classic motorcycle forum
Motorcycle Discussions => British Bikes => Topic started by: wetdog on January 29, 2013, 09:48:34 AM
-
I have just bought new from a well known British bike dealer a dynamo drive sprocket for my a10 , the large idler one , when I came to fit it became clear that the internal boss had been riveted on the wrong way round ? I contacted the dealer who said he thought he’d sent them all back and I should return it to him for a refund (less postage) but he had no others. Anyone else bought anything lately unfit for propose
-
Triumph fork oil seal holders where the chrome peeled off in strips as I was screwing them on.
Triumph S/A shims which didn't fit over the S/A pin.
Velocette front mudguard stay which was about 3" too long.
Velocette headlamp stays with holes drilled too small for the headlamp bolts,
Triumph steering stops which were made about 5 thou oversize so wouldn't screw in to the threaded lug.
Amal carb bell mouth with threads incompatible with the carb body,
Petrol taps which leak,
Miller 8" headlamp rim too small to fit the headlamp shell,
Velo MAC front pipe a mile off from any sort of acceptable fitting,
Triumph big end nuts which were as soft as plasticene,
Anything sold by Paul Goff.
All sadly Taiwan/Indian/Chinese crap.
I'm sure there's more..... :(
-
sounds about right , i gave up buying repro velo stuff some time ago as non would fit , also any pipes i buy now from Ar@@@rs i buy uncromed as these also never fit , are there any british companys left making a good replacment product , i would never buy a restord machine and yet see so many for sale at high prices when 80% is repro rubbish
-
British is no better, I bought exhaust pipes from Wassell in Cannock and they did not fit.
-
Guys,
Surely there must be some British companies around, making quality stuff, are you telling/implying that all the original Manufacturer's replacement parts stuff has been used & there's only pattern parts left?
Who commissions this badly made ill fitting stuff then? How does it get into the Country. Are you sure, that everything made in other regions in the World is always that crap? Shit, I was just going to spend my life-savings on a beautifully restored A10 Rocket Gold Star, I better ring them up and cancel the cheque for a zillion quidlets!
Seriously, this is a serious problem & I bet Evilbay, is full of the stuff! What's that old saying, " All that glitters isn't Gold!"
Goldy, are you sure they were made in Blighty?
Why doesn't someone put together a Black List of disreputable companies and a list of reputable firms to aid the Home Restorer?
I bet this isn't a topic talked about over lunch @ Bonhams!
That's why the makes supported by organised Owner's Clubs and Specialists fair better I suppose, unless they have been infiltrated by crooks.
Cheers
JBW
-
Wassell . is surpling the dealers with a lot of this rubbish in the first place , they are just adding there cut and retailing , if there are any british manufacturers left please say who they are , SRM are good and worth every penney
-
This is a double-edged sword, I reckon. Part of the appeal of restoring a British bike, or at least keeping one on the road, is the wide availability of spares for them. You can build an entire Vincent twin or Commando from spares these days and probably a Bonneville too. This has led to inflated bike prices, even for projects, as novice restorers look on them as easy projects. It also means there's a huge demand for pattern spares, usually made cheaply in the far East or India. These pattern parts are copies of old, worn out bits, or even copies of copies, no wonder they don't fit. I've been offered countless new restos that have dodgy fitting exhausts, lights that don't etc, all lovingly restored using pattern parts and ending up with a tragic motorcycle. I recently saw a Indian made BSA tank, supplied fully painted for £450 ( including chrome). It fitted where it touched and had THREE pairs of different-sized tap holes in the base to cater for all tastes! Inside, you could clearly see that it had been fabricated from some sort of metal road sign. But to have that hand made in Britain, then chromed and painted, would cost at least a grand. For a market of what? twenty a year?
If you restore an old Italian or Japanese machine, the pattern spares supply is almost non-existent, excepting the obvious Z1/CBX etc. The restorer has no choice other than to try and find original parts, usually at silly money. But they fit! This makes it a long and expensive job, to be sure, but the end results can be brilliant.
I've seen a massive surge in people buying scruffy, broken and damaged original British parts, seemingly for stupid money, but at least you know they are likely to work.
Cheers
ATG
Paul
-
i agree , you need to be very very carefull buying a restored machine , a freind recently bought a rgs replica . and what a pile of throwen to gether rubbish it has turned out to be , i doubt he will be getting to involved with the british bikes from now on , all because some shit dealer has ripped him off .
-
Wetdog
OK who was the Dealer!
Do a conundrum, like on the TV & see who figures it out first!
If these rumours all over the place are true, lets out the folks ripping people off!
I am all for the truth in these situations!
Cheers
JBW
-
Who commissions this badly made ill fitting stuff then? How does it get into the Country. Are you sure, that everything made in other regions in the World is always that crap?
Bikers/riders/motorcyclists are notoriously tight-fisted though, and would rather pay a fiver for piece of Taiwan sh*t than £20 for a good one. The dealers know this only too well, so why bother stocking the non-selling more pricey stuff?
To be fair the pattern stuff is usually easy enough to avoid or send back if it's unuseable, but the tale of the Indian-made petrol tank is salutary. Rather like the Indian girder forks all over Ebay these days, who would trust them to be made of metal of sufficient quality to risk their necks on them, or pay those prices sight unseen?
The Asian makers can't be too bright though, as if they took a little more care with their products they would be able to sell much more, but I suppose they just can't resist squeezing out that last rupee of profit... :(
-
Having said all that Rex, I bought a tank for my Rocket Goldie repro from India... it was great and did just fine; I have had pipes from Ar***rs from as far back as 1981 that didn't fit the Norton 99 they were intended for. Like a previous poster said, the tackle I bought from SRM was great. We should compile a list of trusted suppliers for all our benefits, what do you all think?
