Howdy! With so many new folks on the XS650.com forum, I think it may be time for a repeat of my little primer on finding parts for old bikes (also works for cars). I was on the Honda NT700V (don't ask) forum this morning and a question came up about finding fasteners for the fairing - so I posted the note below and am re-posting it here.
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On the matter of the many little bolts, rivets and plastic clippies that hold Hondas and their fairings together: I do not own an NT700V but I did have an ST1300 and it was missing a bunch of those fasteners.
I priced them at my local bike dealership and the price was absolutely silly plus they were back-ordered from Japan - soooooo, remembering that Honda is one of two motorcycle OEMs with a car division
, I went to a Honda car dealership with the part numbers and the exact same fasteners were in-stock at about 1/4 the cost that I had been quoted at the bike dealership (hence the term "stealership" I guess).
The Honda car division and the bike division use precisely the same parts and part numbers for those "standard" parts - but the pricing structures are totally different.
I work with the auto industry in Detroit / Windsor and the fact is that "standard" parts like bolts, nuts, bearings, seals, rivets and other fasteners are not made by any of the OEMs. Rather, they are purchased items and tend to be common across the entire product range produced by that company over many, many years. All you need is the part number - and then you can go to any car dealership and likely get precisely the right part at a reasonable price.
Even for OEMs that do not have a car division (like say...Yamaha, Kawasaki or Suzuki), the same fasteners and seals etc. are used for decades. I know that many, if not most of the fasteners and seals used on my 1976 Yamaha XS650C are still current parts on 2021 Yamaha models in dealerships today.
The other key point is how you deal with the parts people. They are busy and don't have time to learn the history of YOUR bike nor do they care about some odd-ball 35 year old part. So, if you walk in and say: "I need the bolt for the left-hand winker fluid reservoir for a 2010 NT700V", the parts guy will stare back blankly and without even checking his computer, say "No-got buddy." - but if you walk in and say, "I need a 002-VF6-0983" - the guy will look it up, tell you that they cost $2.13 each and ask how many you want while he walks back into the stock room to bring out a box full of them.
GETTING a PART NUMBER
Now, how do you actually find the OEM part number...well, the easy way is to go on a site like Partzilla.com where they have the part fiches for virtually all bikes and model years and simply look it up. Then copy the part number down and go shoppin'!
SHOPPIN' on-line
If the part is NOT a standard "fastener" type part - but something specialized for THAT model bike, like an engine case or fairing part - just stick the part number (and nothing else - JUST the part number) into the Google search window and you will likely be amazed at how many people are selling exactly that part on-line. A lot of bike dealerships have gone under in the last 30-50 years and their stocks of parts are often bought-up and are now being liquidated by e-Bay resellers.
These strategies have worked great on my little fleet of 1970s Yamaha XS650s and the BMW R100RS that is my long distance gentleman's express. I have no worries about parts even though my newest bike is nearly 40 years old.
SOMEbody, SOMEwhere has got the parts we need and we can always find them.
Pete
_________________________________________
On the matter of the many little bolts, rivets and plastic clippies that hold Hondas and their fairings together: I do not own an NT700V but I did have an ST1300 and it was missing a bunch of those fasteners.
I priced them at my local bike dealership and the price was absolutely silly plus they were back-ordered from Japan - soooooo, remembering that Honda is one of two motorcycle OEMs with a car division
The Honda car division and the bike division use precisely the same parts and part numbers for those "standard" parts - but the pricing structures are totally different.
I work with the auto industry in Detroit / Windsor and the fact is that "standard" parts like bolts, nuts, bearings, seals, rivets and other fasteners are not made by any of the OEMs. Rather, they are purchased items and tend to be common across the entire product range produced by that company over many, many years. All you need is the part number - and then you can go to any car dealership and likely get precisely the right part at a reasonable price.
Even for OEMs that do not have a car division (like say...Yamaha, Kawasaki or Suzuki), the same fasteners and seals etc. are used for decades. I know that many, if not most of the fasteners and seals used on my 1976 Yamaha XS650C are still current parts on 2021 Yamaha models in dealerships today.
The other key point is how you deal with the parts people. They are busy and don't have time to learn the history of YOUR bike nor do they care about some odd-ball 35 year old part. So, if you walk in and say: "I need the bolt for the left-hand winker fluid reservoir for a 2010 NT700V", the parts guy will stare back blankly and without even checking his computer, say "No-got buddy." - but if you walk in and say, "I need a 002-VF6-0983" - the guy will look it up, tell you that they cost $2.13 each and ask how many you want while he walks back into the stock room to bring out a box full of them.
GETTING a PART NUMBER
Now, how do you actually find the OEM part number...well, the easy way is to go on a site like Partzilla.com where they have the part fiches for virtually all bikes and model years and simply look it up. Then copy the part number down and go shoppin'!
SHOPPIN' on-line
If the part is NOT a standard "fastener" type part - but something specialized for THAT model bike, like an engine case or fairing part - just stick the part number (and nothing else - JUST the part number) into the Google search window and you will likely be amazed at how many people are selling exactly that part on-line. A lot of bike dealerships have gone under in the last 30-50 years and their stocks of parts are often bought-up and are now being liquidated by e-Bay resellers.
These strategies have worked great on my little fleet of 1970s Yamaha XS650s and the BMW R100RS that is my long distance gentleman's express. I have no worries about parts even though my newest bike is nearly 40 years old.
SOMEbody, SOMEwhere has got the parts we need and we can always find them.
Pete
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