Parts Availability

[cowboyup3371]

Started looking for some parts for Charmayne's 550L and ran into some difficulties finding certain things, primarily gaskets, from the parts houses. Has anyone else started noticing that finding parts is getting harder since the pandemic started? Is it going to be a hope to find it on EBAY type of search now?

[Big T]

Yeah, you will see more and more parts becoming obsolete.
looking at a Suzuki parts fiche, you will notice that the price disappears, then the part number, then the part listing.

The oil pan gasket for my 1000 is NLA, so I took the part number to eBay and found it there.

[Redman]

Nice that they let you know were out-of-stock.

My project last summer/fall I would order stuff (Babbitts), some parts would arrive and others listed as "Back order, no delivery date known". Which meant that other suppliers could not get either.

Pan Gasket was a hard one to find, did later find one on ebay (only 50% extra). I suppose some old stock at someplace that had one on shelf yet.

.

[Big T]

Well, even parts that are available aren't always the same.
Way back, I damaged a chain adjustment bolt, and replaced it with parts from the hardware store, which had 13 mm heads, rather than 12 mm.

The originals were zinc plated, the replacement bolt is black oxide and the nut is chrome

[Baatfam]

I've already run into NLA parts for my 2001 Triumph.

[bwringer]

GS parts were trickling out of stock long before the pandemic. Motorcycle and motorcycle stuff sales were actually very strong during the pandemic.

I've owned my GS850G for 25 years, and it's 39 years old. Honestly, sometimes I'm just grateful I can get anything at all.

Lots of parts went NLA on my 2002 V-Strom DL1000, and even though they made the 1st-gen KLR650 through 2007, lots of bits like body plastics are long gone. All the mechanical stuff is still available, although Kawasaki's parts pricing is beyond ridonkulous.

So far, things are pretty good for my 2015 FJ-09. And Yamaha parts pricing is actually pretty decent compared to the other Japanese brands. I had to wait a few months last year on some OEM clutch bits but that's not really out of the ordinary.