Aftermarket Parts Interest: GS500's

[Phaedrus]

It seems like there is some interest in aftermarket parts for our bikes, yet almost no one makes anything. Do you think it would make a difference if we started lobbying some of the aftermarket companies and showing them there is an interested market?

And if so..anyone want to help me send letters and make phone calls?  :mrgreen: Maybe if they get enough people showing intrest, they would be more likely to make some products for us. It would atleast open our options a little bit.

Anyone with me? Or should I sit down and shut up? Haha.

[davipu]

sit down.  your wasting your breath.    it's like this, WE (gstwin) have intrest in aftermarket items,  but your looking at less than 100 items of any one thing.  even if you had 100 people say I want one, half whouldn't pay.  just cause that's the way it works on the internet.   but for some company to go out of thier way to produce a item that won't sell,  they better have alot of money to burn up.

[goat]

It might be worth a try the worst that can happen is wasted effort. What parts are you thinking of? Exhaust is the first one that comes to my mind.

I'm not so sure that the manufacturers are the people tosend letters to, though. It might be more productive to bother a distributor since they're the ones who place orders.

Or we could all start promoting srinath moto aftermarket parts. Who knows, with enough flange orders he might be able to make a full time job out of it  :lol:

[Thrin]

I agree with davipu, I dont think even 500 orders would be of interest to a large scale company like Yoshimura...

[airbrush]

Doubt you would get any manufacturer to make anything for an entry level bike, most people trade up after a year anyways and those that do stick with it...well there are always guys on the forum here (like myself - rear huggers and keychains in the for sale section) that make stuff for people that want it. Anyways most people that say that want something for their bike never end up getting it anyways, i would say a quarter maybe, if that, actually end up buying the part.

[The Buddha]

Quarter - try none ...
OK isolated case in point ... my first handle bar run was like 25 ... and when I posted there were many many people that wanted them ... and I made them and in the first lot none went to people that posted saying they wanted one ... which I took as a sign to start collecting money from people that ask for them ... so I can also not be out 1000's of dollars making stuff only to have to sell it entirely later ... I basically cant do inventory and display type sales cos I dont have a store ... the low overhead is cos all of it is prepaid ... so I am not out 1000's so i dont feel like I should have a risk factor involved in pricing these ... hence I barely get coverage for my costs ... usually the second and third and 4th sets are where I start to turn a profit ... first lots have so much loss and prototyping and figuring things out ... its a disaster usually ...
Now I would like to see a self sufficient cycle ( airbrush is certainly part of that, as is BobB, Dgyver/JamesG, and more ) where we make parts for our use ... and not quite want to have someone else make it for us. We need it, we make it, simple ... IMHO. There is inherent trust built up and usually everything works to everyone's satisfaction.
On that note I also will recomend buying and selling bikes from people on here ... I had trouble with some titling issues on a bike I bought, and the seller though not a regular here was aware and occassional visitor. Finding him and getting the help I needed was a simple email/PM deal. turns out I didn't need him to do it exactly, but in any case he was available to do it. The reverse happened with jetswing. I bought his bike and state of VA wanted him to prove that. a few phone calls and some faxes later we have it sorted out. The general idea ... we should support our own habit.
Cool.
Srinath.

[davipu]

anyone have a extra aquarium and light?  gotta support my habit.

[Phaedrus]

I agree we should support our own habit, but what about those of us that are not mechanically inclined? For instance, I can't make my own handlebars or flanges. Hell I wouldn't even know where to start. I'd have a hard enough time putting them on  

So of course it would be nice if I could make my own stuff..but the fact is, I can't. Not everyone has the same strengths and abilities. And I think it sucks that just because I don't have a great deal of mechanical ability, that I can't get cool stuff for my bike. Whereas manufactuers tend to make things simpler....read the directions, bolt it on, and enjoy it. That is more along the lines of what I would like to see.  

I have nothing against learning and trying new things, of course. But when it all comes down to it, no one is going to have the same abilities no matter how hard they try. And I like to spend my time riding and enjoying the bike...that is my interest, not mechanical hacking

[The Buddha]

I agree we should support our own habit, but what about those of us that are not mechanically inclined? For instance, I can't make my own handlebars or flanges. Hell I wouldn't even know where to start. I'd have a hard enough time putting them on  

So of course it would be nice if I could make my own stuff..but the fact is, I can't. Not everyone has the same strengths and abilities. And I think it sucks that just because I don't have a great deal of mechanical ability, that I can't get cool stuff for my bike. Whereas manufactuers tend to make things simpler....read the directions, bolt it on, and enjoy it. That is more along the lines of what I would like to see.  

I have nothing against learning and trying new things, of course. But when it all comes down to it, no one is going to have the same abilities no matter how hard they try. And I like to spend my time riding and enjoying the bike...that is my interest, not mechanical hacking

See once you have somehting made for a GS ... be it handlebars from Bike master or exhausts from Yosh or a case guard ... what ever ... the fitting it on part is the same be it something someone here makes or somehitng a factory makes. I didn't say Support your own habit, I said we as a collective unit should support our habit. By no means are we tryinbg to be self sufficient ... we cant make steel and we didn't make exhaust cans ... we just decided to connect up the available material to our bike. You dont need to have CF fabrication ability ... dgyver and JamesG have, you dont need to slice and bend and weld steel, I do, and many of the others do too ... Just saying dont put in too much effort into roping in a third party like Yosh. We can support our own ... Just a general plug for the versatility of this group.
Cool.
Srinath.

[dgyver]

Like said, it cannot hurt to contact the vendors or manufactures to voice your interest in new parts. Note that developing new parts takes time and it has to be profitable for them. Tooling is not cheap.

Not having the more expensive aftermarket suppliers allows those to fabricate their own parts, which helps to support their motorcycle habit and provide less expensive parts to others. This is not specific to the GS. Take the TL for example. Since it is not made anymore, aftermarket part development has been disappearing. There have been several people who have been making undertails, huggers and other bodywork. These all cost much less.

I realize that not everyone has the ability and resources to make their own parts. At least support those that do.

[Phaedrus]

Absolutely. I would definitely prefer to buy something from someone on the site than a large manufactuer. It helps promote GS community but is also more "custom" and "unique" that way. It is the way to go.

[Faxxxy]

Same here..
I had my father-in-law fabricate some peg adaptors for putting kuryakyns on the GZ250 and when I showed them on the GZ250 board, I had no less then 10 people say that they would pay $50 a set for them..

When they were done, I posted them again and not a single person still wanted them.. I had nearly $500 invested in them and no buyers.. :x
Thank God for e-bay!

I have been developing a kick @ss adaptor for putting clip on handlebars on the GS.. When it's complete, I will post and offer it, but I will not have any more made until the money is sitting safely in my account.. :nana: