Throttled by Kawasaki

....but why would the spare parts guy give a shit about new bike sales?

Nev..
'03 ZX12R
'02 CBR1100XX

 

Not everyone can afford a brand spanking new bike. Some of us have to ride older bikes
otherwise it means not riding at all. By not supplying parts for older bikes they cut their
customer base by a significant amount and also the revenue that would generate and also
start pushing riders off the road. If this keeps up, I'll have to give up riding for good
because there's no way I can afford something newer. Thanks for all the support.

I'm seriously getting the feeling that because I ride an older bike and don't have the
latest and greatest crotch rocket that I'm not a real motorcyclist and don't count.

I was at the local bikeshop in Lilydale today getting a tyre fitted. They told me they won't
touch my bike because "it's too old" and their mechanics are to precious to even look at
anything earlier than 1990. How the hell is doing the valve clearences and balancing the
carbs so frigging different on my bike than something from 1990? They had a frigging
shop full of new bikes with carbs and valves. It's not like carb and valve technology
changed that much from 85 to 90.

If no-one will service the thing then I'm going to have to give up riding. I simply
can't travel for an hour/hour and a half just to get the thing to a shop that will service it.
The cost of getting someone to transport it for me is something I don't want or need.
I may as well just sell it and drive the fucking car for christ's sake.

Why did they put themselves out to get me a speedo cable and all the other parts I ordered
and got for that model bike? Why get picky on just one thing like a speedo cable?
Why didn't they tell me that "sorry, they don't make spark plugs for that bike anymore".

 

Make that a throttle cable.

 

Interesting reading this thread. I would seriously have thought every
bike shop would make more money selling spares than the margins on new
bikes. Wasn't it Henry Ford who said that he wasn't in the business of
selling cars, he was in the business of selling spare parts.

I guess modern sportsriders' propensity towards a new bike each year
probably heads that off a bit, but even still - the markup on spares
is enormous. It'd probably cost $50k to build a $15k bike from spare
parts.

And it ain't as though a GPZ900R is that rare ....

Cheers



-------------
Kevin Gleeson
Technical Director
Blue Rocket Productions
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
www.blue-rocket.com.au

 

I forgot to mention that they were fully prepared to order me a choke cable
from Kawasaki in Japan. Now, if they were going to do that, what's so fucking
hard about getting a throttle cable included in the order? I'm getting sick of being
fed bullshit from all and sundry about just how wrong it is to be trying to get an
old bike back on the road. Understandably, I'm getting pretty fucking angry by now.

 

Wrong shop. Wrong mechanic. Keep looking.

Mate, if you find the right mechanic, you may travel at least that far, and
think yourself bloody lucky that they can find time to work on your bag-o'-
bits. Stick with it - decent mechanics are out there.

Gary

 

"Black Bart" wrote

and don't count.

I know just how you feel Bart. I'm an older bike rider and don't have
the latest crotch rocket either.

It's not like carb and valve technology

Huh? what's a carb?

Theo
Two cylinders, four valves, no carb.

 

"Black Bart" wrote

fucking angry by now.

Oh dearie me. Don't get angry. Go find any accessory shop which have
them for 1/4 the OEM price. Everybody else knows that and that's why
dealers don't stock them.

Theo
Thinking about trying to get his 1961 BSA back on the road.

 

In aus.motorcycles on Fri, 6 Feb 2004 16:27:34 +1100

Do you have a throttle cable at all? even broken or grungy?

If so, find the Flexible Drive bod in your state and ask if they can make up
a copy.

They aren't the only ones who do that kind of thing, search
www.yellowpages.com.au putting "cables--mechanical" in the business
type box. Go through the bods listed and see if anyone will make you
one.

Zebee
- who only *has* old bikes, so has learned these things.

 

Bart, you need to understand what sarcasm, irony, piss-taking, and
buggerising-about are all about.

Anyway, here's the australian refernce on cables:

http://www.ozcableguy.com/

Happy to help.

 

Vehicle manufacturers are only required to keep a supply of spares
available for a set period. 9 years, (IIRC), for any model they make.

I found this out the hard way when I stacked my '87 Yamaha in '98.

I enquired about some fairing parts I needed, and the bloke said that
they only had a couple of wrong colour ones left. I said, "can you order
me some silver ones?", he just laughed.....

Funny thing is, I bought a 1970 model Triumph a few years later and
parts are still being made and are generally cheaper and more accessable
than Jappas half the age of the old Trumpy's.

Shame yours is NOT a classic. hehe.

Kimbo

 

They had advised me on Kawasaki parts being not available 8 years ago. Next
shop I tried (in Eliz Street), ordered the part and sent it to me.

Hammo

 

I'm an older bike rider too, but my bike is a 2003 model.

G

 

I forgot to mention that they were fully prepared to order me a choke cable

Ok, my parts order came in and I get home and I'm looking through
the bag for a part and I notice two cables in it. I couldn't get the
throttle cable and the choke cable had to come from Japan. Should
only be the speedo cable in there as I nixed the choke cable. I didn't
have weeks to wait for it.

I pull it out and it's a choke cable, which had to come from Japan.
Fast boat indeed. I check the receipt and the cable has a value of
$0.00 against it. I add it up and sure enough, they never charged me for it.
At least some small good thing has come of all this.

Bike is now about 90% done. Got the tyres on, chain & sprockets on,
fresh coolant, fresh oil and filter, air filter, spark plugs, valve clearances,
carbys cleaned out, HT leads checked and trimmed for good contact,
new grips and choke cable fitted.

Got it going yesterday and going from a bike that would take the full
battery charge and then have to be jump started from a car for about
half an hour to get it to start, to one that starts second or third attempt.
Seeing as it was sitting idle for nearly 4 years, that's not too bad at all.

Now I'm getting happier as the job's getting done rather than being
dicked around and having my time wasted.

All that's left is to fit new fork seals and oil, get the instrument mounts
re-welded on the main fairing frame, get the fairing re-fitted and find
a new muffler. Then it's off to get the carbs balanced and final tuning
touches then get the roadworthy and get regged.

Then to go for a good blurt.