Product alert?

[mule]

I'm building a bunch of motors and recently purchased 3 sets of valve adjusting screws from MikesXS. It's a bitch to adjust the valve as there's so much variation when tightening the lock nuts. From time to time I'll get a OEM screw/nut combo that seems to be a little touchy, but these are impossible. The nuts are very loose on the adjuster and the adjuster is very loose in the rocker arm. So tightening the nut radically changes the clearance! However, the nuts fit a stock adjuster not too bad. So I'm thinking the adjuster bolts are the culprit. I ordered these instead of the stock OEM parts because these were a little cheaper and used an allen wrench for adjusting instead of that rediculous square thingy.

Anybody else try these? Parts from China have never been a problem in the past. Yea, right.

 

[650Skull]

And what explanation did Mikes give you when you for the small adjuster bolt.

 

[mule]

Mike is "email" only, no phone contact allowed. I just learned of the problem late yesterday afternoon and after buying mountains of stuff, I usually get extremely brief responses if at all. But I plan to email today. I also bought a jillion gaskets from him and besides the fact that they are considerably larger than the cover they are sealing, I've had almost all ooze out from the gasket surface and then split at the bolt holes and yes I use a torque wrench at every bolt. This combined with lots of leakage prior to running the engines. I've never had a leakage problem on a Japanese motor with new factory gaskets ever! With these gaskets, I get leaks on every single motor at some point on the engine. On two or three bikes, I've had to pull the pipes and replace the pan gasket 2-3 times and yes, everything has been trued on a surface plate and the threads in the holes are great.

I went back to OEM clutch cover gaskets so I wouldn't have to use a razer knife to cut away all the extra gasket sticking out and it bright green too.

 

[inxs]

- its rather a shame what happens with chinese clone parts and poor quality control - a real pour-down effect of outsourcing, theres no control over the production process, you pay your money up front with no come back and then pass it off onto your customers..i have long since learnt that as far as these parts are concerned you pay your money and take your chances...i stopped buying these gaskets long ago, here there are several local gasket makers still stocking good sets, ive had problems with inlet manifolds, gaskets, oil filters, i hear rumblings about crank pins, cables tend to be thinner, the advance shaft is longer etc...here, people are slowly getting it together and having short production runs sourced locally, there has just been a run of flexible foot allen key valve adjusters made-were some teething problems that seem to have sorted themselves out-with a bit of effort porsche ones fit too, use honda rings, local valves-guides and valve seals, local exhausts, a club member turns his own stainless fittings etc etc etc

- i am glad there is an XS renaissance happening as it means more riders will start being self sufficient and begin catering to the market, this is a positive spin-off from such forums as these and clubs - the parts may sometimes cost a little more but youre not likely to need replacing them so often either, a persons reputation is only as good as their customers satisfaction and the sense of community in such places induces a closer supplier/end-user relationship - i for one am only more than happy to support my local community and actively search out local suppliers of goods and services

- some will say that without these central suppliers our XSes wouldnt be running, my take on this is that monopoly situations are parasitic and in the long term negative, there are other ways to operate, by all means think globally, but act locally

- we are lucky with these bikes, around 40 variations of 3 basic models produced over 15 or so years numbering ca. 300,000 bikes, even if only half of these have survived-thats a lot of parts required ... owners of these tend to be older, passionate, dedicated, knowledgeable and skilled...there are plenty of possibilities out there for quality, backyard, semi-retirement businesses...the internet is a wonderful marketing tool

 

[grizld1]

Yeah, Mule, those Athena "Green Meanie" base gaskets are notorious for that, no matter what sealant, staking technique, etc. is used. Cometic supplies both fiber and copper head and base gaskets--in-stock for 750 conversions, special order for standard barrels. Their special order stuff is reasonably priced, and turnaround is fast (in my experience, anyway). Assuming I ever need one (they're reusable), I'll pay Cometic $25 for a new copper base gasket before I'll hand Lalonde $12 for his "performance" unit--but in fact I won't hand him a cent for anything anymore. Re. the sump plate gasket, give it a shot of Permatex copper-bearing gasket spray, let it tack up firm, and grease the plate side. The stuff releases well and the gasket will usually stand up to many removals before it needs replacement.

Right, inxs, some credit Lalonde for the survival of the XS650, and I don't buy that either. He's made parts access easy and cheap, helping to popularize the machine, true enough; but from where I sit that's somewhere between a mixed blessing and a curse in disguise. Cottage industries in upgrades and spares might have grown up more quickly without Lalonde to contend with; often when a component from a small specialty manufacturer or individual succeeds, as in the case of Race-Tech cartridge emulators or Michael Morse's exhaust port inserts, Lalonde has the item reproduced in China, undercutting the developer's price.

 

[Travis]

MikesXS is like the Harbor Freight of the XS650. Just because some of the stuff is cheap (in price and sometimes quality), doesn't mean I'm going to stop shopping there. You just have know what buy and what to stay away from. I've spent plenty of money there and will probably continue to do so.

MikesXS could probably supply some these parts that people have problems with, in a much higher quality version, but the prices will go up to reflect that. Kind of "you get what you pay for". Most of the time, with parts from MikesXS, I feel that I get a lot more than I payed for, and sometimes, it's the opposite.

Also another thing to keep in mind is that people don't share their great experiences with products on the internet nearly as much as they do bad experiences. And MikesXS sells a lot of stuff and probably has a 100 happy customers for every bad thing you read. You just don't read about people saying, "I ordered a rubber grommet for my sidecover mount and I tell you that is the best rubber grommet I've ever purchased! I never though it would be such high quality rubber! And the shipping was fast too and my order wasn't screwed up at all!"

