OEM parts for our discontinued bikes, get em while you can!!!

[1badmax]

Just wanted to share this bit of info that I ran into with my discontinued Raider just as the Vmax was discontinued also. Seems like Yamaha is not wasting anytime in stopping the making of certain parts on bikes that they have stopped making. My clutch seemed to be slipping a bit on my 14 Raider S, changed the fluid several times which seem to get better then back to slipping, checked m/c and slave and no issues. Knowing that it was definitely slipping now I ordered an OEM Clutch Kit from Rocky Mountain M/C, they told me it was on backorder until June 5th, this was several weeks ago. Then two days ago I got an email saying it was backordered until August 5th. I looked everywhere Revzilla, Motorsports.com, ebay, Chapmoto and made calls and about a third of them told me that the clutches had been discontinued. My Raider is a 14, they discontinued the Raider in 18 which has the same slipper clutch and they are just about out of clutch parts??? K&N Powersports my local dealer said the same, that they had been discontinued. I could have maybe gone with a Barnett but just didn't want to at this point. I talked with my dealer on options, he finally checked his entire data base with other dealers and there was one clutch kit showing up in Chicago, IL. I live in Tulsa. I called them and they physically had the kit and agreed to sell it to me and I pay shipping. No problem!

Just letting you guys and gals know that parts are getting more scarce and it's not just Covid this time. My 16 Max was totalled in December and I have been looking to get back on one but thinking that parts may be hard to come by since they discontinued the Gen 2 in 2020 makes me wonder???

 

[Parminio]

Yamaha is not wasting anytime in stopping the making of certain parts on bikes that they have stopped making.

To be fair, I have the last Gen 1 VMax they made. I bought it brand new. That was 15 years ago. That's a LOT of time to keep making parts.

 

[ouchez]

Just wanted to share this bit of info that I ran into with my discontinued Raider just as the Vmax was discontinued also. Seems like Yamaha is not wasting anytime in stopping the making of certain parts on bikes that they have stopped making. My clutch seemed to be slipping a bit on my 14 Raider S, changed the fluid several times which seem to get better then back to slipping, checked m/c and slave and no issues. Knowing that it was definitely slipping now I ordered an OEM Clutch Kit from Rocky Mountain M/C, they told me it was on backorder until June 5th, this was several weeks ago. Then two days ago I got an email saying it was backordered until August 5th. I looked everywhere Revzilla, Motorsports.com, ebay, Chapmoto and made calls and about a third of them told me that the clutches had been discontinued. My Raider is a 14, they discontinued the Raider in 18 which has the same slipper clutch and they are just about out of clutch parts??? K&N Powersports my local dealer said the same, that they had been discontinued. I could have maybe gone with a Barnett but just didn't want to at this point. I talked with my dealer on options, he finally checked his entire data base with other dealers and there was one clutch kit showing up in Chicago, IL. I live in Tulsa. I called them and they physically had the kit and agreed to sell it to me and I pay shipping. No problem!

Just letting you guys and gals know that parts are getting more scarce and it's not just Covid this time. My 16 Max was totalled in December and I have been looking to get back on one but thinking that parts may be hard to come by since they discontinued the Gen 2 in 2020 makes me wonder???

I think this is going to be a major issue and raises big concerns about buying these machines that never sold in large numbers and thus have a bigger issue with parts. It is said that Covid gave companies an excuse to do things they really wanted to do pre -Covid but did not do out of fear of alienating their customer base. I have noticed it is getting harder to find a YAMA motorcycle dealer and forget about one that can have skilled technicians on any VMAX, especially Gen 2. I honestly believe the day is coming when YAMA will drop all sales and manufacture of Motorcycles. I have been a Panasonic Communication system dealer for the last 33 years and this year 2022 Panasonic is completely exited that market, and they are not alone. Gas prices, emission demands, pricing, electric vehicles, all are a huge threat to the Cycles future that we love, and that is performance Cycles.

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

Most manufacturers only make parts for 10 years. After that, the aftermarket world makes up the slack if there is money to be made.

Now....For Yamaha....My 1982 Virago. This era Virago ran from 1981 to 1983. The carbs are Hitachi. In 1985.....2 years after the run....Yamaha told Hitachi to stop making carb parts. Thats why carbs and carb parts for the Virago are non existent.

 

[1badmax]

To be fair, I have the last Gen 1 VMax they made. I bought it brand new. That was 15 years ago. That's a LOT of time to keep making parts.

Understood but the run on Gen 1's was what 22 years and also having one I believe there were a lot more Gen 1's sold than Gen 2's of 12 years of sales. We are in way different times now than we were 2 years let alone 12 years ago. My point was just to inform everyone of what I just experienced with the Raider would likely fall down on the Gen 2's also and if you may need something and can get it. GET IT NOW because if you wait it may be too late.

 

[Parminio]

You're also forgetting that most things are on backorder because most factories were shut down for a year due to a global pandemic. Everything is in short supply right now. I think that has far more to do with it than things being discontinued at a wholesale level.

 

[jpphotof64]

"Get em while you can". I totally agree. Things like impeller shafts, water pumps and clutch reservoir are near impossible to find new in Yamaha packaging. I'm all for rebuilding them but sometimes it's nice to have a new one when you get the drip of death. And my local Honda/Suzuki dealer will not work on any bike that's over 10 years old. The Yamaha dealer here still works on older stuff.

