Fully restored Bosch ZEV magneto for barter or ?

[BoschZEV]

The title of this thread is a bit deceptive since I haven't actually restored the magneto. But I have a question about it for which there might not be an answer. Or, the answer to which might be that it isn't worth the time it would take to do the restoration. As background, following is a thread I wrote under the screen name 'Magnetoman' documenting my restoration of a Bosch ZEV for a good friend to use in last year's Cannonball:

http://www.britbike.com/forums/ubbth...733#Post446733

For reasons I can't explain, I recently spent just over $200 (+$14 shipping) to outbid 5 other guys for a totally trashed Bosch ZEV that looked like crap in the listing. Although it is missing the pickups, has the threaded end snapped off the armature, and is missing one of the two cam lobes, when I unpacked it I found it doesn't appear to be all that much worse than the one I dealt with in the above thread. What this means is, if I did restore this magneto it probably would take pretty much the same effort as the previous one, plus a full day to rewind the armature and vacuum impregnate it with the proper resin.

The dilemma is, at what I get for technical consulting, this means there likely would be ~$5k worth of labor in that magneto if I restored it. This is basically a real number, since time spent on that magneto would be time not spent on paying activities, and it would be time taken away from my own motorcycle restoration work (which I do for relaxation, not for money). Clearly, it's unlikely anyone would pay $5k for a restored Bosch ZEV no matter how badly they needed it even though I claim my restoration plus extensive testing means it would be 100.0% reliable (unlike many of the professionally restored magnetos used in past Cannonballs).

Finally getting to my question, is there a solution to this? That is, even though no one might want to pay $5k cash for a magneto, might someone who needs a completely reliable ZEV be, say, hording $5k worth of something to trade for it that I might want and that they know they'll never use? Or, is there some other non-obvious, motorcycle-related solution that makes sense? Or, is this magneto destined to sit on a shelf in its current condition for the rest of my life?

To be clear, I'm not actually looking for an offer for this magneto (which is why I'm posting it here, rather than in the 'For Sale' section). Rather, I'm curious if someone has a solution for the problem of having an uncommon skill needed for old motorcycles, but whose cash value leaves it out of reach.

[exeric]

That's the reality of complex transportation related hobbies. It seems the only vehicles that can be restored for a profit are things like Ferraris, Duesenburgs, vintage airplanes, racing cars, and knuckleheads. I mean, you can restore a magneto for a Cyclone for the same money as a J model H-D. I've made parts for people and it has never been profitable. So much so, that I have stopped doing it. I recently made a few Excelsior control parts for my '16 X, and made a few extras. Excelsior's price for that part in 1920 was 20 cents; I made 4 parts and had at least 6 hours of time in them. This hobby requires many pragmatic skills, but doing it for a profit has been impossible from my experience. I do my own work for fun and I've come to the conclusion that satisfaction, and happiness are going to be my only payment

[BoschZEV]

This hobby requires many pragmatic skills, but doing it for a profit has been impossible from my experience. I do my own work for fun and I've come to the conclusion that satisfaction, and happiness are going to be my only payment

I certainly agree. The reason for my question isn't that I would like to make a business out of this. It's that reliably restoring magnetos is a skill in very much shorter supply than is reliably rebuilding engines or transmissions. Because of my interest (or, more accurately, obsession) with magnetos I have those skills. Unfortunately, because time is limited, every hour spent restoring a magneto for someone else would be an hour less on my own projects. I would lose the satisfaction and happiness from my own restoration projects in order to gain it doing work done for someone else, so that part of the payment equation is pretty much break even.

[exeric]

Magnetos have been the bane of this hobby for me. They have killed more enthusiasim, nullified years of hard work, and relegated many projects to years under a tarp in a dark corner. Magnetos were invented by the devil. Thank God there are a few people out there like yourself that stive to make them better, and share what you have learned.

[BigLakeBob]

I am in the same boat. I own a small machine shop and would like to do more bike fixes but when I compare doing tool & die work per hour as compared to bike parts it doesn't compute for me. This example just last month. A friend has a '48 EL with a worn brake pedal so bad that it is wearing into the fins on the cam cover, send it to me I'll fix it. Now I'm set up to do one piece stuff with all kinds of tooling and fixtures, been doing it 30 years now. By the time I bore the brake pedal, OD bore the hardened pin on the backing plate mounted to a plate and jockeyed around until perpendicular to the spindle, make and press in a new bushing, add the grease zerk hole and match up the remaining threaded hole, then hone to fit, my shop rate would put that over $100. I did it as a favor. He got it back and said hey you should start offering that service, I didn't mention how long it took. My point is the same, I can't make the same money I do with tool work, who would pay over $100 to fix their brake lever. So I just do it as a hobbie and to help friends out without looking at it for a means of survival. I guess if I was raised in more of a automotive machine background instead of tool & die it might be more profitable. For now I just do my own and help friends when I can. Bob#6738

[fillibuster]

