Priller
Well-known member
I sure don't. Long post ahead, but this has been bugging me for a while...
Having bought a 19 year old bike that needs a lot of work a couple months ago, I've been spending a lot of time hunting down parts for it. I've bought replacement and upgrade, OEM and aftermarket. The problem I'm having is that it's become increasingly hard to justify buying all this stuff at local shops over online retailers.
I have been a strong believer in supporting local stores for a variety of reasons. They employ locally, they offer a repository of knowledge, they have things you can actually try on before you buy, they can be community hubs for motorcyclists, etc. I've had excellent relationships with a select few shops in the past, and have been happy to a pay a reasonable premium in return for these benefits. I tend to do most service myself, so spend money on gear and parts.
The problem I'm having is that what used to be a reasonable premium has become a huge premium, and hardly anyone carries stock anymore (for reasons I fully understand) and their delivery times are frustratingly long.
I can order OEM Honda parts for 30%+ savings from somewhere like Partzilla and have them in a week or two vs the months it takes from Honda Canada. I can order aftermarket stuff from literally anywhere in the world, and have it on my doorstep often in less than a week.
As an example, I was able to get some Brembo parts from Carpi Moto in Italy (delivery, border 'fees', and taxes included) for literally 50-60% of what I was quoted for the same stuff by a shop in Etobicoke. It was here in a week, and is exactly as advertised (complete with Brembo authentication cards). I did order a DID chain from that shop almost out of guilt because they'd been somewhat helpful, but paid almost $300 for it when it could be had for $200 plus shipping online. I also paid a roughly 20% premium for a Sunstar rear sprocket.
They couldn't even get a Sunstar front sprocket for the foreseeable future, though, because the distributor didn't have any stock. I got one online for less within the week, while the stuff I ordered from the shop arrived almost a month later. I had to order a different brand of braided clutch line from the one I wanted because the distributor didn't stock parts for my bike. I wanted a different sized pin for my Vortex front head lift, but there isn't a distributor in Canada for them anymore since Motovan nearly disintegrated.
From where I sit, the biggest problem seems to be the distributor model we have in Canada. Motovan, Parts Canada, Kimpex, Royal, etc. They set prices that can quickly become out of date due to exchange rate movement, they only stock high volume items, and they offer little in the way of expediting delivery, and they add cost due to middleman mark-up. In other words, they seem to add very little and cost a lot. Add to that, Motovan's woes suggest they aren't making huge margins either.
I get that it's impossible for all but the biggest retailers to negotiate deals with every parts supplier, and I don't necessarily want to see Canadian dealers go through US distributors. (One example of where this isn't ideal is UK made K-Tech suspension, who are distributed by Orient Express in the US. K-Tech UK advertises shocks for £750, or $1330 CAD. Through Orient Express, it suddenly becomes $1295 USD, or $1715 CAD.) The existing model is broken, though.
As it stands, it's really hard to justify the existing model as a customer. Spending 20-40% more to receive items with two to four times longer waits is an awfully bitter pill to swallow for the privilege of ordering something from a human.
Maybe dealerships are happy to sell bikes and offer service, leaving parts and gear to the online market, I don't know. Maybe it's just the way the world is now, and traditional retail is going to become more service oriented as we move to a more fully online economy. I just prefer to buy stuff from somewhere that I know with people I know, and I wish there was a better way...
Having bought a 19 year old bike that needs a lot of work a couple months ago, I've been spending a lot of time hunting down parts for it. I've bought replacement and upgrade, OEM and aftermarket. The problem I'm having is that it's become increasingly hard to justify buying all this stuff at local shops over online retailers.
I have been a strong believer in supporting local stores for a variety of reasons. They employ locally, they offer a repository of knowledge, they have things you can actually try on before you buy, they can be community hubs for motorcyclists, etc. I've had excellent relationships with a select few shops in the past, and have been happy to a pay a reasonable premium in return for these benefits. I tend to do most service myself, so spend money on gear and parts.
The problem I'm having is that what used to be a reasonable premium has become a huge premium, and hardly anyone carries stock anymore (for reasons I fully understand) and their delivery times are frustratingly long.
I can order OEM Honda parts for 30%+ savings from somewhere like Partzilla and have them in a week or two vs the months it takes from Honda Canada. I can order aftermarket stuff from literally anywhere in the world, and have it on my doorstep often in less than a week.
As an example, I was able to get some Brembo parts from Carpi Moto in Italy (delivery, border 'fees', and taxes included) for literally 50-60% of what I was quoted for the same stuff by a shop in Etobicoke. It was here in a week, and is exactly as advertised (complete with Brembo authentication cards). I did order a DID chain from that shop almost out of guilt because they'd been somewhat helpful, but paid almost $300 for it when it could be had for $200 plus shipping online. I also paid a roughly 20% premium for a Sunstar rear sprocket.
They couldn't even get a Sunstar front sprocket for the foreseeable future, though, because the distributor didn't have any stock. I got one online for less within the week, while the stuff I ordered from the shop arrived almost a month later. I had to order a different brand of braided clutch line from the one I wanted because the distributor didn't stock parts for my bike. I wanted a different sized pin for my Vortex front head lift, but there isn't a distributor in Canada for them anymore since Motovan nearly disintegrated.
From where I sit, the biggest problem seems to be the distributor model we have in Canada. Motovan, Parts Canada, Kimpex, Royal, etc. They set prices that can quickly become out of date due to exchange rate movement, they only stock high volume items, and they offer little in the way of expediting delivery, and they add cost due to middleman mark-up. In other words, they seem to add very little and cost a lot. Add to that, Motovan's woes suggest they aren't making huge margins either.
I get that it's impossible for all but the biggest retailers to negotiate deals with every parts supplier, and I don't necessarily want to see Canadian dealers go through US distributors. (One example of where this isn't ideal is UK made K-Tech suspension, who are distributed by Orient Express in the US. K-Tech UK advertises shocks for £750, or $1330 CAD. Through Orient Express, it suddenly becomes $1295 USD, or $1715 CAD.) The existing model is broken, though.
As it stands, it's really hard to justify the existing model as a customer. Spending 20-40% more to receive items with two to four times longer waits is an awfully bitter pill to swallow for the privilege of ordering something from a human.
Maybe dealerships are happy to sell bikes and offer service, leaving parts and gear to the online market, I don't know. Maybe it's just the way the world is now, and traditional retail is going to become more service oriented as we move to a more fully online economy. I just prefer to buy stuff from somewhere that I know with people I know, and I wish there was a better way...
