Mean Greens

[John Hofstetter <hofs@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sunday, June 15, 2003, at 01:42  PM, Allan Ericson wrote:

> Mac-
>
> Getting a mean green starter for your application is silly. Carry a
> spare
> starter under the seat. If you intend to fix the 800 up for serious
> trail
> riding, a mean green is a good investment, just like EFI and a better
> cooling package, but not for a daily driver. They cost 6 times as much
> as a
> rebuilt starter, and a starter will last many years under normal use.
I pretty much agree with Allan, especially in Macs case. For one
thing, Mac has to prioritize what he can do with the resources
available to him.

However, in my situation, not wanting to deal with a non-functional
starter out on a trail, the Mean Green starter makes perfect sense.
Besides that, buying the MG starter and alternator allowed the
Fleckster  to have enough orders to add the MG line to his sales
offering. And although, I abuse him sometimes, I think that is
important.

You may find it funny, but I carry the Delco in the tool box just in
case.

A side issue is that the Mean Green spins the engine over much faster
than the Delco and when the engine was pre-igniting and kicking back
against the starter, the extra poop was important.  Did I ever tell the
digesters that Joel B. solved that problem for me?  Actually, Joels
sending me out looking at the plug wires, and Jim G.s spark plug
suggestions made a tremendous difference in how my Terra started and
ran. I put a lot of faith in Mallorys products, but those Mallory plug
wires just didnt stand up to the heat and high voltage.

Now as to the MG alternator, unlike with the starer, there are a number
of good alternatives, but again, I wanted to help the fellow get
started. Besides that, it is a conversation piece.  Without the MG,
there would have been no Mr. Hernandez story, no long disagreement with
Mean Green,  no Fleckster bashing, and after all, isnt that worth
something.  It is very well built, and now has good diodes, so Im
quite content with it.

You know, when you think about it, it is quite remarkable that there is
an aftermarket manufacturer that makes such important parts for our IH
vehicles. I say good for them, and for us.

John Hofstetter