Parts you regret buying

Rosey · Aug 6, 2014

From previous purchases from Les Emery/Fair Spares/Norvil some years ago-
Lower fork bushes -too big OD,too small ID.-Junk

Brand new Fastback seat that I was told on the phone that "we have these made just for us,we use them on the bikes we build" Well the cover was nicely made and fitted,pity the seat did not fit,took many hours to make it fit.
Also RGM Fastback seat, the same deal,had to remove the cover,rebend the base,reweld support plate and replace the cover.

Gearbox 4th gear ordered an original part not pattern,it arrived in an open Andover bag,splines incorrectly machined.
Bunch of robbers.
As has been said before they send all the poor quality parts out to Australia as they know we won't send them back due to the postage costs.

But on the plus side-
Viking MK3 header pipes,great
Trispark-great

Brett

mike996 · Aug 6, 2014

The problem with a thread like this is that it may not accurately represent the current situation. The reality is that people don't commonly talk about buying something that worked; they loudly complain when a product does not live up to expectations. For example, there are at least three references to "bad" products in this thread that I would totally disagree with because my experience with the same products is completely the opposite. Who is "right" overall? I guess that depends on whether the complainer happened to get the one bad example or if I got the one good example.

Also, it's unfortunately true that early products, especially for a limited market…like Norton Commandos…often suffer from teething pains which means that the product produced a few years ago may be inferior to the same product produced today by the same manufacturer. The early product is branded - perhaps quite correctly - as not very good but that then ignores the newer version which might be excellent and folks reading that opinion of the early version have an incorrect impression of the current version.

I'm not saying that complaining about a product is bad - I'd be a total hypocrite if I made such a statement. But it is worth noting that it takes a LOT of good reviews to counter one bad one and the fact is that most good reviews go unpublished.

auldblue · Aug 6, 2014

Mike996

If you are talking about my alton E start, it worked well until it broke.alton knew there was a problem with the shock absorbers but declined to tell the customers. That was their decision ,I think they did not want to disrupt sales ,to the detriment of existing customers. I think that was underhand ,when my parts came back the dealer said"we even got you a new s/absorber" as if I was getting a favour. Beverly at Alton was evasive and unhelpful, when I spoke to her by Email.

I think the product is good but Alton could have been more upfront about the problems. These are only my observations and I would not dissuade anyone from buying an Alton product, just make sure everything is done properly and I would like to think you will have a better experience than me.

J

Onder · Aug 6, 2014

Armour's SS for a Trident: poor fit to the point I may have to cut and weld. Manifold isnt correctly constructed either. Cosmetically they are not bad at all.
Devon rims in stainless WM2 front was fine rear was not. I sent one to Buchanan for spokes and lacing. He no longer sells Devon rims but was
willing to run mine up. Upon return it showed the holes and dimples are not really correct for Norton hub. It will work but Ive heard from Trident owners they have the exact same problem and Mr Devon (Shaun) is adamant that we are all wrong and he is right. A real shame as
his SS rims otherwise are really fine.
Burton Bike Bits rear fender for same Trident, simply will not fit, holes punched wrong places. Rod bolts and nuts, clearly for another bike than mine, returned for credit, never heard from them again. Mick retired and things must have gone to hell in a hand basket.
Ebay is a total crapshoot. There are some stand up guys but you will then have to pay for the privilege of looking at things (you pay return shipping). Anything purchased abroad is the same but the return is deadly.

Andover is generally pretty good. They make an effort to have just about everything available. There is some slack here as a few of their bits
are clearly sourced from the same place as everyone else just costs more. This gauls, but it is up to the buyer to do his comparison shopping.

In general I find all rubber pieces to marginal. They seem to be made out of lower quality rubber than original and the fit is often suspect.

Good? Well my Fullauto head, Bob Newby clutch and TTI box. Low time yet but they sure look nicely made.

Dkt26 · Aug 6, 2014

1up3down said:
Turcite fork bushes

Click to expand...

what?

