.... how on earth can it take a "competent mechanic" approx. 24 hours to fix ANYTHING on this vehicle?
At first glance, it is easy to jump to that conclusion. But with one of them in your shop, where you can get a good look at it from above and below, you may revise your opinion. I have been restoring & rebuilding motorcycles for the past 40+ years as a hobby and am currently have 19. I have an adequate shop and at the moment, have two, frame-up builds going on simultaneously ('68 & '69 Triumph Bonnevilles)of which I've done many. I can build motorcycles in my sleep. However, my first couple of engine builds didn't go as fast as they do these days as I know the process, have the specialized tools needed and am just a lot more familiar with them. Though I'm not punching a clock doing them, I'm sure I could be more efficient than I am now if I were doing it day in and day out.
The Morgan wasn't really designed with the mechanic in mind as it needs to be a compact package...and some of it is just the nature of the beast. On a motorcycle, if a stator craps out, it's a couple of hour project and much of that time is spent cleaning pulled components, dealing with stubborn fasteners, gasket removal, checking to see if there is an exposed wire which caused it to short-out, etc. (as you well know based on your post). If installing that same stator on a new motorcycle on an assembly line, you are working with new, clean parts with no chaffed wires that are ready to go. The time required for stator change on a M3W is in the same ballpark as a compensator change just due to it's location. There are a few things that can be tedious on a motorcycle (access, etc.) but much of it is relatively straight forward. Short of a top-end rebuild on the M3W...everything is tedious and in tight quarters. I had a Chevelle that I could have the standard transmission out for a throw-out bearing or clutch change and be back on the road in an hour or so without even trying too hard...that's not happening on the M3W.
The dealerships that I have spoken with consider themselves fortunate to have a parts book and laugh when you inquire about a factory Service Manual (hoping it was only the public that didn't have access to them). I have Service Manuals on all my bikes (1967 thru 2014 models) including my most recent purchase of an Indian which is a newly released bike. With enough time, you can figure out how to do anything but it is nice to have documentation from the folks that designed and assemble it on the best or most efficient approach. That, along with wiring diagrams and harness/cable routing.
That and when you dig into the project and find another un-anticipated problem part, the project is then suspended for 8+ weeks waiting on a replacement part requiring the mechanic to have to clear the work bay for other paying projects, store the pulled parts and get up to speed on where he left off when the part arrives.
Though I haven't done a major tear down on mine yet, I suspect it will be more like building a ship in a bottle than working on a two-wheeler. Hopefully, I won't have to do it so much or so often that I become good at it. I suspect it will be one of those things that you hate the cramped quarters while working on it but glad its a tight package when up and running down the road.
Z
