Parts availability in Canada

[GSJim]

Does anyone have a recommendation for ordering parts in Canada post-Covid? I'm looking for carb boots, a brake piston and possibly front master cylinder parts. I usually prefer to shop locally but local dealers are either locked down or not interested in older parts.

Thanks.

Jim

[trevor]

Does anyone have a recommendation for ordering parts in Canada post-Covid? I'm looking for carb boots, a brake piston and possibly front master cylinder parts. I usually prefer to shop locally but local dealers are either locked down or not interested in older parts.

Thanks.



Jim

Well the usual American parts places are still shipping but expect long delays. I find it strange that your local dealer won't order for you....I have ordered lots of parts recently for my bikes from local dealers...why would they care if it's an old part or not? Same process.

[steve murdoch]

Have a look at the FortNine site.
Just bought tires from them.

https://fortnine.ca/en/

I have also had good luck with Sirius

https://www.siriusconinc.com/

[trevor]

Have a look at the FortNine site.
Just bought tires from them.

https://fortnine.ca/en/

I have also had good luck with Sirius
https://www.siriusconinc.com/

I would be interested in how long it takes to get the tires from fortnine....there shipping has been brutal during Covid

[steve murdoch]

I was surprised it only took 5 days and that was including a weekend.
Ordered the tires on a Thursday afternoon and they were on the front porch Tuesday at noon.
They came out of Montreal.

I used to order tires from Pete's Superbike in Montreal but their prices have increased in the last couple years and for my tire purposes, the selection has lessened.

[GSJim]

Well the usual American parts places are still shipping but expect long delays. I find it strange that your local dealer won't order for you....I have ordered lots of parts recently for my bikes from local dealers...why would they care if it's an old part or not? Same process.

In the past I ordered from two different local dealers. One is a long drive for me and has severely restricted hours because of Covid lockdowns. The other seems to be putting a much higher priority on new car and bike sales than either parts or service. Covid is a good excuse to make changes. And both of them told me that they couldn't order the brake piston because Suzuki Canada didn't have a listing for that part number for my bike. Probably nonsense because the same part is used on lots of bikes. I have a list somewhere.

I will check out Fortnine and Sirius.

Jim

[GSJim]

And a follow-up question. Can anyone recommend a reliable ultrasonic carb cleaning service in Canada. Paul Jones (nastyjones) used to clean carbs. Is there anyone else? A mechanic cleaned my carbs a couple of years ago but I was never really happy with the results. He dipped them but didn't use an ultrasonic cleaner.

Yeah, I know, read the tutorial and do it myself. As a last resort, I will break the rack myself and ask one of my friends to clean one body at a time.

Thanks.

Jim

[trevor]

And a follow-up question. Can anyone recommend a reliable ultrasonic carb cleaning service in Canada. Paul Jones (nastyjones) used to clean carbs. Is there anyone else? A mechanic cleaned my carbs a couple of years ago but I was never really happy with the results. He dipped them but didn't use an ultrasonic cleaner.

Yeah, I know, read the tutorial and do it myself. As a last resort, I will break the rack myself and ask one of my friends to clean one body at a time.

Thanks.

Jim

Hey Jim, any chance you are on facebook? The reason I ask is because there is a fantastic group called
Ontario Rizen Sun vintage Japanese motorcycle group

They have lots of great guys there and I'm sure you could get help there. Cheers

[GSJim]

Hey Jim, any chance you are on facebook? The reason I ask is because there is a fantastic group called
Ontario Rizen Sun vintage Japanese motorcycle group


They have lots of great guys there and I'm sure you could get help there. Cheers

Thanks for the tip. I will check them out. I completely forgot about Ted (Classic Katana Owners). He lives in my neighborhood. With the number of Kats he owns times four carbs per Kat, he must have a recommendation. He used nastyjones before but he mentioned finding someone else a while ago.

Jim

[steve murdoch]

Trevor, thanks for the tip on the Rizen Sun site.

[80GS1000]

Personally if I need to buy a lot of Suzuki OEM parts (like over $200 worth) I tend to get them from https://japan.webike.net/oem_parts/top/.

If you are buying in sufficient quantity, the international (DHL) shipping fee is more than offset by the fact that the OEM Suzuki parts are about 30-50% cheaper in Japan than they are from North American dealers. Plus Webike tends to ship in 1-3 days (proximity to the Suzuki factory helps a lot).

I saved a ton of money and time this way when I built my GSXR engine on the expensive stuff like pistons, connecting rods, bearings, oil/water pump etc etc.

[trevor]

Trevor, thanks for the tip on the Rizen Sun site.

No problem. I joined the group because of some friends from Ontario...I grew up in SW Ontario.

Did you join?

[Gorminrider]

I'd still wonder at your local shops.....it's worth investigating further. I think your local dealer has the shipping figured out, gets a "dealer price" and ships in bulk-lots of stuff at once. My experience is that local shops don't mind ordering any part# in their catalogue even by phone and some will really look hard through several catalogues to find the best or cheaper options.

But some things they just can't find....
If you do decide to ship from foreign countries, be very careful about "Brokerage Fees" . It's worth your while to look the phrase up online...

Never buy if they are using UPS-it will arrive with a $40+ "suprise" tacked on COD. It can go as high as $70 in my experience. I don't know about DHL and the rest. But until I do, from the States, I only allow the U.S post (USPS) which hands off directly to Canada Post. Customs fees are minimized, although there is a $10 fee they tack on too.

The private delivery companies can make it very attractive for the shipper to use them with rapid pickup and all that but might get it back from the hapless receiver.

[GSJim]

I'd still wonder at your local shops.....it's worth investigating further. I think your local dealer has the shipping figured out, gets a "dealer price" and ships in bulk-lots of stuff at once. My experience is that local shops don't mind ordering any part# in their catalogue even by phone and some will really look hard through several catalogues to find the best or cheaper options.

But some things they just can't find....
If you do decide to ship from foreign countries, be very careful about "Brokerage Fees" . It's worth your while to look the phrase up online...

Never buy if they are using UPS-it will arrive with a $40+ "suprise" tacked on COD. It can go as high as $70 in my experience. I don't know about DHL and the rest. But until I do, from the States, I only allow the U.S post (USPS) which hands off directly to Canada Post. Customs fees are minimized, although there is a $10 fee they tack on too.

The private delivery companies can make it very attractive for the shipper to use them with rapid pickup and all that but might get it back from the hapless receiver.

The closest dealer won't do telephone orders for parts and there are comments on the local forums about their general lack of interest in parts sales.

UPS brokerage fees are a scam. I only use them for US shipments when the vendor has an all-in prepaid shipping price including taxes and duties. Like you, I prefer to use USPS and Canada Post. Some of the local guys ship to Niagara Falls NY and use Cross Border Pickups to get the stuff to Canada. I haven't tried them yet.

Jim

[mcycle-nut]

[QUOTE]I would be interested in how long it takes to get the tires from fortnine....there shipping has been brutal during Covid [QUOTE]

Really Trevor? I've recently ordered both a brake disk, (Super Tenere), and gloves from them with a promised time of a week, and got them both within in 5 days.