What's going on with morris magneto

[Blackbetty]

Is Dave Shaw broke or something?

I bought a dual mag kit from him for a current build and fit and finish is just....bad.

Side cover doesn't fit at all

rear mag baseplate was drilled completely off center, like he used a fuck up to get parts out the door

he shipped the rear mag w the coil wire pinched under the cap, like really obviously. The insulation is cut.

I called him to rectify and it's been pulling teeth. Only reluctantly took the kit back. It was sitting on his bench for two weeks before I called him for an update - and his solution was to slot the lower dowel hole on the cover? And to fess up and admit he used a junk baseplate and to replace that. I have no idea what he did with the coil, there was a lot of cussing and yelling from his end.

Then he dropped the bomb that he wouldn't be covering return shipping. When I refused I realized that I'd never see these again unless I gave him my cc....

I've used morris exclusively since I ate shit w a hunt and have always considered his stuff to set a bar when it comes to quality.

Totally shocked by this unprofessionalism.

Just a heads up for anyone considering dropping thousands on a Morris...

[AlbertaFarmer]

Damn, very surprised to hear that. No excuse for any of it.

[TridentCycleSupply]

Not exactly a fix to your issue but maybe check your CC, some offer purchase protection. I bought a new springer that showed up damaged TWICE, after the 2nd time I just contacted my CC company, they said get a quote to have it fixed (replated) and paid me out on the quote prior to any work being done (ended up being 2/3 the cost of the front end)

Def sounds shitty though

[Guest]

I have been using Dave for 20 or so years without any problems at all,
always spot on & he always has time to talk, last year he got me a new Magneto delivered in 7 days, & I'm in England !!
maybe someone else packed the items you got, & fucked up by sending you shit & he's covering up for their mistake,
his daughter is working there on the phone, orders and handling the shipping,
so maybe she packed things she shouldn't have sent, ya know what wimmins are like !! hahahaha
certainly not his normal service for sure,.... hope you get it sorted

[Blackbetty]

Not exactly a fix to your issue but maybe check your CC, some offer purchase protection. I bought a new springer that showed up damaged TWICE, after the 2nd time I just contacted my CC company, they said get a quote to have it fixed (replated) and paid me out on the quote prior to any work being done (ended up being 2/3 the cost of the front end)

Def sounds shitty though

Thanks for the heads up on that. I ended up in a stalemate with the dude and had to pay for the return shipping. I bought the mags through American classic motors and they're up to date with this shitshow and may be able to offer recourse if the mags don't workout. But Dave kept trying to pass the buck as if I get what I deserve because I didn't buy directly through Morris. Told him it aint my problem.

Very childish, petulant behavior from an old man. I'll keep you guys posted but as it goes - I will never endorse morris products again (not that anyone gives a shit what I think lol)

[farmall]

Got any photos of the fuckup? It's shameful for them not to inspect every part before assembly on something so small, simple, and whose specific design (including impulse couplings, shit ain't special) is a century old. It's not as if they couldn't post clear photos with dimensions and provide go-nogo gauges for everything needing such at the inspectors work station.

Note to those not familiar with magnetos:
The real reason to run mags on a street bike is appearance or a lot more bikes than Harleys would have them. Their ancestors are just ordinary industrial magnetos which given how long they last are likely as good or better than overpriced versions of the same Fairbanks-Morse design. As makers get senile that's just good reason to rebuild 'em yourself or not bother. They're gorgeous but I can't see a mag kit being worth as much as many engines.

I have a Fairbanks on my Sporty Morris rebuilt around 1985 (before I knew how easy they are to get parts for or that every machine shop has a demagnetizer/magnetizer) but time flies and cognitive decline gets all of us unless we luck out and die first. Elders can't help it so caveat emptor.

Ted's should sell a dummy mag with points and EI options so customers can get what they REALLY bought them for at lower cost. Of all the godawful expensive aftermarket parts mags top the list for less bang for more buck. They are very pretty though and a nice money display.

Smokstak forums are THE home of old magneto information and links to services. Nice community too and if you have a Wico or other non-Fairbanks they're even more useful.

https://www.smokstak.com/forum/#smokstak-r-old-iron-and-tractor-forums.109

[Dragstews]

In order for me to wrap my head around your problems .....

[Dragstews]

Since I've been a long time, Happy as a Pig in Shit, dealer for Morris they sent me this e-mail to post .....



