Thursday 7 April 2016

Sourcing And Buying Vintage Harley Davidson Parts

By David Jones


If you own a bike, you may need to locate spares after a breakdown or to modify your ride. With bikes that are in production this can be simple and spares are easily sourced from auto stores. If you own an older motorcycle, searching for Vintage Harley Davidson parts may be a little more difficult.

There are a couple of places to begin your search when you are searching for components to fit to an older bike. Sourcing spares can take a long time and in many cases you may not get a match to the existing parts. When you are trying to find rare items it is worth taking a photograph of the old one so that comparisons can be made.

There are now online retailers that specialize in Harley spares and components. Most of these companies will have thousands of spares in stock for some very old motorcycles. The adverts will normally show a picture of the spare part and a fully detailed description with its price and other information.

Harley dealerships are also a good place to visit when searching for rare items. Most dealers will have huge stocks of new parts and many will have older spares which are not listed in their stock books. In the event that they do not have what you are searching for they can often advise you where to continue looking.

Scrap and junk stores are another useful place to have a look at when searching for bits for your old bike. Many bikes that have been taken off the road often end up in these places. Some firms will remove any items that can be sold on and keep them in their stock room but in some cases you might have to strip a bike down so it is worth taking along some tools with you when you visit.

Biker clubs and Harley Davidson owners associations can also be a useful place to try and find parts. Many members will trade unwanted bits and if you are a member you can benefit from discounts and get first choice on certain items. Many of these clubs will have a web site so sending a short email with your requests can often result in you finding your items.

When you have located the replacements and have fitted them it is worth keeping the old ones as you may be able to recycle them and help out another owner. Some parts may be reused or sold on to another biker who is looking for an elusive spare. When replacing items such as fuel tanks and brake systems it is important to have them inspected before using or selling them.

If you have to replace things it is preferable to use genuine spares when possible. Many companies produce aftermarket spares which are compatible but using these may affect the value of your bike should you decide to sell it on. Some clubs will also not allow you to enter a bike into display shows if it is not factory specification so this is worth bearing in mind.




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