Hey guys,

it's been a while since I posted a story here, it's sunday, I just got up and felt like sharing

Late last year I wanted to make some simple modifications, new handlebars, internal wiring, fork boots and front turn signal relocation... Nothing special.

I headed out to a friend who has a bike shop, this was early at the beginning of this year. I ordered parts from him before.
Now, he doesn't do Harleys but he can get the parts, and as before he ordered them. Now keep in mind this was early January.

So I didn't hear from him for 3 weeks so I called him. He did't have any news from the supplier so he called them. They said I was all being processed.
A few weeks later I still didn't hear anything, so I called him back.
He took it up with the supplier again, and this time they told him they were about to ship it from the US (oh, I'm from Belgium by the way).
Still did't hear anything for weeks.
So I called my friend one more time and again he told me he would look into it.
This was at the end of last month.
He got back to me and told me they had some lame story why it wasn't in yet and he told me to try and find the parts somewhere else. Now I know my friend gave them a hard time for it, and he will never work with that supplier again. I have to add, I wasn't following up on it constantly, I let some weeks pass in between calls, but still...

Most of the custom Harley stuff is made in the US, here we depend on a handfull of suppliers to get it to us (I think there's 3 major ones in Europe that import from the US). These suppliers ofcourse prefer to work with the official HD dealers. It's a shame really because the small local shops are way nicer and there's a better contact (at least in my experience).
I ended up going to a Harley dealer to order my parts. They guaranteed me the parts would be in next week...


Any of you guys ever had any problems getting some 'simple' items?
And how easy is it to get something in the US? Can you just walk into any bikeshop and order some specific item from a specific brand (that that shop normally doesn't carry)?


Now I'm ready for some breakfast and a good cup of coffee

 

Maybe an additional question...

Where do you prefer to buy your stuff from? Local independant dealer, official HD, interwebs?

 

Hi from the UK. I've owned Harleys since the 70s so have plenty of experience of buying stuff both in Europe and from the USA. I think your problem is your friend is not a Harley shop of any sort, also he has been trying to deal with a crap importer!

The quality of service for Harley parts and service varies greatly and is very unpredictable, not helped by the way the factory treats its own dealers. My local dealer (I bought two of my current bikes from them) has just had their dealership taken away, with no explanation. This is not a European way of doing business, but it runs through the people you and I depend on.

So two suggestions. One is find a Harley shop, either a dealer or independent, and try them for the parts you want. You can also look for US dealers. Some are very keen to export stuff and a few do so at good discounted prices, but some will not export at all. The problem is that shipping costs can be high, also your Government will probably charge import taxes, such as VAT.

If you can find the parts you want anywhere in the EU there will not be any extra taxes, also shipping costs will be less. People like Zodiac and Custom Chrome have distributors you can seek out.

Best of luck and I hope that helps a little!

 

Isn't your local HD dealer run but local people, just deal with them if you get good service, where I'm from in Canada there are no independent shops..its the dealer or the internet.

 

Custom chrome Europe, or do it like my brother. I order from the web, and send him the parts, or he's coming here to pick them up, if there's no hurry. Also, it saves you a lot of money.

 

There aren't as much HD dealers here, and the ones that are here aren't the best in customer service... Now for a small local unofficial dealer, they need to differentiate by having good customer service, so I'd rather go there.

By the way, I ordered HD parts before through my friend, so even though he doesn't sell Harley's, he can get the parts. But because he's just a small shop, the big 3 (Custom Chrome, Zodiac and Motorcycle Storehouse) seem not so keen on sending parts to him, although he frequently buys 'generic' parts that will fit non-HD bikes from them.

So I just ordered some parts from a US store and I'll check what it will cost me in the end doing that (and man, prices are way better in the US).
I found an unofficial HD store not too far away (all he carries is HD stuff, just isn't an official HD dealer) so next time I'll try through him.
I'll see what works best...


Thx for the replies so far.