Anybody else tired of discontinued parts?

[swampthang]

While looking on service honda for some parts for my wheelers I realized that prolly 95% of the parts for trikes are discontinued.:twisted: I guess that gives the green light for price gouging on ebay. Whats really bothering me is if parts keep getting harder to obtain whats going to happen to our sport? My question here is what would it actually take to recreate these parts? Surely with all the members on this site world wide theres someone or knows someone that has the capability to reproduce parts. What machines would you have to have? I Know theres machinist on this site that can build some amazing things ive seen it.:TrikesOwn

[jmax857]

i think for the most part, these parts have been in a warehouse since the 80's. as far as i know when honda builds a bike, they build a surplus of parts to go with them, leaving them with years of replacement parts.

[jeswinehart]

What exactly are you looking for ?

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/forumdisplay.php?39-New-Product-Research-amp-Development

[honda200x1987]

You are absoltuely correct, I have spoken with a honda rep on this subject before. When there was new model year ATC made there was a surplus of parts made then that's it unless they are in high demand. A few new parts are being made as we speak and only because the same part is being used on a new model year four wheeler. for instance the 2009 TRX450R clutch lever cover is the exact same part as the 1986-87 ATC200X. as shown here.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NOS-HONDA-PARTS-LEVER-COVER-350X-TRX450R-400EX-250R-200-/250711423739?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a5f90bafb
i think for the most part, these parts have been in a warehouse since the 80's. as far as i know when honda builds a bike, they build a surplus of parts to go with them, leaving them with years of replacement parts.

[Twilight]

Call Honda, see if theres a mold or superceeded part and work from there.

The dealer north of me had all the 250r plastics and 350x plastics until last year. You never know whats out there until you call.

[Dirtcrasher]

We CAN reproduce many parts. It's the jigs, tools and die, injection molds and machining that aren't cheap.

I have no fears, I've upgraded to all TRX450R running gear, have crate motors to spare and I'll have inverts down the road.

I can make my own grommets from a better material (polyurethane) or change the way things are mounted to work.

I've tried making replacement parts, no one wants to pay. Sooner or later the die hards will upgrade or leave the sport.........

[honda200x1987]

Here is another fine discontinued part that is being reproduced by a member here! I think alot of u would want one because most are cracked... I want one and it's in the new product research & development section. http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php?122235-1986-350X-86-200X-front-bearing-cover

[swampthang]

I see the prices on some parts on ebay (ex:250r engine cases) and I wonder judging by price are they in that high of demand that you can sell them for that price? You would think an aftermarket company would produce something like that in small number to see if theres a market. Also items such as plastic(ex:Tri-z side panels) and headlight pods,when i see guys shelling out the big bucks for these things i see there value why doest a company?

[Dirtcrasher]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much tooling to reproduce a 250R case.

I blame the lazy people that ran bad bearings and a loose chain for the discontinuation of the left 250R case..........

People keep ruining parts and just buying a used or new one with no lesson learned - typical America style :D

[vintagemotorsports]

dirt crasher is right , most of you guys simply dont understand the cost involved in retooling a part to reproduce it , and as far as buying or getting any tooling from honda forget about it they will never sell tooling to an outside source EVER. they simply destroy all there tooling . and steve is right we have all tried to reproduce parts the right way and everone complains how high the prices are . I have some real good contacts to make spot on repro parts and i have been concentrating mainly on the US90 for now but have plans down the road to expand out to the more popular sport models but in this economy you need to be real carefull where you spend your money or you will be out of business in no time . its a matter of time all these parts will be dried up and i guess we will all deal with that as need be , till then support members like dirtcrasher (steve) and others with there talent to machine and produce parts and they will prosper enough to keep going .

[jmax857]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much tooling to reproduce a 250R case.

I blame the lazy people that ran bad bearings and a loose chain for the discontinuation of the left 250R case..........

People keep ruining parts and just buying a used or new one with no lesson learned - typical America style :D

i agreee, but at the same time there are mabny parts that dont outlast the life of the bike, for example do you know how hard it is to find a clutch cover for a tri-z that doesnt have a crack? imagine how hard it will be in 5 years.... or even ten. im stocking up on z parts because i know down the road i wont be able to get them, and at the very least they will be worth more money.

[swampthang]

Yeah thats what i figured about the 250r cases so thats no shocker. It just sucks how many Rs ive seen for sale that have a banged up left case. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE tighten your CHAINS for crying out loud! As long as theres guys trying to reproduce the smaller parts I think we will be fine for a little while down the road.

[Mosh]

We have people on these forums producing parts left and right. Mostly for the common machines.

But here is the whole problem.
I can pull up thread after thread of snivlers hassling the guys producing these parts claiming "they are junk" " take too long to make" or " too expensive.
Right here on this forum

Then you have those guys that say they will buy them, then don't and the parts makers is sitting with a bunch of parts and money tied up.

So I would figure, eventually we will lose the community suppliers as well.

[oldskool83]

gotta start running 4wheeler parts, keep the 3wheeler parts to a minumum, want a all orginal 3wheeler, park it in the garage.

[scuba]

It is like 15 years ago when I was trying to restore an old car, a 72' GS-350. You couldn't find parts back then, unless you came across one in the salvage yard. And then you would strip it for everything you could haul off. Now a days you can pick up a book and order anything from the smallest screw to a numbers matching motor out of a catalog. I have faith that in time we will be able to do the same for the ATC world. Maybe not for all rides, but at least for the most popular models ........

[Dirtcrasher]

i agreee, but at the same time there are mabny parts that dont outlast the life of the bike, for example do you know how hard it is to find a clutch cover for a tri-z that doesnt have a crack? imagine how hard it will be in 5 years.... or even ten. im stocking up on z parts because i know down the road i wont be able to get them, and at the very least they will be worth more money.

Hey, that IMHO is a design flaw. There should be solid dowel pins in a couple of critical force areas of that cover. I don't believe there is enough meat to alter it, I never looked.

I don't care for 2 separate covers, it doesn't disperse the load enough for guys that kick it 38 times when they foul a plug :lol:

There are also "TIG welders" so people should save them rather than throw them away. Keep your junk too because it may be all thats left in years to come.

[Thorpe]

to a numbers matching motor out of a catalog....

Thats gotta be one hell of a catalog! Who sells "numbers matching" motors out of a book?

[troybilt]

To the OP ESR is in the process of recreating the center cases for the 250r... 85 up anyway.

http://www.eddie-sanders-racing.com/category_s/89.htm

[scuba]

Thats gotta be one hell of a catalog! Who sells "numbers matching" motors out of a book?

OK so I exaggerated "allot" in my statement, but it was the point I was trying to make .............

[jmax857]

Hey, that IMHO is a design flaw. There should be solid dowel pins in a couple of critical force areas of that cover. I don't believe there is enough meat to alter it, I never looked.

I don't care for 2 separate covers, it doesn't disperse the load enough for guys that kick it 38 times when they foul a plug :lol:

There are also "TIG welders" so people should save them rather than throw them away. Keep your junk too because it may be all thats left in years to come.

believe me i have about 5 covers tig welded back together, but its the fact that it has that flaw and the bike is so old. i have one without a crack on my motor, it will break over time guaranteed. even if you use a trx450r engine, in another 20 years we will be having the same conversation.

[Lonewolf-01]

Any thoughts on what other machine would have the same Headlight/Kill switch as a 85' 350X? Need one bad, but cannot find one?
Thanks!

[RDH/86200X]

yeah thats why i havent thrown the clutch cover from my 200x away. i plan on fixing it sometime it will be a fun job because one of the internal oil lines has a big chunk out of it

[Twilight]

I still have my vacu-table... if anything around 3ft by 3ft needs to me made, I can make a mold and make it.

I dont want it to be like how everyone treated my buddy Tony though. No complaints that its not as good as stock or as strong.

I made 3 sets of 200x shrouds for people here and at .org. Nobody complained but there werent that much interest.

