Late 20's buddy says he needs new coils for his single cam Honda 750. OK says I....are yours shot ?? Well, says he, they don't seem to read right on my meter. OK, says I, I have a brand new set of aftermarket coils ready to rock. Buddy looks them over and asks if I can test them. Sure, says I.
OK....4.8 ohms on the primaries....great. Secondaries read 14K ohms and change....perfect.
Hmmmm....says buddy. Well, I'll take them and try them. I say, If you STILL don't have sparks then you've got problems somewhere else......cuz it won't be these.
Next day comes the phone call: I want to return those coils, says he. I say: What's the prob ?? He says I want the stock coils. I say: What's the mold number on your stockers ??
He phones back in 20 minutes or so with the number. I say I'll find a set and phone you back. I find a set and check them out on the meter: 4.8 ohms on the primaries and 14K on the secondaries. I phone him and tell him the good news. He says he's on the way to get them in exchange for the new coils he bought the other day.
He shows up, I show him the readings on the stock coil set I have and then he gets this perplexed look on his face. He says he figures he needs stock coils...but with 3 ohm primaries. I say there ain't no such thing on old Hondas with points ignition.
He says that the DYNA S INSTRUCTIONS CALL FOR 3 OHM COILS !!! I say: You didn't mention anything about Dyna S, buddy !!!
OK, he says, I'll keep the new coils and try them because the Dyna S instructions say that it will work well with the stock coils. He's confused but off he goes.
I have a few quiet minutes to try to figure this out....and then remember we have a new Dyna S kit in the back room. I get the instructions and read them.
In part, it says: "Dyna S will work well with the stock coils and with any coils with a primary resistance of AT LEAST 3 ohms (my emphasis)."
Because buddy failed his language arts classes, he was incapable of reading and interpreting the instructions properly, thus causing me a whole bunch of heartburn and causing himself a whole bunch of running around and wasted gas.
I phoned him back and got him to read the pertinent part from the instruction sheet as above. I asked him if he understood what he was reading. DEAD SILENCE FOR 30 SECONDS !!! I then proceeded to explain (in simpler terms) what that sentence meant.
More silence......then he thanked me for explaining what it all meant.
And my friends all think I've got a "dream job" because I get to work with bikes all day.
Nooooo......I get to work with GOOFS all day. There's a HUGE difference.
As cousin Bob, the mechanic, says: "I can fix the bikes....but I can't fix the riders."
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