I thought they were oh so wonderful, silky smooth and stickshun free and all, no?

I'm not saying they are a bad purchase but for the price, I find the benefit hard to measure
They are ok that's all. I could find a better way to spend $200au

Dkt26 · Aug 6, 2014

Dkt26 said:
Turcite fork bushes
Progressive springs
Viking exhaust both SS & Roadster
Fleabay swing arm spindle/bush kit
Trispark x 3

Just wanted to note that I don't necessarily claim these parts are rubbish just that I regret purchasing them
Oh except for Viking pipes. They are rubbish

Bernhard · Aug 7, 2014

1up3down said:
bought Progressive Fork springs years ago

aggravated the already too stiff stock forks

took em out, put stock springs back in, I might have thrown the progressives away.....

these always appeared too hard :!: :!: :!:
On one bike I used the soft standard spring and a Progressive it was hust right :!:

Fast Eddie · Aug 7, 2014

Dkt26 said:
Dkt26 said:

Turcite fork bushes
Progressive springs
Viking exhaust both SS & Roadster
Fleabay swing arm spindle/bush kit
Trispark x 3

Click to expand...

Just wanted to note that I don't necessarily claim these parts are rubbish just that I regret purchasing them
Oh except for Viking pipes. They are rubbish

What's wrong with the pipes? I fitted Viking pipes to my old T160 and thought they were fabulous.

Fast Eddie · Aug 7, 2014

Bernhard said:
1up3down said:

bought Progressive Fork springs years ago

aggravated the already too stiff stock forks

took em out, put stock springs back in, I might have thrown the progressives away.....

Click to expand...

these always appeared too hard :!: :!: :!:
On one bike I used the soft standard spring and a Progressive it was hust right :!:

I think many people (myself included) have made the mistake of thinking that stiffer springs will i,prove Roadholders forks, when in fact, the issue is poor damping. Standard (or perhaps even softer) springs and better damping internals is definitely the way to go IMHO.

Bernhard · Aug 7, 2014

midnightlamp said:
ahhh, I know the rings you're talking about! I just lockwired them, but I have a set of the rings you mention! Now I know better =P

- Chinese "progressive" shocks (the ones with two springs with a separator). Damping is alright, but the rates are not right at all, and the "progressive bit" is very under damped. Might need to eat more for those :mrgreen:
- quote]

Why bother with the cheap stuff :?:
Hagon sill make IMPROVED Girling shocks-if the dampers go you can buy them separately. Their £300 racing dampers/shocks –I wish I could justify paying out for these.

Dkt26 · Aug 7, 2014

Fast Eddie said:
Dkt26 said:

Dkt26 said:

Turcite fork bushes
Progressive springs
Viking exhaust both SS & Roadster
Fleabay swing arm spindle/bush kit
Trispark x 3

Click to expand...

Just wanted to note that I don't necessarily claim these parts are rubbish just that I regret purchasing them
Oh except for Viking pipes. They are rubbish

Click to expand...

What's wrong with the pipes? I fitted Viking pipes to my old T160 and thought they were fabulous.

It's a long story but I bought ss big bores. They were terrible and expensive. I was sent replacement roadster headers that were also terrible. They were designed on a jig where no head steady was fitted resulting in them being biased to the primary side by 30mm.
Service was a joke too

Fast Eddie · Aug 7, 2014

Just wanted to note that I don't necessarily claim these parts are rubbish just that I regret purchasing them
Oh except for Viking pipes. They are rubbish[/quote]

What's wrong with the pipes? I fitted Viking pipes to my old T160 and thought they were fabulous.[/quote]

It's a long story but I bought ss big bores. They were terrible and expensive. I was sent replacement roadster headers that were also terrible. They were designed on a jig where no head steady was fitted resulting in them being biased to the primary side by 30mm.
Service was a joke too[/quote]

Well, I wouldn't have been pleased either in your position! Your and my experiences couldn't be more different though. I was chuffed to bits with mine.

