Motorbikes: Despite today's refinement of the motorcycle industry, there is still a good demand for both spare-parts and replacement 'bits'. John Brophy delves around some of the dealers
Francis Street in Dublin is now a boulevard of antique shops. But for the motorbike fraternity the most famous business there is City Spares, the spare-parts and scrap dealers. They'll admit to being there for more than 20 years, but if my memory serves aright, they go back to the days when British bikes were still around, and spanners were measured in British Standard Whitworth.
That seems like another era - and it was. So today, when bikes and mopeds have reached a high degree of refinement, is there any room left for second-hand parts? The answer is a huge yes. As everyone knows, except for a niche of Italian-made machines, almost everything is made in Japan. Japanese methods include just-in-time delivery of stock and parts, and there is everywhere a cutting back on overheads, especially warehousing. So when a part is needed, you have to go to an approved dealer, since the parts wholesalers will not deal directly with the public. And quite often the part is not in stock and has to be specially ordered.
That can mean waiting more than a month to have it delivered - and sometimes discovering along the way that the specification has changed. Sometimes, too, technology can be a hindrance. With the new kinds of electronic anti-theft locking, there is one key unique to each machine. So if the key gets lost, or if someone vandalises the machine or tries to steal it, it's no longer a question of replacing a lock. The machine is off the road until a full replacement unit can be fitted.
Small wonder then, that the motorcycle groups list secure parking areas as a priority on their wish-lists.
And just like cars, if an electronic key is found, the vehicle is probably close by, since it can't move without the key. This provides a chance for an opportunistic person to amble the street looking for a machine of the same brand as is marked on the key, and pressing the signal button. When the machine responds, it can be stolen with impunity.
So what parts are most in demand? Basically, fall-off parts. Even the most experienced of riders will fall off, and when they do, things like mirrors and indicator lights get damaged and need replacement, even though they are now fitted on flexible mountings.
Brake and clutch handles too are now deliberately made in light alloy, so that they will break off in an accident rather than present a dangerous edge with the potential to cause cuts or injuries. But Eric Whelan in City Spares warns that a perfect fit is essential for such vital components as brake and clutch levers, and that a complete unit rather than just a lever is by far the better option.
BY a curious paradox, it's the more complicated bits that now have no market. Engines and gearboxes are now made so well that they rarely go wrong, and therefore there is very little demand for them. That means that they are so good that they're worth very little.
One curious exception is with wheels. Motorbike wheels are ideal for people making up the sulkies for harness racing, and every summer there is a demand for wheels which will be driven by single horse-power, literally, at trotting races.
Running a scrapyard may seem a disorganised business, but it's far from it. You need an encyclopaedic knowledge of makes, model, and year-changes, of what will fit and what won't.
The market, too, has changed over the years. The smaller sizes of motorbike, above the basic 50 cc class, have increased in power and speed and the insurance on them has become too expensive for the average young lad who probably has a weekend job to fund independent mobility.
This means that youngsters go for scooters rather than bikes, and scooters are fine for city motoring, but are not, realistically, suitable for holiday touring.
Another factor is that the smaller machines (derisively labelled "hair-dryers" because of their sound, by those with bigger beasts) normally work at high engine revs and need servicing every 2,000 kms. This is often more than the owners can afford, and so the engines burn out within a couple of years. Compared with an older system where a youngster could buy a second-hand machine and learn how to service it, the new scene is not as good either for value for money, or in enhancing skills or responsibility.
Usually they handle better, and they look better, but the increasing amount of plastic means that nowadays you have to replace a complete unit rather than a single item.
The recent law change requires that machines for young riders are fitted with speed limiters. But there is an obvious temptation to remove the limiters, even though this will invalidate the insurance - and so there is some demand for replacements if the originals have been damaged.
City Spares operates a complete "green" policy. Steel, aluminium and oil are all collected and sent for recycling - and compared with a car, far more of a bike can be recycled.
Sometimes, this can happen far earlier than expected. I noticed an almost new Honda Blackbird - and you'd have little change from € 15,000 - which had suffered a nasty encounter with a sheep in the Wicklow mountains. The tale was that the rider had escaped serious injury, but the bike certainly hadn't, and had been sent for breaking. No report was available on the state of the sheep.
Obviously, prices for components differ. James Smith in Premier Motorcycles in Inchicore, Dublin, does servicing as well as spare parts sales. He too, has been in business for 20 years. When I called, he was helping one customer to recover from an attempted theft, and another visitor was having trouble with the electrics on a classic bike. For an average indicator cover on a common model, you could get away with € 8 to €10, but a rarer model might cost three times that price. It's all about knowledge and friendly support when there's a problem. That's something a computer can never replace.