Finding Old Parts

[MaxPete]

Hi All:
I was on another forum this morning and a question on this topic had come up so I wrote up a post and thought I would re-post it here to re-fresh the knowledge-base.

I wonder if this might warrant a sticky....

Pete
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If you go to Partzilla.com - you can select your bike model and year and then pull up the parts fiche (aka exploded view / microfilm drawing) and get the OEM part number for every single nut, bolt, bearing, seal and engine or chassis part on the bike.

THAT OEM PART NUMBER IS GOLDEN INFORMATION!!

There are several things you can do with that OEM part number:

• You can see if Partzilla lists the part as available and at what price (they carry a huge stock of parts for even older motorcycles);
• 
  
• If you click on the part number in the parts list beside the exploded view diagram, another list will come up telling you what other bikes used that very same part. (OEMs recycle a lot of their parts from one bike to another and so if you go into a dealership and say you need a footpeg bolt for a 1978 Yamaha XS650, the pimply-faced parts kid will likely say "We don't carry any parts for 41 year old bikes" - but....if you say "I need a footpeg bolt for a 2017 Yamaha R1" - he may have a box full of them. Many simple parts like fasteners have been used for literally decades - and have been listed under exactly the same part number throughout that entire period.
• 
  
• Knowing what other bikes used the part that you are presently looking for means that you can go to a salvage yard and look at a much wider range of bikes than just yours.
• 
  
• If you own a Honda (and I suspect that some of you might ) - you should know that a large percentage of the fasteners - things like nuts and bolts and those expensive little plastic push-pins that hold the fairings together are also used on Honda cars and they use exactly the same part numbers as the bike division. The key thing is that Honda car dealerships usually have a much bigger stock of parts than any bike stealership and they normally price the parts much lower than the bike division because the auto market is so much more competitive plus they buy in larger quantities. I got a whole bag full of plastic push-pins for my ST1300 at a Honda auto dealership for about half the cost my local bike dealership wanted. In fact, I found out later that those very same parts can be purchased on eBay even cheaper.
• 
  
• The Partzilla parts listing normally gives the basic dimensions of things like nuts, bolts, bearings and seals and many of these are standard industrial items that can simply be purchased at an industrial supply house or on-line. The key thing here is that none of the OEMs actually make their own nuts bolts seals, bearings and washers - they buy them from specialty manufacturers and those folks sell to lots of other companies as well.
• 
  
• You can check to see if someone might have that part for sale on the web: All you do is enter the OEM part number into your web browser search window. NOTE: Use only the part number / letter combination - no other words or modifiers are required. You might be amazed to find that somebody somewhere has got that very part either used or NOS and is trying to sell it at a great price. I got a nice NOS clutch pushrod for my 1976 Yamaha XS650C for $6 shipped using this method and it came unused and still in the original (but dusty) 43 year-old Yamaha parts package. The thing is that people go around buying up old stock from dealerships that go out of business or simply need to clean house - and then they put the parts up for sale on the web. In the vintage bike community, we use this method all the time to keep our bikes running like new.

Anyhow - keeping old stuff going is a combination of resourcefulness, opportunism, hoarding and luck - but a little knowledge goes a long way too.

Pete

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Yes, its amazing what sort of NOS OEM items you can find on EBay...

 

[member28833]

Thanks MaxPete. Good sourcing is getting both harder and very important to all of us.
Partzilla information is a very good answer these days.
-RT

 

[jetmechmarty]

If Yamaha has the fiche for your bike on their site, make a copy of it. You never know when they'll take it down. The XS1100SF is a case in point. Yamaha removed it. Partzilla and the rest removed it as well. https://www.shopyamaha.com/parts-catalog/

As a side note, Partzilla is using a POS, garbage, second rate shipping service. I'm looking for an OEM supplier that ships regular UPS or FedEx.

 

[Raymond]

This is a very useful topic!

Hope the following will help, esp for European owners.

I usually start by going to https://www.cmsnl.com/ which has what appears to be all the microfiches. You select model and year and it brings up the parts microfiches for each area - cylinder head or whatever. It's easy to have an expended picture in one tab and in another use the list cross-referenced to the fiche which gives desc, availability and part no. Then I use the part number in a search string which often brings up results in Heiden Tuning, XS650.DE, ebay, FowlersParts.co.uk and sometimes Yamabits.co.uk The last of these is a good supplier but their site can be difficult to search.

 

[Team Junk]

Yes on the sticky.

 

[beano]

This is a very useful topic!

Hope the following will help, esp for European owners.