Here's our reply to him. We're not members and they want to make us wait 24-48 hours to post it. Can you post this for us, tell them we're not able to do so.

Thanks
Barry.

Let's set the record straight. You said the bottom dowel pin was off a fraction on old S&S cases. You assume it has to be our nosecone, not your cases. We sell hundreds of those a year, yet yours is the only one that has issues......interesting. In fact, we sent four of those out at the same time, and again......you're the only one that has an issue. These are placed on three separate fixtures with locating pins in the process of machining. It fit each time, or it couldn't have been machined. We asked if you put a dial indicator on your pinion to make sure it's true, you refused. They were just assembled.....it can't be off.......it has to be the nosecone.


We had you send it in, it arrives at the end of last week. We check it out on our fixtures (again the same ones that we use for every nosecone that fits everybody elses but yours) and it fits no problem, everything checks out fine. We notice some scraping on the breather tube, we told you that some motor castings are bigger and it could hit, you insists it wasn't but there are scrape marks on the tube. Yet again, you insist it has to be the nosecone, we have the pin location wrong. C'mon man.........try and muster up a little common sense here. and look at it for what it is.


As for the bronze plate hole being off, yup. We have some that are offset by .050 for custom applications and it got mixed in with the others. On your application, the slotted mount holes could care less about that, but we changed it anyway. Coil wire pinched, you say it was, we looked at it with an eye loop and saw no cracks, splits, breaks, nothing.....but we replaced it anyway. We thought you'd appreciate that, but non of the issues you claim to have are warranty problems, so we're not responsible for shipping.



You want to have a hissy fit out on social media to make yourself feel better, have at it. We've been making these since you were probably in diapers and more than likely, crying about them not fitting right too!


You're correct. I am an old man, I was raised in a time where we took responsibility for our actions. We didn't believe in handouts, and didn't expect freebies for our own shortcomings.

[Cimino289]

Thats one hell of a response

[Blackbetty]

It’s cool to see a rational response - wish he would have been that way over the phone, and I’m glad he saw my post. Bottom line is that all of these issues w this kit were there the minute I opened the box - and all I asked was for him to stand behind his product - I’m not asking for anything for free.

Thanks for offering his reply dragstews.

[Dragstews]

[farmall]

In order for me to wrap my head around your problems .....

We ask for pics but despite the world having smartphones and PCs which get them here in the first place, pics are rare.

To everyone else reading this:
POST PHOTOS EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK THEY'RE NEEDED. ALWAYS take pic for your own reference. (Building your own photographic library is free, effortless and pays off. I take pics of almost everything I work on, not just bikes.) If all the responding old farts like myself, Dragstews and Tatooo can do it, so can you, so do it in the first posts. Many problems would be resolved easily.

Parts questions, weld questions, "will this fit" questions, etc require DETAILS (not just pics, but very specific info) to help us help you.
Observe Dragstews tech pics. Note they are clear and well lit. Do likewise.

[Guest]

it seems to me that the OP didn't mention he was not fitting it to a Harley motor but an S&S motor which was made clear by Dave Shaw in his descriptive reply,
S&S do not always get it right, they do not reproduce an exact copy of any older Harley motor, they are all different to a degree,
with them being known to have at times made a manufacturing mistake that they let go, I for one would inquire with them as well as Morris about fitment,

I a couple of years ago bought a Burkhardt magneto nose cone adaptor,
it seemed reasonably well made but had I known it was a V-Twin made item I would have saved a few more Beer tokens and bought one from Morris,
now I am in England and with postage costs, time and knowing V-Twin have a shit after sales back up I decided to fix a major fault that the cover came with,
it could easily have cost me a totaled motor without any comeback this side of the pond,
This is what I found so the OP should think himself lucky he didn't buy one and fit it...

[Dragstews]

Whoa, that casting flaw is right in the oil port feeding the pinion shaft ... !!

[Guest]

exactly Dragstew,
I welded it up but it could so easily have trashed my motor, that's V-Twin quality for you, utter Shit !!
I have kept looking to see if in any adverts for the cover, you can see this area, but mostly no one shows it,
but on one picture I saw you could just make out what looks like a weld in the same place,
so I believe they didn't bother to fix the castings but just welded the holes up.
I reckon they are all the same and mine slipped through before the fault was found,
a piss poor and potentially expensive fuck up on Taiwan Teds front, the cheap fuck !
& that's why people who praise him and his shit products really Piss me off...………..