Spare part stocks for bikes in NZ: question and grumble

[RentaTriumph]

Being a huge Triumph fan I am blown away by the complete lack of stocks Triumph NZ have for the most basic of parts. What normally happens if one of my bikes requires a simple part as a bar end weight, gear or rear brake lever or a simple decal they have to be ordered from the UK and there is a 2 week wait for the parts to arrive. I recently went to a Honda dealer and asked him about parts availability from their NZ dealer and he said the same thing that due to companies not wanting to carry excess stock you have to suck the sav and wait for the 2 weeks for parts to arrive from off shore.
Is this true for all makes in NZ like Harley, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Ducati etc. How have you found your dealer when trying to source low impact motorcycle accident bits and pieces. I know with some of my bikes like the ST Sprints with full farings that it is very easy to damage farings, mirrors, levers etc with a simple drop of the bike. While farings are normally easily repaired in a couple of days to have to wait 2 weeks for parts I believe dealers should have that covers these sort of low impact accidents is a bit on the nose.

[skippa1]

so far, biggest wait I have had is 3 days to get parts for the speedy.....and that was to Nelson. When I went to AMPS, they had next day delivery.

[AllanB]

Pretty standard now days I think. Basic consumables like filters, levers are stocked and sundry bits but a few years back I had to wait for a air filter!


The other issue now is if you have to wait 2 -3 weks from a NZ dealer you can most likely get it cheaper and quicker from abroad ........... which may be why the suppliers are also stocking less parts.

[slydesigns]

Triumph offer a 1 week delivery service, have your dealer ask Robert at Triumph NZ about this.

They also have 7 brands of bike manufacturer and up to 12 models for each manufacturer to support with parts.

So 70 plus bike models all requiring different parts to be in stock, of which they only sell a handful of each a month. The $$$ value of holding inventory of most parts for all these models is HUGE! Not only in purchasing them and hoping they sell before being superceded by a newer version or improved part, but also in the warehouse floor space to hold them all. Its scary stuff and having a 1 week supply service from the manufacturer is much more economically viable for a small market like NZ.

Unfortunately thats the price we pay for being a small consumer market (ie not enough of us buy the bikes in the first place - you'd be surprised at the actual low number of new bikes sold each year) and for being at the end of the earth. Be thankful we aren't Brazilians. They take 6 weeks minimum to get ANYTHING.


The other issue now is if you have to wait 2 -3 weks from a NZ dealer you can most likely get it cheaper and quicker from abroad ........... which may be why the suppliers are also stocking less parts.

The scary thing with this is parts are where the bike importer makes his or her living from, not from the bike sales themselves. The more we go offshore, the less profit they make here, the less money they have to buy in new bikes, the less they sell, the less they have in cash reserves to buy in parts as stock and promote products, sponsor riders and events, the more bleaker the industry becomes until they fold and no one else can afford to step in and take over. Its happening now with Yamaha NZ.

We'll always have new bikes available, but not as many choices and nothing exotic or interesting. Sportbikes are an example, they sell a small percentage of the total bike market, cruisers and naked are where the money sales are. So Sportbike choices will be reduced without money being spent locally on them and a demand created.


I know with some of my bikes like the ST Sprints with full farings that it is very easy to damage farings, mirrors, levers etc with a simple drop of the bike. While farings are normally easily repaired in a couple of days to have to wait 2 weeks for parts I believe dealers should have that covers these sort of low impact accidents is a bit on the nose.

There is also the possibility that a few of these Sprints have been dropped and they are out of those parts

[North Harbour Yamaha]

We carry a lot of Yamaha parts in stock. YMNZ we can get parts from overnight, If they have to come from Yamaha Australia it is only 2-3 working days and if they have to come from Yamaha Japan it is normally 7-10 working days.

(I have had parts from Australia arrive the next day and from Japan in 5 days)

[SMOKEU]

Even Honda parts are not as easy to come across as you might think. They often have to be ordered in from Japan or Auckland, and when you do get them, they cost a kings' ransom.

[Smiff-ta]

Its simple Parts stocking and re-stocking.

