning over on the starter motor. It’s either bent valves ( mistimed and valves collided with pistons) or frozen rings, or, it’s bore washed with fuel and no oil sealing at the rings. My 2 cents…. I’ve been a mechanic for 40 years and I pick up on these symptoms pretty quick.

You can do it!

Nobody likes electrical probs, except maybe that glutton for punishment Dodger2879 up there. Now that I'm retired and don't need a vehicle for work, I'm thinking I need to get something like a Model T with zero electrical controls. Maybe get some acetylene headlights.

at school a guy asked how do you put it back in. The teacher just turned and laughed

Who else do you watch to learn? What are some of the most "wow that helped teach me something" videos or resources? Best of luck to you

Been there my friend

That bike was clean, someone else boogered up the wiring and fried the thing

Thanks🤙

Dan comes up with good ones every once in awhile

I think your right. 👍

@@The_Bearded_Mechanic rotor cup..

“Sparky”. 🤦🏻‍♂️

@willydavid Thanks for helping him out with that one. I thought sparky was a universal term for electrician. Well, we are called Sparkys here in Blighty.

​@@AsmodeusTYeah, sparkies here in Australia too, mate. 👍🇦🇺

​@@grantodaniel7053NO. Bikies!

@@grantodaniel7053 I think welders should be sparkies, they always make sparks. When electricians make sparks, it's usually bad

Push start a 100 cube Harley with raked out forks, I'd like to see that.might scratch lots of chrome & paint