Book of Shame

This will be a bit of a rant, I am afraid.

About a week ago I decided to start keeping a record of parts made for Harley Davidson motorcycles that don't fit, don't work and or are just plain shoddy. Believe me (and I am sure you do if you have ever worked on Harleys for a living) this is a constant, ongoing problem in this business. Lately I have had an absolute rash of junk parts to deal with.

I have dedicated a 3 ring binder to this purpose and intend to keep a record of every part I come across that is manufactured incorrectly with the part number, application and manufacturer of the "junk part."

It was really easy to fill up about 3 pages without going very far back in time. I am sure more of the parts I have "beat my head against the wall" about over the years will come to mind and be added as time goes on.

Yesterday I had a four new entries for the book which cost me about a half a day of labor. These were parts that I paid good money for, which were incorrectly manufactured. And this was all just in one section of one motor. Usually the problem does not become evident until you are in the middle of an operation. Did I mention how frustrating this can be? Then to top it off, there are always the added problems. How many hoops will I have to jump through to return the part? Is every one of this particular part from this manufacturer defective? Is there any other source for the part? Can I make the part work with modification? How much time will I waste trying to get any kind of answer from the manufacturer? Does the manufacturer care even a little bit that they are selling junk?

Yeah, a bit of a rant, but you should hear me when the circumstances are fresh. By the way, I titled the 3 ring binder "Book of Shame"