 

[1badmax]

Yeah I don't think any of us have not felt the sting of the backorder because of having to cut or stop production. But getting an item three months longer than it use to take is totally different than not being able to order a new part at all. Discontinued means just that, when the last one goes off the shelf that's it because they are not made anymore. Call all over the world, check junkyards and check with all your friends. This is my point in trying to help someone from getting jammed up and out of commission. If it happen in four years on the Raider it could also happen on the Max. Hopefully it doesn't but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[one2dmax]

The magnuson moss act only requires them to have parts for the duration on the warranty. BUT, the longest law that i am aware of is out of Israel which is 7 years. Your 2014 is outside of that window while the 2018 is within that window. And likely the same parts. SO, if they are discontinued they would be in violation of the Israel law which would be highly unusual. We can still get new OEM clutches for the 1985 Vmax. I wonder if it's not discontinued but rather back ordered with no availability date so they call it discontinued.

 

[schudaddie]

The magnuson moss act only requires them to have parts for the duration on the warranty. BUT, the longest law that i am aware of is out of Israel which is 7 years. Your 2014 is outside of that window while the 2018 is within that window. And likely the same parts. SO, if they are discontinued they would be in violation of the Israel law which would be highly unusual. We can still get new OEM clutches for the 1985 Vmax. I wonder if it's not discontinued but rather back ordered with no availability date so they call it discontinued.

I have to wonder how many parts (probably not many) are currently still being used in current production parts.
later, bill

 

[1badmax]

The magnuson moss act only requires them to have parts for the duration on the warranty. BUT, the longest law that i am aware of is out of Israel which is 7 years. Your 2014 is outside of that window while the 2018 is within that window. And likely the same parts. SO, if they are discontinued they would be in violation of the Israel law which would be highly unusual. We can still get new OEM clutches for the 1985 Vmax. I wonder if it's not discontinued but rather back ordered with no availability date so they call it discontinued.

Yes the 13-18 are the same slipper clutch parts. It doesn't help that it was the entire Clutch Kit and not just a set of the same plates. It showed 7-10 days out when I first ordered from Rocky Mountain, the it went to a month out, then last update was about 3 months and arriving August 5th. Fortunately I just received the kit yesterday from the Chicago dealer.

 

[Parminio]

I wonder if it's not discontinued but rather back ordered with no availability date so they call it discontinued.

I'm betting that's what it is. Sellers don't want to tell you they can't get it. They'd rather blame the manufacturer and just say it's discontinued even though they have not been told that.

 

[1badmax]

I'm betting that's what it is. Sellers don't want to tell you they can't get it. They'd rather blame the manufacturer and just say it's discontinued even though they have not been told that.

Hopefully that is what it is. If I had not been able to get this from Chicago my next call was going to be Yamaha Corporate so I might have found out the real deal.

 

[Rollie]

I'm sure Yamaha will give you the whole truth and nothing but ...

 

[1badmax]

I'm sure Yamaha will give you the whole truth and nothing but ...

Yeah right...

 

[V4max]

I'm sure Yamaha will give you the whole truth and nothing but ...

They will give you everything but the truth

 

[JimmyDee]

I used to work at a multi line dealer. Honda/Suzuki/Yamaha/Kawi. Yamaha and Kawi are the worst at cutting off their old catalogs. It's still easy enough to find consumable parts (I refurbished an 83 XT550 3 years ago and could still get a surprising amount of carb parts for it) but I think that's because they're a lot of common part numbers. Anything that's a one of like cosmetics are long gone.

Kawi was the worst of the bunch. It's hard enough to find old parts diagrams with them; if you didn't have fiche you were out of luck. And even if you did, everything older than 15 years was out of production lol.

Honda was the best but they're the biggest of the four. I could still order OEM three wheeler plastics almost 25 years after they stopped making them.

Yamaha was also the only one of the four that didn't do goodwill warranty. Engine explodes three days out of warranty? Give your customer a good trade in on a new one

 

[Warp12]

When I look on Bikebandit, pretty much every Gen1 V-max part for the fuel system is listed as backordered. This is all the way down to clips and screws, including all parts for carbs, fuel tank, airbox, etc.. I highly doubt this is accurate, as certainly some of the nuts, bolts, screws and clamps fit other models.

I guess I will find out soon enough when I call Ron Ayers to place an order.

 

[Warp12]

Just an update, I ordered some parts from Ronayers, and they arrived in a timely fashion. These same parts are all listed as backordered on Bikebandit. So, maybe it isn't such a issue as suspected.

 

[Hayabusa200]

When I look on Bikebandit, pretty much every Gen1 V-max part for the fuel system is listed as backordered. This is all the way down to clips and screws, including all parts for carbs, fuel tank, airbox, etc.. I highly doubt this is accurate, as certainly some of the nuts, bolts, screws and clamps fit other models.

I guess I will find out soon enough when I call Ron Ayers to place an order.

Check this out regarding BikeBandit

https://jalopnik.com/motorcycle-parts-seller-bikebandit-has-stolen-646-000-1848823954/amp