Restoration of a Bosch ZEV magneto

[BoschZEV]

They want a $500 one that cost $1,000 to repair. So I have not repaired anymore.

Yes, that's quite a problem. A magneto cannot be properly repaired for the $250 that people already think is too much. I would have lots of customers if I spent $1500 worth of my time rebuilding magnetos, as long as I only billed them $200 for the labor. However, if I billed what it actually costs, there would be very few customers lining up. So, I do what any rational person would do who has assembled a comprehensive set of instrumentation and facilities and actually knows how to diagnose and repair magnetos properly -- I repair them for free... (but only for a few friends ).

[marsh1915hd]

The best guy around magneto was tested for three days just could not handle the heat. Condensers were all bad, it was not just my magnetos.
By the time I have them cleaned up and working I have more in them than they will pay for one. No one wants to buy one for $1,200. They want a $500 one that cost $1,000 to repair. So I have not repaired anymore.

[BoschZEV]

So how much did this job cost? Just to do the work I would say $1,000.

Well, I did it for a friend, so it was priceless. I didn't keep track of the time involved, but the work I had to do to make that magneto function as good as when new easily would have cost over $1000.

I too send magneto's to the best guy around, and had a lot of problems with the mag and it cost some miles on the Canon Ball 2010.

I have to wonder how you can call someone "the best guy around" when you say his magnetos failed you. If you had someone do mechanical work on your engine and it failed, I doubt if you would say that mechanic was "the best guy," so why do people -- not just you, but a lot of motorcyclists -- accept magnetos that fail? There is simply no reason a properly rebuilt magneto should fail.

Thanks you for posting this, it is very good and i have learned a lot.

Thanks very much for the nice comment.

[marsh1915hd]

I started buying Bosch ZEV magneto's in the early 90's also but i am in no way as good as you are.
So how much did this job cost? Just to do the work I would say $1,000.
I too send magneto's to the best guy around, and had a lot of problems with the mag and it cost some miles on the Canon Ball 2010.
So you want to be the ZEV guy? I have a couple of doz. that need done? Most of the clean up work is done. Threads taped, screws cleaned up, and many other hours of works done to them.
I use to buy them for $100, now there $500 and don't work. There are fake ones, cost $1,000.
Thanks you for posting this, it is very good and i have learned a lot.
Terry Marsh

[BoschZEV]

Some of you might be interested in the detailed description of the restoration of a magneto I posted to BritBike Forum under the name Magnetoman. It is the most extensive such description I am aware of on the web or in print, requiring 20 posts over four months to complete. The subject of the thread is a Bosch ZEV I restored for a friend's 1923 Harley-Davidson that he subsequently rode in the 2012 Cannonball Rally:

http://www.britbike.com/forums/ubbth...46733#Post4467 33

My obsession with magnetos was, ahem, sparked in the mid-1990s when I restored a BSA Gold Star that came with a nonfunctioning magneto. Rather than taking the time to figure out how to fix the magneto myself, I decided to send it to a specialist. That was a mistake. Although the specialist came highly recommended, had a very well equipped shop, and seemed quite sure of his abilities when I spoke with him, the magneto failed after 90 miles with what I recognized as a bad replacement condenser.

Anyway, as a result of that unfortunate experience with a highly recommended magneto rebuilder, and as I wrote in the 'Epilog' to that thread, "Although I have no way of knowing for sure, I seriously doubt even the most heavily-equipped professional magneto rebuilder has the range of equipment and facilities I do for diagnosing and restoring magnetos." I should add that this is not an advertisement for restoring magnetos since I only do that for myself (and a few close friends who managed to corner me)