-
A non-starter, I would think. Just as dealers can be funny sods, so can customers, and some complaints aren't really justifiable quality issues but people trying it on and then moaning. Apart from that would the list owner want to get tied up in legal or customer complaint tangles? I wouldn't think so.
Personally I wouldn't use again a certain well-known (but highly recommended by others) electrical bloke, nor a certain West Midlands wheel building firm as both supplied stuff I thought was under-par and the resulting customer care was diabolical, but others still recommend them, so they must please somebody....
-
Fair point, one I hadn't thought through properly.
-
I bought a tank for my BSA A65 from a UK dealer which was made in India At first glance it looked OK but then the pear shaped badges fitted in the tank OK but the fixing hole was out of alignment with the badge and since you cannot alter either badge hole or tank hole no good, also the inside of the tank had been painted with red primer and on inspection with a torch it was hiding some bad rust. I sent the tank back and got a full refund. I also ordered some rollers for my clutch from a well known UK dealer but when I fitted them they jammed the clutch centre they were the correct diameter but were of various lengths only varying by 4 thou but enough. I ordered another set from another UK dealer just as well they are quite cheap same problem but from the 2 sets I managed to find enough to do the job
-
The problem is that countries such as India obviously have some good Engineers who are very capable of making these parts. The trouble is that they do not seem to have and understanding of quality control, I don't know why this is that they can make a part very accuratly but if its made of inferior quality steel or its a couple of millimetres too wide they don't seem to care. if they could correct this, I think they would be quite good.
-
I think the problem stems from the fact that they're making these parts "in isolation". If they were based in Birmingham they would have ample chances to see the parts being used (or not) and correct any mistakes, but when they're 3000 miles away and the boss says "make one of these" the workers have no real clue as to it's exact use or the critical dimensions and specs.
That and the fact that they copy/counterfeit anything from drugs and surgical items to nuts and bolts, and all done as cheaply and as poorly as possible, and the possibility that the goods could be unusable/unworkable/feckin lethal doesn't really concern them.
Bad enough that we export jobs to these places and import their cheap crap, but when it's unusable crap and impossible-to-deal-with call centres etc it makes me fume.... >:(
-
hi,
I still think a LIST, is a viable project, it would weed out the disreputable, dishonest & downright rip-off merchants, if we need to, I will do a separate web-page & put it on-line!
But the information has to be true, not just revenge, hear-say & petty grievances. The shisters already know who they are!
Cheers
John
-
Guys,
See India's best @ work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q0D51t9D9I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q0D51t9D9I)
Not British enough?!!
Cheers
JBW
-
they are infact not that good , but where is the alterative ?
-
Not that good at all, in fact, for a country which tries to position itself as a global industrial player, they're laughable.
Good for India's home market in that they're fixable and simple, but a bit of joke on the international stage, and how the testers etc bill-and-coo when the Indians actually fit bearings, bolts and cables of sufficient quality to last as long as any other make.
-
I disagree Rex, Jaguar/Landrover where in big trouble at one time, now they have the best productivity and profitability ever. Who owns them? Tata and where are they from? Yes India.
-
The big difference is that Jaguar/Land Rover is UK-based using UK production part specs and expects to sell to "developed" markets where performance and reliability are the norm.
They are Indian owned in as much as that's where the current finance comes from, but I rather doubt J/L-R are sourcing cheap bearings and bolts etc from the brother in law's Third World factory in Hyderabad.
Buyers "tolerate" the performance and reliability issues of Enfield because that's what they expect from a new "old" bike, plus they're relatively cheap.
J/L-R on the other hand are seen as a premium brand and to compete with Audi, Porsche, BMW, Lexus, Merc and the rest they need to be several quantum leaps above Enfield's production techniques.
-
they are building a factory abroad to build land rovers , but say its only for there home market , which as we all know is the biggest market , i think they may be in trouble over here very soon
-
I' ve had same trouble with a Matchy I' ve just restored for a customer. He insisted he supply all the bits. Most of it through owners club. What a load of tat ! Everything from nuts and bolts that don't screw together and inconsistant finish to cables the wrong length or wrong nipples. Twistgrip from Asia that was 2mm smaller at one end than the other !! The list goes on.
I run a motorbike engineering business in New Zealand specialising in pre 90' s Japanese and specials building but also do Brit stuff ( I was brought up on Triumphs and BSA's). I' ve been looking at building repro stuff for a while simply because I can' t get stuff of a decent quality. Big problem is, being stuck out here I'm not sure what things are likely to sell.
I' m just going to throw this out there and would welcome your comments,
If people could give me an idea of anything they have trouble with and would like better quality. Anything from small brackets to seat bases.
Would people be willing ( if I can' t source original parts here ) to supply me with an original part I can make A RELIABLE copy from and in return I' ll provide a new part for cost of postage.
Alternativly, if anyone as parts that are no longer good enough to use but that are ok as patterns, I'd be happy to buy them.
I' m happy to have a chat with anyone who thinks they can help or my e-mail is <mes@slingshot.co.nz>
ALL help, pointers would be appreciated.
-
a friend of mine has just opened a bike buissness on Wikkiki island (over the ferry from Auckland) his name is Tony , get intouch and im sure you could do some bussness , hes from the isle of wight (where he owned island motorcycles) and is into british and early jap bikes , says the race sean is very good over there and has been to a lot of meats inc tazmainia , we still do swap trade parts as demand there is good for hard to find parts .