Will say this to all of you; IF HONDA HAS THE MOLD STILL get a order of 50 or more... and theres your part.

[atcmatt]

Yep sucks huh! Thats why I have 3 parts 250es bunked up at my farm. Their rough, and not going, but most parts are there and very usable. Gotta snatch them up when you can. The 250r is a different story though.. only got a few spares for that. Least I have a spare motor if anything goes kaboom on my 330.

[Brockey]

It really suxs that the parts stock with eventually dry up. So I guess we are better off making newer parts work or accepting the increase in prices.

[rdlsz24]

I ordered a head pipe heat shield for my first gen 200x online and it went through on the web site but the dealer called me later and said it was discontinued. bummer

Rob

[jmax857]

oem fenders are a ummer too, like did anyone see those 350x fenders that sold for 3100 on ebay?

[Dirtcrasher]

Feel lucky to get ANY fenders. Whenever I place an order I always say "Thank you for continuing to make parts for such old machines, I'm sure they aren't your top sellers but we will continue to buy!"

People will have to switch to bikes/quads or be prepared to pay the price.

I'm sorry in advance, but there isn't much I can't make/reproduce and I've tried countless items only to be left with the stock I bought. I make sh!t off my machine shop in comparison to other shops. I'm getting tired of trying to improve things for the people that inquire about them and then run away......

I'll tell ya one thing, I'll have ATC's until I die or can't ride :D

[200XMichigan]

It's a good reason to grab up parts machines when you see them. I have been stock piling for my YT175, but when you find stuff close by and its just sitting in someones field they usually let it go cheap, for the cost of one part on E-Bay I got an entire spare YT175.

The best thing to do is stock up and try not to worry about it. By that I don't mean not maintaining your machine, just not to worry and enjoy riding. I was worried when I bought my YT175 I would have a hard time finding parts, just the opposite. I found a guy in the UP who has 3 sets of body work. So keep your eyes open, and ask people who just have a lot of trikes, bikes, or ATVs for sale. That's where I found the best stuff. He just thought it was a bunch of old parts for a 3 wheeler he no longer owned, he was selling a YF60, I just happened to ask if he had any old stuff for Yamaha 3 wheelers and I hit the jackpot.

There are a lot of good points in this thread, people will have to start using quad and bike parts, all original trikes will be harder to find, but as the demand rises the parts will be made, and they will probably be expensive, but it will be worth it. The sport won't die it will just take a little more work getting parts.

[djstover]

im pretty set on parts for right now, i bought a 82 tri moto125 and ive been buying everyone i can get my hands on just for spare parts. im up to 7 right now. i would love to be able to find someone who does make the aftermarket parts though. im actually planning on buying some good machining equipment so i can trace alot of the parts so i can just toss a sheet of steel in and make a new part. if anyone finds a site that sells parts hit me up.

[83ATC185]

a man at the local honda dealership told me they were legally required to make replacement parts for 20 years, then after that they discontinue them. if thats true, weve only been out of parts for a few years. they go fast i guess

[jmax857]

a man at the local honda dealership told me they were legally required to make replacement parts for 20 years, then after that they discontinue them. if thats true, weve only been out of parts for a few years. they go fast i guess

really thats quite interesting.....

[honda200x1987]

That is true for some parts, in the past Honda literally must have just discarded alot of different parts to make room. For instance some parts that were slow sellers like fuel tanks,rear axles,rims,frames, etc. These parts were real expensive from a dealership and slow moving. It is my knowloge HONDA sent parts out for scrap to be destoyed to make room for newer model ATV parts,they have millions of parts to deal with everyday. The more faster moving parts like fenders and tires were discontinued due to age of the bike and just sold out of stock and not to be made again. Although they did make a limited run on certain parts and they should have made alot more. A Honda rep once told me that they would reproduce a part but ONLY if that part was used for a new model year. There are a select few parts for the ATC models that are still used on the new 4 wheelers today and that's why some are still available.
a man at the local honda dealership told me they were legally required to make replacement parts for 20 years, then after that they discontinue them. if thats true, weve only been out of parts for a few years. they go fast i guess