Chassis rubber for GS1000 78'

[Phaseman]

Anyone have sources for general chassis rubber. Tank rubber, fender grommets, tail light assembly grommets etc.?

[twr1776]

Bike Bandit, Flatout, Babbits and World of Cycles have been used by many here for OEM parts. You might also try the local dealership to see if they are any good. Flatout uses OEM numbers and usually is the cheapest if you do not mind waiting and the not too great communication. I just placed my "winter order" with the local dealership. I got all the OEM numbers and pricing from Flatout, printed the order and took it down to them which I do have a good relationship with. They ended up beating Flatouts pricing by $ 40.00 on a $ 540.00 parts order but that includes a rebate pregram they have on future orders. I think the key is to get all your OEM part numbers before you go in to the dealership so you do not tie up the parts guy and/or trust him to get the right numbers for you. I am lucky the local dealership by me is very good, most here have been treated poorly by the local Suzuki dealerships in thier area.

[Nessism]

Anyone have sources for general chassis rubber. Tank rubber, fender grommets, tail light assembly grommets etc.?

What's wrong with purchasing factory parts? Tons of on-line sources for parts (just do a search), or go to your local dealer.

Edit: twr1776 posted while I was typing...his response is more thoughtful than mine so just follow his advice.

[LarryA_Texas]

Bike Bandit, Flatout, Babbits and World of Cycles have been used by many here for OEM parts. You might also try the local dealership to see if they are any good. Flatout uses OEM numbers and usually is the cheapest if you do not mind waiting and the not too great communication. I just placed my "winter order" with the local dealership. I got all the OEM numbers and pricing from Flatout, printed the order and took it down to them which I do have a good relationship with. They ended up beating Flatouts pricing by $ 40.00 on a $ 540.00 parts order but that includes a rebate pregram they have on future orders. I think the key is to get all your OEM part numbers before you go in to the dealership so you do not tie up the parts guy and/or trust him to get the right numbers for you. I am lucky the local dealership by me is very good, most here have been treated poorly by the local Suzuki dealerships in thier area.

I've had problems with dealers locally, too, and try to avoid them. They're great for the new stuff, but over 10 yrs old you start to get blank stares. I use Prosourcemortorsports.com a lot. That OEM rubber stuff is pretty cheap and they always seem to have what I need.

[twr1776]

Ness / Phaseman, it is a little off this topic but it always amazes me how many local dealerships seem to not want the parts business. The online parts business has to have some monstrous sales numbers. I know I personally spend way too much money on parts as do most others here.

[tkent02]

They're great for the new stuff, but over 10 yrs old you start to get blank stares.

If you go in with a list of part numbers they don't have to know your bike is so old they should give the blank stare.

[bwringer]

If you go in with a list of part numbers they don't have to know your bike is so old they should give the blank stare.

I think "blank stare" is just the usual mode of life for some people... don't forget that in much of the US, work in a motorcycle shoppe is seasonal, so they tend to hire an assortment of drifters, carnies, and pimply high school kids.

If you find a dealership that keeps some of the same staff people year to year and doesn't mind taking your money for old parts, treasure it mightily. A couple of the parts guys at Flat Out, for example, have been there for a while and know what they're doing. But they still have a few high school kids and other assorted idiots standing between you and your parts. Even if you already have a list of part numbers, it's worth waiting for the guy who has some idea of what he's doing to get off the phone.

Also, keep in mind that many of these rubber bits and pieces are still in use on current models. A few bits here and there are NLA, but I've always been pleasantly surprised at how many are still available. And new rubber bumpers and cushions do go a very long way toward making your bike look and feel new.



Story time...

I've gotten the exact same blank stare at a Toyota dealership when inquiring for parts for a 2002 Corolla. I'm pretty sure they should have heard of this vehicle... You can't fix plain old stupid.

This dipstick had to look up the part number for the oil filter (Toyota only uses a very few oil filter types, and the Corolla filter is the same one used on virtually every 4 cylinder Toyota and every Corolla ever made. After 20 minutes on the job, he should have known this). Then he bimbled around in the back for 15 minutes looking for it. He tried to get me to order it and come back later. Uh, no...

His bleating finally annoyed a manager, who stared at him, marched up to the counter where we were standing and yanked open a cabinet containing about 500 of these filters, clearly marked "4 cylinder oil filters".

One isolated incident I could see, but the exact same thing happened when I wanted an air filter...

[80GS750]

i got all mine from bikebandit and its all new old stock, great stuff

[bonanzadave]

Tank rubber, fender grommets, tail light assembly grommets etc.?

Side cover grommets, Cylinder fin rubbers, and the one that caused a vibration on my bike.....centerstand rubber bumper. Got all mine from BB.

[Phaseman]

Wow!

Didn't know my problem with locals was so common. I live in a good sized town yet Suzuki is not represented here. The nearest dealership is 30 miles north in an even smaller town, which is not too far to go but... It's a very small shop, mostly quads and I think business is so slow that they try to squeeze every cent out of every order. Sad but economy is in bad shape here for now.

Thanks for the tips though, internet research doesn't bother me at all. I just started out with the best resource that I have found so far to save time... You Guys!

[psyguy]

Cylinder fin rubbers

people still use these?

[49er]

people still use these?

If you want a quieter running engine, you do!

[drhach]

So, on to another topic if you don't mind. I read your blog. Did the cops really impound your bike? Ouch. I hate to admit this, but I rode uninsured and without a license for many years (I'm all legal now). I got pulled over several times when I lived in Oregon. Only once did I even get a ticket. I got it for no insurance and the judge threw it out when I showed her that I went and got insurance.

[Phaseman]

Impound

Hey drhach,
Yup, impounded just like that... That moneys out the window now but I set a court date for next Tuesday to try for some kind of reduction on the 185.00 ticket. I have since talked to a few people about it an I guess with all the new bikes and scooters on the road because of the fuel crunch the Medford police are hammering on this as a revenue source or something. My daughter works at a local hotel and says that she knows no less than 5 other people that have had bikes impounded in the last two months. A guy that works at a local auto shop I use said he knows 2 people who have had theirs impounded.

For those on the thread that don't know the story, it's too long to go into right now but it's the most recent post on my blog. address is the one in my signature. The real bummer is that I have never ridden un-endorsed before but a few months back Oregon made some changes in their general licensing procedures. You have to jump through a bunch of hoops here in Oregon now to renew your license, then they print you out a temporary copy at the DMV and you have to wait 2-3 weeks for your legal copy to come in the mail. So I went through all that about 4 months ago. Last month I went in and did my written test for the motorcycle endorsement and passed it, but after testing they said I would need a copy of my birth cert. to get the endorsement. My birth cert is buried somewhere in storage so I just ordered one from CA to make it easier, this all happened while waiting for my cert.

Check out the blog...