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I have built many bikes over the years and have always found the aftermarket crap, just that crap. You must have a good set of drill bits and a hammer to make things fit. Sometimes you just don't have a choice though.
Those aftermarket dash for pans and shovel were really bad for matching the aftermarket tanks. Chrome is normally really crappy too. I can only imagine what their paint jobs are like.
My advice from first-hand experience: Don't do it!
I bought a front fender, in Vivid Black, from Amazon for an Electra Glide.
Worst decision I ever made for my bike.
The finish was OK, at best, on the top of the fender --- but the sides of the fender had the worst orange peel I have ever seen.
It simply looked like crap.
Lesson learned.
Even Harley sometimes has very slight orange peel on the sides of their touring front fenders from the factory (I have looked at a lot of front fenders on new bikes), but nothing like the Amazon crap.
I think there are some select items you can get from Amazon for Harleys that are satisfactory, but tins are not one of them IMHO.
Needing to repaint items in a color that is not available in pre-painted parts, I took the risk and bought unpainted parts for my project.
I'm not a body shop guy or painter (although I did work in a shop back in high school).
I've watched enough builds progress to know that you need to fit everything BEFORE you paint it.
You simply cannot do that with pre-painted parts.
Mind you I went w/ aftermarket lowers, inner & outer fairing, as well as bag lids.
Paint for all of it is costing me $3,500.
This includes all factory painted parts, (even the tourpack) plus the inner fairing; 18 pieces in total.
Single color, factory match w/o pinstripe.
See what a shop can do to your existing paint if you don't have any parts that need to be replaced.
I bought the outer clamshell for the faring, saddle bag lids and front fender aftermarket for my 07 streetglide supper cheap, nice fit, nice paint, I was happy
I bought the outer clamshell for the faring, saddle bag lids and front fender aftermarket for my 07 streetglide supper cheap, nice fit, nice paint, I was happy
I, too, have had excellent luck with aftermarket American-made/American-painted Harley body components. (Hogworkz, Advan, Klockworks/The Factory Match)
It's the Chinesium Amazon crap that I had a problem with.
I literally did not install the crap on my bike -- it is sitting in a box in my basement never to be seen again -- and too much trouble to go through the whole return process with the seller possibly wanting to send me another piece that could be as bad or worse than the first one.
I'll never order critical painted body components from Amazon again, unless the seller is a known American supplier that I recognize, and I would only go through Amazon to get their products to take advantage of "free" shipping if the supplier did not offer it.
Last edited by focodave; Oct 12, 2023 at 04:16 PM.
Unless something has changed recently all of Advanblack's are made and painted in China and shipped to their warehouse in CA. Same with Hogworkz, although I think Hogworkz does some painting in the US. I guess they are technically a USA company as their warehouse/offices are in the USA but that is about it.
We use as many Made in USA products as possible. We work with Klock Werks a lot. All their steel fenders are actually Made in the USA, and Painted in the USA by us. Same with Top Shop Bagger Products that we do too. Made right in Mitchell, SD and Painted in Sioux Falls, SD by us.
Not hating on Advan or Hogworkz, just want to be clear that Klock Werks, Top Shop Baggers, & many other companies that we deal with for body parts are 100% True American business that truly make high quality American made parts.
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