found this video it might help you.

 

Well, there are two aspects here; business and the community of owners. The community does share (for the most part), that's part of being an enthusiast of biker. H-Ds are not cutting edge racers in big buck racing ...

Would I expect someone retired from business, like Petersen or other, to pass on what they've learned?

They may as well, otherwise it's only going to die with them, and much is dying with old timers. I think it's a shame more of them don't. I'd hope they would.

For example, Petersen in his book recommends Morrow. Actually, I found that surprising, out of all the people doing good work today. But back in the day, Carl did a lot of work and without doubt has a lot experience. It'd be a shame if it was only passed on to his son.

As for Evos, most of it is 'out there' anyway. It's just a matter of whether you can do it. Regards the book, I'd just hoped it was all in one place ... an "the other half of the manual" ... for sake of convenience.

Like you say, the cost of the equipment and the skills required to use it, are going to be an obstacle to most and so sharing is not so much of a threat to business. Many companies do because they are proud that they can and want to engender trust. It's also helps to have informed customers and a book/comprehensive website folk can go read to make decisions. Are "we" just business or are we the "community" our business is based on ...

I don't know if anyone is interested but there was a similar problem in Hollywood with video editing and FXs. They problem was it require specific hardware and software (Silicon Graphics) that was hugely expensive and training time which meant that a) there were young engineers coming into the business, because b) the set up costs and investments required to do so were just too high.

So they fixed the problem by moving to a more Open Source platform; free software running on free Operating System (Linux) on hardware anyone could build. Bingo, the industry expanded quickly. Someones stood up, shared what they had, opened it up for others to improve and develop and quickly it became industry standard.

(We - the H-D world - should do that with fuel management/timing software).

I see a similar problems now with the Harley industry and engineering in general because the set up costs are so high but that's a whole other discussion. As Harley really does not have any competitors, and especially relating to obsolete models, I think they too could help by Open Sourcing more information. In software, it's certainly worked to encourage a vast community of able developers. Although it is a bit much to expect small companies and individuals to afford the overheads of doing so ... as Donny says, the 7c an hour pay ... I would argue that it would be better in the long run for larger companies to do so.

I think it's fair to say engineering on he whole is dying and not enough is being done to encourage especially young folks into. The best engineers I know are all in the 60s or 70s and still working but only just. All of them speak of the problems of finding young people to come into their trade. Again, a whole other but related discussion.

There is an sensible order to doing work and I think this perhaps could have been more clearly stated in the book too. In fact, it's really the starting point not going on about Knuckleheads and Pans ...

I'd say squish > porting work > compression ... but then with an old bike you quickly start to rack up other costs, e.g. cleaning up, you're going to lose paint/coatings > if you have it apart you may as re-coat it > if you're doing the top end ... the bottom end is sitting them in front of you ... you end up taking on painting the Golden Gate bridge!

If I was writing a book on Performancing a motorcycle, I think including a chapter on budgeting.


In my case, I need to cut the barrels which means new rods, ker-ching, another hundred dollars I cannot spend on something else ... there's always a limit to how much you want to pour into an old bike.

 

and the local harley dealer pays 10 bucks an hour to new guys who want to be harley techs after something like MMI school

the last MMI tech that i had knew nothing but how well his social media network was going

i never look over at him that he was not on the phone texing

and somehow i should give away to the masses what i starved during the 80s to stay in business - worked endless hours - to learn what we do today - for the good of humanity - F that

 

One the best reality posts ever put on the Evo section, understand his passion.

Learned more from talking to John Sachs on the phone concerning setting up engines than any book, can't replace experience on any scale of a art and people at the top of their occupation are the ones you want in your corner when you are going to twist the throttle. Giddy Up with confidence

 

But you're not selling a book to strangers that purports to.

If you do ever, perhaps after you have retired, I'd suggest sticking in some dyno charts to prove or illustrate the differences you are writing about because this book lacks them and merely talks in basic generalizations, e.g. "exhaust pipe length change performance", not this pipe does this, that pipe does that, and here are the charts etc. Or illustrates the changes and various combinations in hard, undeniable hp/ft lbs.

In 2010, this website - and all the business than runs from it and all the business connection that have been made through it - started to run on software that a bunch of guys gave up doing other stuff to work out, sit down, write, bug fix and keep improving ... and then gave away for free. And documented all the changes.

Funnily enough, they're into performance, speed, reliability and adding new improvements too but they work out that by sharing what they found freely, others were able to look at it, see things they didn't build on it and then share them back so everyone benefited from a better product. Now their market share is twice the size of the competition Microsoft and business and consumers are not being screw for buggy products and break and are insecure.

Twice the market, twice the earning potential for providing services others cannot, and those guys earn a lot more than MMI grads.

I've never really sat down and though how it might applies to anything except the fuel injection system. Imagine a superior, completely Open Source fuel injection system and diagnostic you could modify freely. There are folk working on it but not for Harleys.

 

i am pressed for time so mabe tonight i will take a better stab at this

exhaust question is not a viable one -- way to many variables cam duration pipe inside diam - length - carb choices the list is endless no quick click on a key board answer this works with this NOPE it might be tuned to work

web site downloads injection stuff -- you have me - in 1999 we stopped taking in harleys new models i do not work on them as my shop has been for ever a reeal bike shop we fix things ans re assemble old bike see pictues if they come out as i am not a CP guy at all i want my MA bell rotary phone back

 

Man I gotta make it to NJ one of these years to see your shop!!!!!!!!

Oh and I want mine back too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!