I usually start by going to https://www.cmsnl.com/ which has what appears to be all the microfiches. You select model and year and it brings up the parts microfiches for each area - cylinder head or whatever. It's easy to have an expended picture in one tab and in another use the list cross-referenced to the fiche which gives desc, availability and part no. Then I use the part number in a search string which often brings up results in Heiden Tuning, XS650.DE, ebay, FowlersParts.co.uk and sometimes Yamabits.co.uk The last of these is a good supplier but their site can be difficult to search.

Yeah cmsnl are great for part numbers and there's often photos of the parts too which really helps things, but Iv'e honestly never bought anything from them, their prices are sky high and the shipping is outrageous!

One other thing is that they don't have the parts lists for the Euro 447's only the supplement for the 76 model which is really badly scanned and almost impossible to follow. Luckily I found a set of genuine parts books on eBay.

Though from looking at the facebook groups it seems the majority of bikes this side of the pond are US imports anyway so the above shouldn't have to much of an effect for most people. Just something to bear in mind if you have a genuine Euro model.

 

[arcticXS]

I have a story regarding Honda. The owner of the local Honda motorcycle dealership had a large Honda V-twin cruiser, I believe IT was some kind of limited edition Bike. This bike did not run properly, due to a faulty TPI unit (throttle position indicator).
This part was NOT available as a spare part, he was told he had to buy the entire intake setup with throttle housings etc, at well over 2000US$.
As you can imagine, he wasn't too pleased...
He then did a Google search on the part number printer on the TPI, and found ut was a Honda Civic part as well. And readily available for 40 US$.........

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

He then did a Google search on the part number printer on the TPI, and found ut was a Honda Civic part as well.

Great story.

 

[jetmechmarty]

I usually start by going to https://www.cmsnl.com/ which has what appears to be all the microfiches.

Imagine that! XS1100SF is there! https://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xs1100s-1979-usa_model8717/partslist/#.XiXnP8hKiUk

 

[Sparkyduc]

When I get an old Yamaha or Honda I want to restore I go to Ronnies Mail Order and print off the whole parts catalog for the bike, the exploded views one the part numbers. Then I put all the sheets in sheet protectors and put them in a 3 ring binder.
I keep it on my work bench one it really comes in handy.it gives you all the part numbers and shows if they are still available.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Then I put all the sheets in sheet protectors

You are in a tight competition with Mailman for precise plastic preparation.
If you joined your sheet protectors with his tupperware, ya'll would be a force to be reckoned with.

 

[59Tebo]

Are you implying some members suffer from OCD? (As I run around my recliner three times after every post...)
Seriously, some people have it so bad it's debilitating...

 

[Sparkyduc]

You are in a tight competition with Mailman for precise plastic preparation.
If you joined your sheet protectors with his tupperware, ya'll would be a force to be reckoned with.

The sheet protectors keep the pages from getting greasy and they are easier to flip pages with gloves on

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

The sheet protectors keep the pages from getting greasy and they are easier to flip pages with gloves on

You're not alone, Sparky,
I did the same thing when I was road racing.
3-ring plastic-coated binder for my raceday notes (gearing, carb settings, altitude, tire choices, clutch settings, etc.)

...with each race precisely protected with its own sleeve.

And Bob (Mailman) has inspired me to expand my tupperware storage.
Already filling up the bedroom with motorcycle gear, and running out of spare parts storage, I realized that I could store shit under the bed, so I just got these cool beneath-the-bed tubs

 

[Mailman]

And Bob (Mailman) has inspired me to expand my tupperware storage.

“ Now...snatch the pebble from my hand.”

 

[Superjet]

Yeah I do the same too with 3 ring binders to keep notes and parts fiches. Too many things to remember so as long as I have a spot to stach them all, that is all I need to remember lol!!! I have also bound up pdf shop manuals that I have printed off for my Yamaha Roadstar 1700. A bit more rugged when flipping thru the pages.

 

[gggGary]

If you put your bed posts up on cinder blocks you can fit more under it.
Kinda what we do in the van.

 

[59Tebo]

Yer hooked, 'Dude.

"...My name is 'Dude, and I'm a Yamaholic..."

Hi, 'Dude....

 

[fredintoon]

Are you implying some members suffer from OCD? (As I run around my recliner three times after every post...)
Seriously, some people have it so bad it's debilitating...

Hi Tebo,
one lap around an average sized recliner is ~ 30 feet.
Which puts you at ~90,000 feet total running distance on this site alone.
Which means you have long distance OCD, eh?