If you have 0 sales history for an item. You don't stock it. Pretty simple really.

A good parts manager will only stock FAST moving and Common parts.

You can't stock everything, so what you do stock are items you can turn over.

[RentaTriumph]

Triumph offer a 1 week delivery service, have your dealer ask Robert at Triumph NZ about this.



While I haven't had any accidents this Year on any of my rentals I have never had parts delivered from the UK within a week. What is extremely frustrating is when the part arrives from the UK and it is the wrong part which means more time off the road.
I will ring Street and Sport and ask about this 1 week delivery service and see what the extra fee is as it is the 1st I have heard of it.

[Motu]

Close your eyes and point to any car on the street,then try and get some obscure part for it - it will arrive on 1 hour courier.It's just supply and demand,NZ has a shit load of makes and models of car,and any part is a phone call away....dealer or aftermarket.There just isn't the infrastructure of parts companies to supply the small amount of bikes on the road.If the dealer keeps the airbox cover for your make and model of bike,you'll be able to buy it for cost in 20 years time,it'll still be on the shelf.Or you could get it sooner if they go out of business.....

[Robert Taylor]

Motu's sentiments whilst cynical are pretty much on the money. We have or want all the trappings of the western world, theres a huge range of makes / models and spec variations, therefore millions of different parts. We have only 4 and a half million people and seemingly half are on welfare. Stock turn in international terms is very very poor and therefore the unit cost to stock is also very disproportionate. Exacerbating that even further is we have too many distributors and dealers competing for ever thinner slices of a cake that is not that profitable, especially when you consider that the ratio between returns and just opening the doors is not that flash. Dont believe me, try it!
We want parts instantly and expect every part to be stocked and at instant beck and call right down to the most obscure part, and then we also want them at the lowest possible price. Sorry but all of that just cannot add up. If we had a popoulation of 40 or even 100 million then there would be enough business for distributors to be able to AFFORD to stock more. Higher stock turn would then allow sharper prices so that our countrymen ( ordinary New Zealanders like you and I ) could begin to compete with internet resellers.
I get sick and tired of oversimplistic bagging of local distributors as being rip off merchants when the people doing the bagging have got precious little idea of the hoops that you have to jump through just to stay afloat in this new world.

Those who work in distribution will understand all this, painfully so.

[Mully]

Those who work in distribution will understand all this, painfully so.

Indeed. Although in the age of international Express companies, sourcing from Australia should be an overnight thing.

In fact, I worked for a company who, provided they ordered by 3pm NZ time, had the shipment delivered the next day.

Perhaps NZ retail shops need to be cosying up to the Aussie guys to leverage off their market.

OP - just out of curiosity - as a rental fleet owner, wouldn't it make sense for you to keep levers, mirrors, etc in stock in case one of yours gets broken and you can get the bike on the road ASAP??

[Taz]

Why aren't we opening the floodgates to immigrants? Would be easy to get 40 million chinese here.

[tri boy]

Why aren't we opening the floodgates to immigrants? Would be easy to get 40 million chinese here.

Crafar farms would back that idea for sure.
Fortunately most of NZ will not:sunny:

[Voltaire]

Why aren't we opening the floodgates to immigrants? Would be easy to get 40 million chinese here.

They have but they like Auckland too much....:innocent:

[ynot slow]

Was wondering why you don't keep clutch,brake levers,maybe indicators etc as well.

I was impressed when I saw at Supercheap the fact they stocked limited bike filters etc,much more impressed when I went accross from work to Suzuki dealer to get a filter,had option of oem or aftermarket,asked for prices and only $1 different,didn't have aftermarket so got suzuki labeled one for $19,the other was $18 and supercheap had same in stock for $22,which was 300mts down the road,so ask yourself supercheap with kiwi and aussie buying power should sell the exact same item cheaper than a bike shop eh.

[Robert Taylor]

Was wondering why you don't keep clutch,brake levers,maybe indicators etc as well.