I am in the same boat. I own a small machine shop and would like to do more bike fixes but when I compare doing tool & die work per hour as compared to bike parts it doesn't compute for me. This example just last month. A friend has a '48 EL with a worn brake pedal so bad that it is wearing into the fins on the cam cover, send it to me I'll fix it. Now I'm set up to do one piece stuff with all kinds of tooling and fixtures, been doing it 30 years now. By the time I bore the brake pedal, OD bore the hardened pin on the backing plate mounted to a plate and jockeyed around until perpendicular to the spindle, make and press in a new bushing, add the grease zerk hole and match up the remaining threaded hole, then hone to fit, my shop rate would put that over $100. I did it as a favor. He got it back and said hey you should start offering that service, I didn't mention how long it took. My point is the same, I can't make the same money I do with tool work, who would pay over $100 to fix their brake lever. So I just do it as a hobbie and to help friends out without looking at it for a means of survival. I guess if I was raised in more of a automotive machine background instead of tool & die it might be more profitable. For now I just do my own and help friends when I can. Bob#6738

It often helps if the favor-ee is there to suffer through it with me, depending on the job. An average grunt-it-out fabrication like I do at work done for a friend's discount is a case where the friend really should suffer through it with you. Straightening a frame with your friend (s) with a beer or two, that's fun. Machine work alone, that's a different formula.

[BoschZEV]

Magnetos have been the bane of this hobby for me. They have killed more enthusiasim, nullified years of hard work, and relegated many projects to years under a tarp in a dark corner.

For now I just do my own and help friends when I can.

When you have the know-how and instrumentation to properly fix magnetos, everyone is your friend...

[exeric]

When you have the know-how and instrumentation to properly fix magnetos, everyone is your friend...

I'd give you 3 years of free lawn mowing if you would build my Excelsior magneto. I've got 3 Bosch ZEVs that were claimed to be the correct degree for an Excelsior/H-D application. I either got hosed by these "friends", or they were as dumb as me and didn't know the difference Next month I am going on a mission to make one of those mags right for my X. I am fortunate that there is some magneto expertise in my region so I'll be leaning on them, and digging into the old exchequer.

[BoschZEV]

I've got 3 Bosch ZEVs that were claimed to be the correct degree for an Excelsior/H-D application. I either got hosed by these "friends", or they were as dumb as me and didn't know the difference...

FYI, the following post within the much longer restoration thread shows how I make sure the cam on a ZEV has the correct angle:

http://www.britbike.com/forums/ubbth...849#Post459849

[23JDCA 808]

This is a Gumption Trap, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumption_trap
Keep your focus or you'll die with a garage/basement full of unfinished projects. :-(

[BoschZEV]

Keep your focus or you'll die with a garage/basement full of unfinished projects.

Even 20 years ago it was already way too late to keep that from happening... One friend once commented that my heirs are going to have a way more interesting yard sale than are his.

Personally, while I certainly get enjoyment from completing a project, I probably get greater overall enjoyment from working on them. Working toward the goal of completing a project inevitably has countless minor moments of enjoyment along the way when individual problems are solved, and it's the positive reinforcement from them that ensures a project keeps moving along, although seldom in a straight start-to-finish path. If taking the time to restore this latest Bosch ZEV resulted in interesting new experiences as a result of whatever trade I made for it (even if only yet another pile of something to vex my heirs when time for them to deal with it), it could be well worth the time spent.

[D.A.Bagin]

I looked for the better part of a year to find someone to take apart and repair swiss cheesed 101 tanks. By luck while getting gas locally on my four a gentleman started up a conversation about the bike. In the conversation I mentioned my dilemma on the Scout tanks and he said, "Don't you know Mike?? Ride this bike over and he will talk to you for hours." He works out of a barn down the hill behind this house and gave me directions which I knew exactly where it was in the town I live in. It's no more than 2 miles from me. Well, true to his word I spent a couple hours with Mike. When I saw the real 64 Cobra and the 356 Speedster he was doing, amongst the regular type body work, I knew I was at the right place, but could I afford him? I brought him the tanks, he air-sawed them open in front of me and said no problem, but I can make them easier than fix them. I told him I would rather keep the real ones and then asked how much? He said as long I am not in a big hurry he will be fair. I just got them back a year later after stopping in occasionally to see the progress. He is an artist with metal. He repaired them perfectly, using lead filler if needed, painted them perfectly to match the bike inc. pin-striping. He told me how many hours he had into it. When I asked how much my jaw dropped. I am embarrassed to say on here. I will only say it was nickles on the dollar. He saw my face and his remark was, "I do this type work for people like you because I love it, not to make myself a millionaire. I see your passion for your hobby. You saw my shop, that is what I make me money on, not this." I think most of us are in for the love of the hobby and the passion that we show.

[exeric]

That's a great story D.A. We envy the guy that can just open his wallet for a Henderson but I've seen that type of "enthusiast" quickly come, and quickly go. There is no challenge to buying your way to nirvana, humans were meant to work at it. But, as a weathy friend of mine says; poor people always say stuff like that