NedNorton · Aug 7, 2014

Cheap replacement petcocks that leaked more than the ones they were going to replace. Emgo mufflers that crack at the welds by the cone all within 1000 miles. Goes to show ya that spending a little more for quality parts makes all the difference. BAP petcocks, while a little more up front, are great. Not one leak evidenced by my wife not asking me to move the bike outside because it stinks in the garage. The Bonneville Shop replaced one muffler that had failed saying that it was most likely vibration that caused the welds to break. :? No S#*%! and these are for a commando? Right? Were my responses. But you have to take what the owner of that shop says with a huge grain of salt. He also said not to over tighten the exhaust nuts because it could cause the header pipe to fail. Forget the fact that loose exhaust nuts left alone will have you sending your head to Jim to press in new threads because the old ones are stripped. :roll: Bad parts that I regret buying usually are accompanied by crappy service and advice. They come as a package deal.

midnightlamp · Aug 8, 2014

NedNorton said:
Cheap replacement petcocks that leaked more than the ones they were going to replace.

I think I went through literally the same thing as you. Are they the emgo ones and did you replace them with the BAP ones?

http://www.directcycleparts.com/images/07050148.jpg

If you take apart the emgo ones and remove the burrs from the fluid holes on the body and handle orifice, it doesn't leak, and is useful as a spare!

baz · Aug 8, 2014

a pair of brand new amal concentric carbs this was about 10 years ago they are probably a lot better these days, but they were crap i think they were assembled just for transportation ,nothing had been fettled on them i reckon you could have a shave using the slides! there was swarf inside the float bowl etc ,,,,,,,,,,,,,baz

Hobot · Aug 9, 2014

I regret believing in the majority on forum recommendation to reduce Combat front tire to 100 size which has given me white hairs to try to slow down fast as prior old hard worn 110, ancient as it was. Another was Novil replacement sprocket ring for rear drum teeth. I wish I had not paid to have Peel's frame powder coated. I regreted buying a couple of incomplete or obsolete Drouin models before current pair but was able to unload on well informed builders. I sometime weaver on even buying my 2 Commandos with years each of down time per few 1000 miles usage.

Fast Eddie · Aug 10, 2014

I regret having my frame powder coated.

I last had powder coating done in '96 and said "never again". I then allowed myself to be convinced that "things have changed" and "powder coating has moved on since then" etc.

I went with a company who specialise in motorbikes (well Harley's) who apply a 'hot zinc primer coat' that 'allows for a much thinner top coat' thereby 'avoiding all the old issues of being too thick etc.

It all sounded great, problem was it just ain't true! The coating was way too thick in places, and its super tough, so was really difficult to remove / reduce in some tight areas.

So, I say once more... "Never again" !!

lwmcd1 · Aug 10, 2014

baz said:
midnightlamp said:

Bruce MacGregor said:

Those foolish exhaust nut locking rings for Mk3,

Click to expand...

Care to elaborate on this one?

Click to expand...

the rings stop the nut from coming off but dont stop the nut from coming loose so it chatters the thread away as you ride ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,baz

I noticed that also. I use safety wire instead.

OldBalz · Aug 11, 2014

Taiwanese fuel petcocks from Steadfast Cycles, went through 2 sets......junk! :evil:

Finally got a set of BAP petcocks and they work really well and just picked up another set for my BSA project from Old Britts.
It seems that everything that I get from Steadfast comes in generic non-branded packaging (apparently so that you don't know who the manufacturer is) and shipping time is sketchy at best. I think that I'm done with them......

lwmcd1 · Aug 11, 2014

OldBalz said:
Taiwanese fuel petcocks from Steadfast Cycles, went through 2 sets......junk! :evil:

Yep me too, mine leaked as soon as I put them on. I told Steadfast about it but never heard back from them.

Parts you regret buying

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