I was impressed when I saw at Supercheap the fact they stocked limited bike filters etc,much more impressed when I went accross from work to Suzuki dealer to get a filter,had option of oem or aftermarket,asked for prices and only $1 different,didn't have aftermarket so got suzuki labeled one for $19,the other was $18 and supercheap had same in stock for $22,which was 300mts down the road,so ask yourself supercheap with kiwi and aussie buying power should sell the exact same item cheaper than a bike shop eh.

The joke of course is that if you buy a cheaper aftermarket oil filter it can have as little as 60% of the paper area of a genuine one, which is at least built with a decent and ethical amount of quality control. Relief valve opening pressure can often be quite different as well as micron size of filtering capability. There are good aftermarket filters but then also a lot are rubbish.

[blackdog]

it pains me to say this but the manufacturer with the greatest parts holding in NZ is Hyosung

they carry 98% of all parts for all models in NZ

[ynot slow]

The joke of course is that if you buy a cheaper aftermarket oil filter it can have as little as 60% of the paper area of a genuine one, which is at least built with a decent and ethical amount of quality control. Relief valve opening pressure can often be quite different as well as micron size of filtering capability. There are good aftermarket filters but then also a lot are rubbish.

Couldn't think of aftermarket brand,but it was hiflo,stocked in most bike shops and supercheap,amazing thing was the cost at bike shop was cheaper for the hiflo than supercheap for my bike.Have no problems using hiflo.

[RentaTriumph]

Motu's sentiments whilst cynical are pretty much on the money. We have or want all the trappings of the western world, theres a huge range of makes / models and spec variations, therefore millions of different parts. Snip Snip

My original post said only common low impact parts which I wouldn't consider to be to much of an ask. We are talking indicators, levers, possibly front forks, triple tree and perhaps front rims. As someone mentioned earlier Triumph NZ would know how many units they would sell per week or month and once a couple are off the shelf then order in new ones to keep the inventory current. To expect bike owners to wait two weeks in the middle of peak riding period to wait because they don't want to stock the parts is rubbish IMHO.

[shrub]

Motu's sentiments whilst cynical are pretty much on the money. We have or want all the trappings of the western world, theres a huge range of makes / models and spec variations, therefore millions of different parts. Snip Snip

My original post said only common low impact parts which I wouldn't consider to be to much of an ask. We are talking indicators, levers, possibly front forks, triple tree and perhaps front rims. As someone mentioned earlier Triumph NZ would know how many units they would sell per week or month and once a couple are off the shelf then order in new ones to keep the inventory current. To expect bike owners to wait two weeks in the middle of peak riding period to wait because they don't want to stock the parts is rubbish IMHO.


I have just spoken to Sean, who as you know has a very good understanding of Triumph parts and the parts ordering process. Things like levers, lights etc are usually well stocked, especially for the models of bikes you own because they get broken all the time, and are often all that stands between a bike being roadworthy and parked in the shed. I know in my day the only Triumph parts that weren't in Auckland were the more obscure stuff, things that didn't generally break (crankshafts, frames etc). Also some stuff like forks and rims tend not to be stocked in NZ as they're usually only called for in the event of a major crash, so the repair process takes a lot longer which means the couple of weeks it takes to get the parts in isn't a problem. Many parts are interchangeable, and if your parts person knows their stuff they will be able to look for a part for a similar model that may be in stock.

Triumph NZ send their order to the UK every Thursday evening, and it takes up to 2 weeks from that for the parts to arrive, so the longest you should wait is 3 weeks, which would happen if you placed your order on a Friday. however what sometimes happens is the parts person doesn't know what they're doing and either orders the wrong part, doesn't order the part by the Thursday deadline or completely forgets to order the part. Also on occassions dealers that are struggling find themselves on stop credit, so parts are unable to be ordered.

I suggest you might want to contact McGiver and Veitch if you find yourself stuck, when I needed some bits the other day they were in my letterbox inside the week.

[Mully]

OP - just out of curiosity - as a rental fleet owner, wouldn't it make sense for you to keep levers, mirrors, etc in stock in case one of yours gets broken and you can get the bike on the road ASAP??