 

[KevC]

It would be really great if he stocked both tho and you could choose between paying the higher price for the quality item or the lower price for the cheaper one
I know which one I would get because I prefer to take my bike apart just once to fix a problem

 

[Travis]

Another thing I thought of... With products from Harbor Freight, I expect them to be junk until I hear or read otherwise. With MikesXS, I expect them to be of decent quality until I hear or read otherwise. So I guess it's all just a matter of how you think about it.

 

[Travis]

KevC, for those parts that you feel you need to have in a little higher quality than what you get from Mikes, just get them from somewhere else. Just don't be mad at Mikes for selling what he sells at the price he sells them for.

 

[650Skull]

MikesXS is like the Harbor Freight of the XS650. Just because some of the stuff is cheap (in price and sometimes quality), doesn't mean I'm going to stop shopping there. You just have know what buy and what to stay away from. I've spent plenty of money there and will probably continue to do so.

MikesXS could probably supply some these parts that people have problems with, in a much higher quality version, but the prices will go up to reflect that. Kind of "you get what you pay for". Most of the time, with parts from MikesXS, I feel that I get a lot more than I payed for, and sometimes, it's the opposite.

Also another thing to keep in mind is that people don't share their great experiences with products on the internet nearly as much as they do bad experiences. And MikesXS sells a lot of stuff and probably has a 100 happy customers for every bad thing you read. You just don't read about people saying, "I ordered a rubber grommet for my sidecover mount and I tell you that is the best rubber grommet I've ever purchased! I never though it would be such high quality rubber! And the shipping was fast too and my order wasn't screwed up at all!"

Couldn't agree more, I have bought a lot of parts and had a couple of failures, A bit of ingenuity usually fixes the problem

 

[grizld1]

Yo-ho-ho! Hoist the Jolly Roger, boys, and three cheers for the pirate!

 

[inxs]

- its relatively normal for problems to arise, what i find not normal is a certain reluctance to face up to it, my personal experience has been less than satisfactory, my problems have never been acknowledged nor have i been offered product replacement...these consistent inconsistencies are not the actions of someone who cares, and service is something i care about.....go through my posts and you will see that i am quite happy to endorse product and or services i find good and or interesting, in this particular case, despite my experiences, i am known to recommend for instance the clutch thrust bearing, 5th gear overdrive and the 750 kit-in particular the larger finned cylinder-pretty much everything else i source elsewhere

 

[650Skull]

Yo-ho-ho! Hoist the Jolly Roger, boys, and three cheers for the pirate!

I guess you are the royal navy the way you chase down Mikes.

I don't care what you think of him. I just get sick of hearing you reminding every one what a "pirate" he is when ever you get the chance

This sort of crap is what bought down the quality of 650rider.

A product alert without any attempt at correspondence with the products source is a and if you think you know what that response is or may be then why are you buying from him in the first place.

 

[Travis]

Anyway... Mule, thanks for letting people know of the issue. Maybe it was just a bad batch. Let us know if you hear back from the email you sent.

 

[grizld1]

Sorry, Skull, didn't mean to give offense. But I used the term advisedly. In case anyone's missed it we're eyeball-deep in a recession, and it rubs me the wrong way to see a Canadian job out American designed and manufactured parts in China for export back to the US. I forgot to mention that Lalonde cloned the Megacycle 250-00 grind for that Taiwanese billet camshaft as well.

 

[inxs]

This sort of crap is what bought the quality of 650rider.

A product alert without any attempt at correspondence with the products source is a and if you think you know what that response is or may be then why are you buying from him in the first place.

- from what i experienced, it was lack of guidance, or more, lack of limit setting combined with lacklustre and disinterested end-phase administration that took rider out

- relation of experiences is what helps people make their own decisions, the best advertising, both negative and positive, is word of mouth, a SHOUT or non-reply is in itself an answer, a total no-brainer, any good customer service manager will tell you that complaints are mostly happy customers wanting a problem sorted out-if they didnt they would simply directly go elsewhere-and if you deal with it you secure deeper customer satisfaction and loyalty...this is a lesson a certain person desperately needs to learn

- the outsourcing aspect is a deeper corporate problem showing a basic disrespect of your customer base, society in general and total focus on profit

 

[650Skull]

Agreed INXS, by the way i edited my post to mean what i wanted to say.

 

[mule]

I agree 100%. Our entire society and American culture are/was based on people making stuff and doing it very well. Now we are taking the very foundation of our civilization and handing it to third world countries that are just providing minimal service for survival. Our country and the economy is changing very quickly and we are paying the price for out sourcing all our jobs.

Generally, I'm an optimist, but I think we need to start pulling all those jobs back into this country or we're going to be in deep yogurt!

 

[73novaguy]

I couldn't AGREE more, with MULE! Thank you putting into words what is in my thoughts.

And like Travis stated, if we find a part to be of bad quality, please post here so others can either buy that part elsewhere, try and produce there own, or make their own decisions and buy the part from "Seller X" based on there own budgets and or decisions.

 

[73novaguy]

I just bought a horizontal/vertical band saw from harbor Freight and am willing to put up with a few oddities, because of the 1500 price jump to the next saw. But I speak from the same place most of us do and that is from a "at home, for fun, bike builder". To those that make there living doing this, I am more understandable on there view of wanting the quality part, the first time, and sometimes, its not reproduced.