Seriously stupid designs

[Dr. Enzo Toma]

i've got a morini dart , looks like a tiny ducati paso ,


 it is basically a 125 cagiva 2 stroke chassis where they managed to shoehorn a 350 morini engine in.
as the chassis was meant for a two stroke it does not have easy access to the engine.
to check the oil level you have to completely remove the fairing.
typical of italians ,
build beautiful things, but practicality not at the top of the priority list.

I have a Ducati Paso 907ie, and yeah, removing the body work to do anything takes about a half hour if you're careful about it. Anytime Desmo service comes up on one of my bikes I pay a shop to do it. It's ranged from 2.5hr to 6hr services. Modernish Ducatis in general are not very end user mechanic friendly, even for the Scrambler Icon 800 I owned they don't officially publish a workshop manual which was a factor in me deciding to not buy another new Ducati when the DesertX came out. That said, I replaced the clutch on my Ducati Scrambler in the garden of my apartment at the time in under an hour... watching a video of someone replacing the clutch on a Moto Guzzi V7 and I hope mine never wears out!

It's amazing how many bikes have overly difficult valve service though, take the new Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 for example, you have to pull one of the cams to adjust valve clearances. Absolute nightmare compared to something that was simple on the 411 predecessor.

A notoriously stupid design from HONDA of all brands is on the modern Cub engines up until a few years ago, the 110cc and 125cc from the early 2000s up until ~2022 depending on the model had the oil drain plug on the engine just opposite a bolt with the same head size that held the hydraulic cam chain tensioner plunger up in the engine. Come the first oil change, many people pull the wrong bolt and accidentally drop the plunger out the bottom of the engine and lose the spring inside the left hand crankcase cover which requires pulling the flywheel to retrieve it... for the latest Euro5+ engine Honda changed that plunger bolt to a button head allen/hex bolt to avoid the common mix up.

[wirespokes]

I've heard the engine needs to come out to replace a Goldwing alternator.

[PeteS]

I've heard the engine needs to come out to replace a Goldwing alternator.

I think that was true on the 1100s. The 1800 alternator can be removed without removing the engine. Just takes a bit of fiddling with one of the nuts. BTDT

Pete

[cliffrod]

It isn’t just stupid designs but needlessly cumbersome assembly procedures to enhance profitability….. 

For many years (and maybe they still do it?), HD installed rear axles in such a manner that the exhaust had to be removed in order to remove the axle to service the rear wheel.   This required additional labor hours at the dealership, especially if there were problems with the exhaust and how it was removed.   A formal dealership would keep all these parts in such a configuration to boost service profit margins on return visits. 

Being a regular & honest non-dealership shop, we would remove the exhaust to remove the axle on the first relevant service.  Then we would install the axle from the opposite side and put the nut end on the exhaust side.   Simple remedy.

From that point, the labor to do a tire, rear brakes, etc was significantly reduced.

[nc43bsa]

  A formal dealership would keep all these parts in such a configuration to boost service profit margins on return visits. 

What's a formal dealership?

[ridingron]

What's a formal dealership?

formal = former ? ?

[faffi]

I've heard the engine needs to come out to replace a Goldwing alternator.

That was true for the GL1000/1100/1200. Also for the CX500/650. The same is true for the TCI pickups - engine out. Changing the clutch on a GL1800 is also eye-watering costly, although the engine must not come out - it is just a PITA to get at.