Was wondering why you don't keep clutch,brake levers,maybe indicators etc as well.



My original post said only common low impact parts which I wouldn't consider to be to much of an ask. We are talking indicators, levers, possibly front forks, triple tree and perhaps front rims. As someone mentioned earlier Triumph NZ would know how many units they would sell per week or month and once a couple are off the shelf then order in new ones to keep the inventory current. To expect bike owners to wait two weeks in the middle of peak riding period to wait because they don't want to stock the parts is rubbish IMHO.

So why don't you (personally) keep a stock of them on hand so you don't have rental gear unable to be rented?

[Fatt Max]

it pains me to say this but the manufacturer with the greatest parts holding in NZ is Hyosung

they carry 98% of all parts for all models in NZ

Glad I have one of those then, and it really loves me it does....

[blackdog]

Glad I have one of those then, and it really loves me it does....

mate, in terms of after sales service, they actually beat every one else hands down.



argh....i can see this thread about to get messy (esp when the best after sales service is provided by a korean manurfacturer)

[dogsnbikes]

Understand where your comming from Corky,just over a year ago I needed a new stator for the daytona well 2 weeks before Christmas actually,just too be told there was'nt any new ones in stock worldwide:facepalm: and would have too wait 8 weeks to get one from supplier....

Second hand was and option but because my model was known for burning out stators it was too much of a gamble to get 2nd hand from the UK,so I ended up upgrading to the 1050 stator,also meant changing the rotor and casing the parts arrived in NZ 2 days before Xmas it was the 10 of jan that the parts arrived at the workshop:angry:

[BIG DOUG]

Well car parts are a different story,I have two friends who order car parts from rokit industries in sydney and if you order by 10am it will be here in nz the next day by 12pm , I wanted to buy local from triumph a starter clutch for a 92 trident $520.00nz but not availiable for 6 weeks 1 email to cath lilley at jack lilley triumph and $320.00 and a week later it was on my doorstep.

[Paul in NZ]

I ordered new throttle / choke cables for my 1970 Triumph and it was on my desk that afternoon.... ;-)

[RentaTriumph]

I ordered new throttle / choke cables for my 1970 Triumph and it was on my desk that afternoon.... ;-)

We all know old Meriden Triumph model parts are quite easily attained especially through Best of British etc. We are talking modern Hinckley Triumph parts that are only distributed by Triumph NZ.

[RentaTriumph]

So why don't you (personally) keep a stock of them on hand so you don't have rental gear unable to be rented?

I run 3 different model Triumphs and you obviously don't know what it would cost to stock all these items from headlights through to panniers or you wouldn't have come up with the suggestion. Just for an outer rim of a headlight for a speedmaster they tried to rip me $265. A complete headlight is $600 odd dollars. Triple tree is around $500 and speedo is $900 where do I stop. Mind you it is hard to loose being Triumph NZ when you don't have to shell out money to have stock sitting on shelves. Then getting a purchaser of their bikes to have to pre-order the parts first then getting a nice premium for ordering the parts in from the UK. After 3 years of renting bikes it would be easier for me to go into rent a dent freedom campers :-)

[Mully]

I run 3 different model Triumphs and you obviously don't know what it would cost to stock all these items from headlights through to panniers or you wouldn't have come up with the suggestion. Just for an outer rim of a headlight for a speedmaster they tried to rip me $265. A complete headlight is $600 odd dollars. Triple tree is around $500 and speedo is $900 where do I stop.

No, that's not what I asked.

I asked why you don't stock levers (hand and foot) indicators and mirrors for your three models. I'm not suggesting you carry a full set of spares (unless you break speedos on a regular basis, of course)

TBH, you could run aftermarket on all these items anyway, which would achieve two things:
1, You wouldn't have to wait several weeks to get your income back earning $$
2, If you dislike the people running Triumph here, you can avoid giving them more money than you have to.

[SMOKEU]

it pains me to say this but the manufacturer with the greatest parts holding in NZ is Hyosung

they carry 98% of all parts for all models in NZ

I'd say that's because their bikes are quite modern and they don't have a whole lot of JDM's around like Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. Think of how many different models of bikes the big 4 Jap manufacturers have built over the years.

[Headbanger]

it pains me to say this but the manufacturer with the greatest parts holding in NZ is Hyosung

they carry 98% of all parts for all models in NZ


Thats because 98% of the parts have a high fail rate.......

[Katman]

Understand where your comming from Corky,just over a year ago I needed a new stator for the daytona well 2 weeks before Christmas actually,just too be told there was'nt any new ones in stock worldwide:facepalm: and would have too wait 8 weeks to get one from supplier....

Second hand was and option but because my model was known for burning out stators it was too much of a gamble to get 2nd hand from the UK,so I ended up upgrading to the 1050 stator,also meant changing the rotor and casing the parts arrived in NZ 2 days before Xmas it was the 10 of jan that the parts arrived at the workshop:angry:

Were you not given the option of having your stator rewound?

[YellowDog]

Being a huge Triumph fan I am blown away by the complete lack of stocks Triumph NZ have for the most basic of parts. What normally happens if one of my bikes requires a simple part as a bar end weight, gear or rear brake lever or a simple decal they have to be ordered from the UK and there is a 2 week wait for the parts to arrive. I recently went to a Honda dealer and asked him about parts availability from their NZ dealer and he said the same thing that due to companies not wanting to carry excess stock you have to suck the sav and wait for the 2 weeks for parts to arrive from off shore.
Is this true for all makes in NZ like Harley, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Ducati etc. How have you found your dealer when trying to source low impact motorcycle accident bits and pieces. I know with some of my bikes like the ST Sprints with full farings that it is very easy to damage farings, mirrors, levers etc with a simple drop of the bike. While farings are normally easily repaired in a couple of days to have to wait 2 weeks for parts I believe dealers should have that covers these sort of low impact accidents is a bit on the nose.

AND that's why many import the parts at 30% of the NZ price and in half the time.

Most like me would rather pay more and hget the parts straightaway.

AMPS are pretty good with their stock and turnaround time.

[dogsnbikes]

Were you not given the option of having your stator rewound?

Rewound was an option,but it was considered just a ban-aid fix at the time

I still have the old stator which I may get rewound at some stage

[Katman]

Rewound was an option,but it was considered just a ban-aid fix at the time

I still have the old stator which I may get rewound at some stage

If the stator is rewound by someone who knows what they are doing it will be every bit as good, if not better, than a genuine new one and should cost somewhere in the region of $250.

Sounds like you got stung.

[shrub]

AND that's why many import the parts at 30% of the NZ price and in half the time.

Most like me would rather pay more and hget the parts straightaway.

AMPS are pretty good with their stock and turnaround time.

Triumph NZ carry a huge inventory of parts, especially for current and recent models. Obviously if you're after a part for a 1200 Trophy you might have to wait, but even for my 04 Thunderbird Sport (a discontinued model) they carry pretty much everything. And what they don't have is generally no more than 3 weeks away because Triumph UK have a huge stock of parts. Triumph's success was built on a modular concept which meant they could build multiple models despite being a small company. An early criticism was that they would be unable to provide a full parts backup, something tht has been a problem for many smaller brands, but John Bloor had good parts backup as a key operating procedure, and that hasn't changed.

The problem with parts backup has to ultimately lie with the weakest link, and frequently that's the person behind the counter. A good parts person needs to have a bloody good understanding of mechanics and how the bikes are put together, plus they need to know how the supplier's systems and processes work so they can can cut corners and expediate the process. Unfortunately the parts person is usually the least skilled person the shop and rarely has the mechanical knowledge necessary.

Sadly the "they're out of stock" and "we're waiting on the supplier" is all too often dealerspeak for "we cocked up the order and now have the indicator for a Speed Triple not a Sprint" or "we forgot to send the order, thanks for reminding us, we'll send it now". Kind of like "I posted the cheque last week, it must be lost in the post".

