Modern world??

[fossie]

Nearly time to fire up the German 650, but before we can do that we need to fit a new oil filter.
4 of which I have in stock, but the o rings are for the 1100 / 750 with the 5 bolts , the 650 is 3 bolts on filter cover.
I know it is my fault for not having one in stock however!
Phone 4 X Suzuki dealers in the greater macnchester area. NON had an o ring in stock . They don't see any bikes that use them......so GS 500 then? We can get them for Tuesday sir.......firstly I'm a sir ....I work for a living. Secondly I can get my own by then.
Why wouldn't they have service items in stock ? Because they don't need to store stuff as they can get it next day.. Ffs when I was running a parts department we had service items so customers could .....errrrrr buy them from us ...or the mechanics could use to service customers bikes the day they brought them in .
Phoned Robinsons the parts dept not open on a Saturday!
Ah well another week or so .

[pookie]

Get a Hi-Flo oil filter and the gasket comes with it.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?sa=G&hl ... gQwg4IJSgA

[Uncle Bob]

I'm a part of it! I much prefer just buying online and getting it posted (though postage can bump up the prices). My local Suzuki dealer moved from my side of Norwich to the other side of Norwich and getting to them and back is at least an hour out of my day - I haven't visited them in years. Same with Christmas shopping (the bits I have to do ) - Amazon and Ebay all the way!

I have to say getting Suzuki parts from the likes of Discount Suzuki Spares and Ebay etc (non Suzuki dealers) is quite easy and generally plentiful. The Yamaha parts I need to source for the TZR250 are quite difficult to get, not that much on EBay and generally only Fowlers or YamBits is useful. I am now thinking I should have got a RG250 and kept it all Suzuki and there would have been some parts crossover.

[pookie]

I've only recently found out that a lot of RGV250k and l models (1989-1991) have many parts that interchange with my 250 Katana, so far I've got rear indicators, handlebar grips and even the rubber grommets for the front indicators, invaluable since my fairing has been resprayed, I've also bought some adjustable brake and clutch levers that were listed as compatible with the RGV.

[fossie]

Kind of missing the point here really......I know hi flow filters do a seal with it etc and parts are interchangeable . My point is that the most basic items that their OWN mechanics need are non stock items.
Imagine you fit a new filter and seal , but the seal leaks you need to replace it ....tomorrow or day after ....smiling customer .......?

[pookie]

Point is that these models are now between 20 and 30 years old and most bike shops don't even stock parts for brand new models, if it wasn't for the internet a great many Katanas would now be in that great bike shed in the sky

[Uncle Bob]

...or maybe because of the internet a great many Katana's are in the great bike shed in the sky... (or at least on other Katana's)

I would have thought that any bike shop (today) would book a bike in for a service and know what they need to do so order in parts ready (haven't used a bike shop in years for a service).

I would think that they know anyone with an old bike is really more than likely to do their own servicing so the chances of them getting the work and hence stocking the parts ready is so small that it's not worth it.

[johnr]

this is a problm we have had coming for a long while.
cast your mind back a few years (cue fluttering harp music indicating a dream sequence flashback) the pinacle of bike technology was the cv carb and cdi, climate change was the name for summer bank holiday weather, when the japanese wanted to build a new bike, they didnt start with a clean sheeet of paper, they started with a trip down to the parts store to see what theey had in stock. 'new katana sir, lets have a look, we can modify that gsx1100e frame, also keep the engine and swingarm, lets fit those gs1000 wheels, and brakes. in all reality when they built the kat, they only needed the bodywork clocks and seat, lights were gs and gsx, it was all so easy. new models were built on the back of old ones, and when they designed stuff, they used what they had, so, want a set of front wheel bearings for your gt250x7? ok, try these gt380, ot gt550, in fact try these gs250/550/750/1000 bearings, all the same. oil filters, carbs, wheels and brake disks and calipers all shared cos it was simple cheap and easy. imagine being a dealer and being able to say you keep wheel bearings in stock for 30 different models, quite easy cos theyre all the same. but now, when a new bike comes out, all it is likely to share with its predecessor is the name, and 2 or 3 years on, its gone and a new, completely different model has replaced it. gone are the days when you could see a model evolve over years, now they come and go so quickly that its just not worth keeping stuff in stock, chuck into that mix the fact that they just dont sell anything like the same volume of bikes these days, and as such there just isnt the call for parts in dealers. gone are the days i can remember when slingers in preston had literally 30 gsxr's in his showroom, 750 and 1100 in blue and red, all sold quickly, and stock turnover warranted keeping parts in store. but why would you want to spend money on a part that might sit on your shelf for 12 months before someone wants it? its just the way of the world we live in.

[pookie]

That's why nos parts are so expensive, when you see a new old stock 1100 kat tank appear on e-bay and your flabber has been gasted at the price remember that tank has been sat in storage for thirty odd years and the chances of finding another one are practically zero, and as John R has mentioned bikes in the UK are going the same way that they did in Japan in the nineties, three years pass and a new model is released with a TFT dashboard and ohlins shocks so the nearly new bike you have is obsolete and you chop it in for the new one and spares for the older bike will become unobtainable, it's called consumerism