Anyone heard of a company/H-D operation called 'Vintageparts' and know anything about it?

Consequent to a supplier's screw, a chromer dropped an FLHR nacelle into the wrong vat and blew a hole through it, I was forced to go to our local official franchise for an repair estimate.

Of course, I knew the original *-94 part was superseded, requiring a replacement with two matching *-03 shells bumping up a sweet 250 to 480 (approx). The castings of the early and mid-period Road King nacelles fit the same triple trees but have a slightly different curve and, hence, don't match each other. There may be slight differences in handlebar clamp covers.

What I was not prepared for was to discover the *-03s were now also listed as obsolete and the system showed up that they were only available from "Vintageparts".

The storeman explained that it meant H-D themselves don't stock them - nor to they set the price for them and so he could only give an estimate - but that "Vintageparts" bought to took over all the old stock items and that dealers had to order from them. The impression he gave was that they were a separate company but that only dealers could buy from them. And they set the prices, suggesting higher.

Of course, it was another reminder that both I and my ride really had gotten old, perhaps even embarrassingly so.

'Vintageparts: your obsolescence is our invest opportunity' ... something akin to FXR Elvis but at a corporate level ... or the dusty 'old folks home' of Harley parts?

 

No embarrassment here........

 

Yes they bought all the old stock and sell to the dealer's. All the car dealer's have the same. The prices are not as high as you may think.

 

I am glad to hear that ... the dealer told me to expect they were higher than list and I am always amazed by how much Elvis asks for FXR stuff.

In fairness, I am sure it makes economic sense ... but with an eye to the future, I hope they/someone is thinking to or being allowed to keep jigs, moulds and diagrams for when our bikes really do become old.

I know in the case of some of the vintage British marques it has been done and owner clubs have been quite impressive in recreating small batches of crucial items.

Let's hope at best they are like Army Surplus suppliers ... but I cannot find any info about them anywhere. Ah, here they are ... http://www.vpartsinc.com/. Quite impressive ... unfortunately, Retail Customers cannot use their site for H-D parts.

 

Looking at Vintage's website and seeing some of the vehicle brands I am reminded of something I still find amusing. I own one of the last MG cars made and the parts side of that business was bought out by Caterpillar! I'm fairly certain that Harley parts have been processed by them as well in the past, so I wonder if Vintage is actually part of them?

As for parts manufacture, a friend was a director of the Velocette Owners Club here in the UK way back, when they established themselves as a limited company expressly for the purpose of buying and manufacturing spare parts. The Vincent Owners Club followed suit a little time later.

 

and my age has become a source of pride. ....... but Graham is older than me!

 

There's no shame in being the oldest swinger! I can still get in my salopettes and ride my Buell - Fred forgot that verse!!!!

 

obsolete = opportunity.

 

I deal with Vintage Parts on almost a weekly basis. They buy obsolete parts from various manufacturers and resell them to the respective authorized dealers. Their prices are the same as the OEM prices although, just like the manufacturers, the "suggested list" price is just that, a suggested list price. It is up to the individual dealer to determine what price those parts are sold for. We have a GM, Ford and Chrysler account with them but, we can't order parts from other manufacturers. If I worked at a Chrysler dealer, I can't order GM parts (or Harley parts ) and vice versa. I have had some luck getting our local dealer to order some obsolete FXR parts for me in the past from them.

 

My local dealer has had to resort to them a couple of times to find stuff for my bike. Prices seem very reasonable (we ARE talking Harley parts, after all).