[Paul in NZ]

We all know old Meriden Triumph model parts are quite easily attained especially through Best of British etc. We are talking modern Hinckley Triumph parts that are only distributed by Triumph NZ.

Yeah - I know, I was being sarcastic ;-)

[RentaTriumph]

Yeah - I know, I was being sarcastic ;-)

Might see you at Wanganui Paul for the TOMCC National rally.

[dogsnbikes]

If the stator is rewound by someone who knows what they are doing it will be every bit as good.

Finding that someone is the hardest part in most case's.............but if you know someone let me know

Stung!! HMMMM the 02-03 daytona's stators were dodgey buggers so I look at it as piece of mind investment,

[Katman]

Finding that someone is the hardest part in most case's.............but if you know someone let me know

Stung!! HMMMM the 02-03 daytona's stators were dodgey buggers so I look at it as piece of mind investment,

Rewinding a stator is not rocket science. There are a number of people out there who do a perfectly fine job of it. Any bike shop would not have a problem finding such a person.

It sounds to me like whoever you dealt with saw some serious money to be made.

[Paul in NZ]

Might see you at Wanganui Paul for the TOMCC National rally.

Hope so - still working on my health. Not a biggie - got a bung arm and have to go through the pain of the physio finally admitting defeat (3 months) and refering me to a specialist (like i asked on day one as this was an 'oh shite' moment and rather obviously did some damage). Riding for any time is tricky somedays.

Worst case we might throw the bike and tent in the daughters van (after I have to fix it of course :blink:) for the 'ride' etc.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Being a huge Triumph fan I am blown away by the complete lack of stocks Triumph NZ have for the most basic of parts. What normally happens if one of my bikes requires a simple part as a bar end weight, gear or rear brake lever or a simple decal they have to be ordered from the UK and there is a 2 week wait for the parts to arrive. I recently went to a Honda dealer and asked him about parts availability from their NZ dealer and he said the same thing that due to companies not wanting to carry excess stock you have to suck the sav and wait for the 2 weeks for parts to arrive from off shore.
Is this true for all makes in NZ like Harley, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Ducati etc. How have you found your dealer when trying to source low impact motorcycle accident bits and pieces. I know with some of my bikes like the ST Sprints with full farings that it is very easy to damage farings, mirrors, levers etc with a simple drop of the bike. While farings are normally easily repaired in a couple of days to have to wait 2 weeks for parts I believe dealers should have that covers these sort of low impact accidents is a bit on the nose.

interesting: when I dropped my Scrambler due to attempting to ride away with the disc lock still on it (in the friggin' carpark at work of course) I had two parts I needed: a speedo cable (as the lock rotated round it smashed the end off it) and a right side riders footpeg.

Both parts were in stock and both were in Chch within 3 working days. They were expensive as fuck though (from memory, $180 for the speedo cable, and $100 odd for the footpeg). But whatever, my fault totally. Presumably they are common parts to all the vertical twins, but I was happy there was stock in NZ.

When I dropped my Honda Hornet at the track day my impression was there was more of a delay on some part I needed, but not sure on that now. The parts bill was around the same too, again, IIRC

[Robert Taylor]

Couldn't think of aftermarket brand,but it was hiflo,stocked in most bike shops and supercheap,amazing thing was the cost at bike shop was cheaper for the hiflo than supercheap for my bike.Have no problems using hiflo.

Yes, HiFlo is one of the better ones.

Although things have generally improved since then ( but dont hold your breath ) when I worked in a large motorcycle franchise in London in the early eighties I saw several examples of collapsed oil filters, the first examples of cheap and very nasty stuff from the Asian mainland.

[Robert Taylor]

Certainly its perfectly understandable that high turnover parts like levers, indicators etc should be available straight away, all the time.
There is another factor that has become even more of an issue since the recession started. Every motorcycle manufacturer has parts made by subcontracting companies. Many of those companies have either closed down or retrenched significantly. Finding new subcontractors to replace those that have closed down and meeting quality standards has also been a headache.
That means that lead times for obtaining component parts from these suppliers has in many cases increased significantly. This is an issue we just have to accept and get used to.