Motorcycle Enthusiasts, Riders, Mechanics...I need a little help!

January 2, 2018 5:57 PM

I'm looking for a reliable online parts source/house. Please recommend the ones that work for you.

Back in the '90s and '00s I did a ton of work on air cooled VWs and motorcycles. After taking a break while raising kids and whatnot, I'm getting back into it but all of my local sources have gone into retirement and the biz has moved online.

It's been kinda hit/miss with bikebandit.com and some other random sellers regarding pricing and quality. I'd really like to find sources that I can work with and form business relationships like I used to have. Help me get dialed in.
Many thanks in advance!

posted by snsranch to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

This largely depends on the make and model of bike. Even for old hondas, cb/could 160s are a totally different parts stream away from newer cbs.

Make and model might get you a better more refined source.
posted by furnace.heart at 6:27 PM on January 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

What furnace.heart said. I use ProCycle a lot because they specialize in DR650 parts & supplies, and of all my bikes, my DR is most often in need of repair. But I have several local connections, too, and I do my best to throw them some business on a regular basis, just to maintain that relationship. I do a bit of eBay and Craigslist too, for used parts. I live in the SF Bay Area, which has a pretty significant motorcycle culture. YMMV.
posted by mollymayhem at 12:34 AM on January 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

I tend to play with 70's and 80's tin so these are my suggestions: I use Mike'sXS for mid-seventies Yamaha parts and Randakk's Cycle Shack for 80s Honda bits. Most manufacturers still have parts from the past to the present available to order at the dealer, for a premium price. There are tons of Chinese parts available on ebay, some are as good as the OEM, other are broken before they even get put in the box. A surprising number of parts can be found at AutoZone, Advance Auto, and NAPA if you get an employee not afraid to dig through the database.

My best advice is to join a forum for your particular bike, because most of them have a wealth of data available to registered members, and many small-time sellers, with many shed-built solutions to specific problems within a range of models. Also lots of parts are off the shelf and not model specific, so are available more readily from odd places. For instance, the exact same water pump seal on a Honda CX500 is available for 1/4 the price the dealer charges as a part for irrigation pumps, and for 1/2 the price at a Yamaha off-road dealer. I would never have discovered this without the knowlege base of an online forum.

Good luck!
posted by 1f2frfbf at 7:33 AM on January 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

I own a motorcycle shop, and dink around with vintage bikes (BMWs mostly). What kind of bike(s) are you working on?
posted by workerant at 10:41 AM on January 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions. My first project is just a 2000 ZX7R with a bad fuel pump. I'm scanning craigslist and pennysaver etc. for inexpensive projects that I can do mild restorations on...just get them running, road worthy and sell them.

workwerant: If I run across a vintage BMW, it's going to be a keeper and daily rider. I used to own a 1980 320 is. Not a true sports car, but damn there were no engineering flukes or flaws.
posted by snsranch at 5:32 PM on January 3, 2018

I always liked newenough.com but now that site redirects to motorcyclegear.com. Maybe there’s something there.
posted by bendy at 12:18 AM on January 4, 2018 [1 favorite]