Favorite place for OEM valve covers?

[Guest]

Well I will probably not be buying these from bikebandit.com at $37 each for a 80GS1100E.

Partshark.com is only $19 so I'm wondering if 1) if this shop - still -have a good reputation and 2) this is really OEM. Their parts list shows it as "11173-49004-H17 (replaces 11173-49001)" so it looks legit. I think I ordered somethign from them once and it took many weeks to deliver so maybe that is the reason why it is so much.

Babbits doesn't seem to stock the gaskets. I tried a number of others found on Google and the rest don't carry and don't even have listing sof motorcycles that old.

That is all I found so far.

Any others I can trust and ship fairly quick?

Thanks,
-Bob

[chef1366]

I use mrcycles.com

[Steel Toed Tank]

Sirius Consolidated is my favorite place, they have incredible prices and dirt cheap shipping, they just don't carry too much stuff for GSes.
I get all my tires and OEM gaskets and stuff from them though.

80 GS1100E valve cover gasket - $5.99

[Steve]

Well I will probably not be buying these from bikebandit.com at $37 each for a 80GS1100E.

Do yourself a favor and remove THE BANDIT from your shopping list.

Do your valve cover gaskets have to be OEM? If not, they are $12.86 at Z1.
If it's shown on their website, it's in stock.
If you order before about 3pm Eastern time, it ships that day.
The owners are members of GSR.

What more do you need?

.

[littleroot]

Sirius Consolidated is my favorite place, they have incredible prices and dirt cheap shipping, they just don't carry too much stuff for GSes.
I get all my tires and OEM gaskets and stuff from them though.

80 GS1100E valve cover gasket - $5.99

Wow, nice price.

NOS. I guess gaskets don't go bad so why not take a chance on a couple of these.

Thanks!

[littleroot]

Do yourself a favor and remove THE BANDIT from your shopping list.

Do your valve cover gaskets have to be OEM? If not, they are $12.86 at Z1.
If it's shown on their website, it's in stock.
If you order before about 3pm Eastern time, it ships that day.
The owners are members of GSR.

What more do you need?

.

Z1 has been incredibly good to me

But 90% of the threads here say use the OEM gasket (or the RealGasket but the 80GS1100E has the tach gear in the cover).

I'm trying a couple from SCI as Steel Toed Tank suggested because I can get two delivered in three days to CA for $24.

Thanks

[littleroot]

I use mrcycles.com

$5 better than BikeBandit. Thanks!

[Steve]

While there might be a slight difference in the quality of gaskets, I think the only ones that REALLY demand using the OEM gaskets are for the cylinder base and head gaskets. The rest of them really don't matter all that much.

Let us know how they work.

.

[bwringer]

Just to answer one of the questions above, Partshark.com is a legitimate OEM parts vendor. They're based at a real live powersports dealership based in Greenwood, IN (suburb of Indy) called Flat Out, Inc.

If you're in Indiana, sales tax eats up some of the savings, and they no longer allow you to pick up parts in person. If you're not in Indiana, they're a great source.


Also, bear in mind that absolutely NO ONE keeps a vast stock of OEM Suzuki parts on the shelf. When you order from a web site with an online fiche, they order the parts from Suzuki, Suzuki sends the parts to the dealer (assuming they can actually find the parts), then the dealer sends the parts to you.

This means you need to have some patience when you order OEM parts for older Suzukis. Be amazed you can get this stuff at all instead of complaining that it takes an extra few days...

Specialist vendors, like Z1 Enterprises, generally stock what they sell, and most of it comes from aftermarket vendors, although they can get OEM parts and do sell some OEM bits.

And then there are the doofs running an online store in their mom's basement with no inventory. Be wary of anyone selling aftermarket stuff that cannot indicate inventory levels or give a shipping date.

When you order online, just make sure your mental model resembles what's actually happening so you're not disappointed. Allow extra time when ordering Suzuki OEM bits for olde motorbikes. Once in a while it takes Mama Suzuki some extra time to rummage through her warehouses for that dusty widget from 40 years ago, and there's nothing you can do to change this by screaming at the dealer or complaining online.

[bwringer]

While there might be a slight difference in the quality of gaskets, I think the only ones that REALLY demand using the OEM gaskets are for the cylinder base and head gaskets. The rest of them really don't matter all that much.

Let us know how they work.

.

I've seen some aftermarket valve cover, stator cover, and clutch cover gaskets that are made of thin gasket paper, cut out on some sort of plotter device.

These do NOT work very well, and can even cause mechanical problems. For example, a too-thin clutch gasket can cause the shift rod to bind against the cover. Which is problematic.

Aftermarket or OEM cover gaskets that are the proper thickness all seem to work well.

[Big T]

You should just check how much your local dealer wants for an OEM

Probably not much different than on line plus shipping

My 1000 runs under $20 at the dealer, the 850 is about $26

The OEM gaskets will last longer

[littleroot]

You should just check how much your local dealer wants for an OEM

Probably not much different than on line plus shipping

My 1000 runs under $20 at the dealer, the 850 is about $26

The OEM gaskets will last longer

You ever shop somewhere which makes you feel like they wish you never came back to their store? Yeah, that is my local Suzuki dealer, "GP Sports" in San Jose. But can I blame them? I will never buy one of their new bikes and I am always asking for old parts they have to order. Then last time they could not find the parts I ordered when I showed up a few weeks after they called to say my parts arrived. I might still have a gasket there I never picked up for my 82GS1100GL