Another LIBERTY MCY SPECIALTIES Announcement

[T. Cotten]

Folks,

It is time for another annoying policy announcement from Liberty.

Sorry (BELIEVE me I'm sorry), but Liberty can now only honor float and manifold requests from the public at large.
Overwhelming demand requires that all carburetor services be submitted through an established account.

You know if you are. The rest of you must find someone who is....
(Blame it on me, and the recent rash of stiffs.)

Many thanks to the AMCA, an asset to the vintage motorcycle industry.

....Cotten

[Robert Luland]

Tom, do you have an MBA? Just wondering. Bob

[duffeycycles]

Must be the way of our world Tom.I've never been pushed harder by so many without $$$$ than lately.

[T. Cotten]

Golly Duffey,

If they have an Indian Four, they should know it is going to get expensive.

Since I can't get paid because they claim the carb is faulty (Quite possible, since it was distorted like it had been on fire: Imagine a wax candle in the sun...), but since they won't send it back, I'm probably going to offer something for the "core", just for a "bad example" on display.

Otherwise I am out of many weeks of focused attention and skilled detail.
Time for me to find an exit strategy:
(Sick of "fattening frogs for snakes", like Tedd who stole my pics from this forum for his catalog, and several other scavengers across the 'Net.)

....Cotten

[len dowe]

I have talked and bought from you before Tom and it makes me mad that anyone would stiff you and your company. Especially if any AMCA members.
I get that as well in my trade. People want this and that and then they don't have the money to cover it. My mom used to always say "Champagne taste on a beer budget".

[T. Cotten]

Thanks Len, but face it...

Skilled 'one-off' service is doomed in a world of mass-production one-size-fitz-none mentality.

Exit strategy is now my priority. I did what I could for vintage motorcycling and History; Sorry I couldn't do more.

....Cotten

[23JDCA 808]

You are a good man Tom; and smart to get out while the gittin' is good. Bill in Oregon

[T. Cotten]

Don't forget, Bill,...

You are an 'established account.'

....Cotten
PS: The real tragedy is that there is no one in the next generation to pick up the ball and run with it.

[Steve Swan]

Tom, I'm darn glad you rebuilt, conserved my two DLX38's. Your work is of the highest quality and your prices are very reasonable.

[billpedalino]

Tom,
You did some very nice custom work on my M61-B. Sorry to learn of your announcement...

[cdndewey]

The real tragedy is that there is no one in the next generation to pick up the ball and run with it.

That certainly is a tragedy. Skilled specialists are already scarce...going to be hard losing another one.

[T. Cotten]

That certainly is a tragedy. Skilled specialists are already scarce...going to be hard losing another one.

Don't bury me yet, Dewey!

I am already buried with demand.

....Cotten
PS: I made the tombstone with my computer, but it was pretty hard on the printer.

[pisten-bully]

PS: I made the tombstone with my computer, but it was pretty hard on the printer.

Cotten, did you bubble test that tombstone first? Could be why the printer had trouble! ;-)

[T. Cotten]

Cotten, did you bubble test that tombstone first? Could be why the printer had trouble! ;-)

Doh!

I just kept kicking it.

Back to the State of the Art: With my benches already swamped with overdue chores, a fellow who disappeared out-of-touch for a year resurfaces wanting his half-dozen G Models, as if I had continued with them thinking he was perhaps 'pushing up daisies'.
With many, many hours into them already, I stalled after subbing out ~$400 in welding. The welds ain't pretty, and I didn't sit down to carve on them. With other things to do, it was cutting my losses. Which brings us full circle to the looming skill-gap for the industry: All of my trusted TIGmeisters have died, or getting close to it.

If I send them back rough and un-useable, I won't get paid. If I spend several weeks on nothing else, the bills won't get paid, and they still won't be complete.
(I had hoped to R&D G Model float replacements, but reconstructing this venturi slide seemed critical at the time.)

The double-whammy is that "reproduction" hardware is most often pitiful.
As much as I like helping good people, I fear I must now tell folks with cobbled Tedd Linkerts, and ebay-hero atrocities, that they are on their own.

Just call me an "a-hole" like they do on the tribal forums...

....Cotten

[T. Cotten]

SERIOUSLY!

I mean it, so Folks should stop calling me,
Not only because I don't have the energy, (and can't hear on a telephone anyway) but Liberty would be soon ruined by the overwhelming demand.

If you are not on my books, its only floats and maybe manifold services at large, ... soon to be: 'maybe' for all 'new' accounts.

If I had a crew on hand, it would be different.

....Cotten