Spare part stocks for bikes in NZ: question and grumble

[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 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

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 ) 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.