Joys and challenges of working on several motorcycles: My legendary Yamahas

Luckily I couldn’t find anyone capable of carrying the parts by hand and as a last resort I contacted my man Friday Eddie and he certainly did not disappoint.

BHPian SnS_12 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

The joys and challenges of owning and working on multiple bikes

As you already know, with the RZ we were prepared for the unexpected when it came to anything we might have to do to the bike and so I had parts ordered before we even knew we needed to replace them. On top of that I was ordering parts for the Daytona, RD 125 and RD 200 at the same time and over the last few months I have ordered hundreds of individual parts and sometimes missed the smallest details like the Daytona and RZ. bikes that I had never worked on before and the Daytona especially needed a lot of research as there was hardly any information available on the internet, but the bike had original parts which was a big help to me help. But I still ended up ordering the wrong parts, like the wrong master cylinder repair kit for the late model and the wrong size caliper pin boots for the RZ. But, in all the chaos of ordering parts, I ended up ordering the wrong quantity of parts as well and only realized my mistake now, when we are so close to launching the RZ.

The parts in question are the ever-critical engine shock absorbers, without which the engine cannot be reassembled. I had ordered these parts in October before I even released the engine and simply added parts that I thought at the time might be needed, but never got to the specific quantities required. I would explain in more detail how I made a mistake when posting the photos, as it would help to understand why you need to read about each particular piece when ordering online, especially from Yambits. Now, after closely inspecting the motor housing, I realized that I may not have ordered the correct quantity of each shock and checked my purchase history to realize that my hunch was true and that I had made a big mistake. So, without delay, I started contacting all known contacts, including a few bhpians, to see if anyone was from the UK, as Yambits still don’t ship to India. Luckily I couldn’t find anyone capable of carrying the parts by hand and as a last resort I contacted my man Friday Eddie and he certainly did not disappoint. He guided me to a UK Yamaha dealer who ships worldwide and all I had to pray was that the parts were in stock. Since I was not very familiar with this dealer and their website, I carefully read the details and looked at the drawing and part numbering to ensure I ordered the correct parts. I shared the details with Eddie and he was kind enough to verify that each part number was correct and gave me the final go-ahead. But life isn’t always kind enough to me and sometimes it really tests my patience and raises my anxiety levels.

So the Yamaha dealership called Fowlers works Monday through Friday and unlike Yambits, their website does not process orders on weekends, especially for a shipping quote that needs to be generated for your order. Additionally, in speaking with Eddie, I told him that I was placing an order only for the missing quantities of the required parts and asked him if this would be a problem as the parts would be supplied by two different suppliers and that when he m ‘said the Fowlers ones are OEM parts, which made sense since they were almost 50% more expensive than the Yambits ones. So when I heard these were OEM parts, I simply revised my order and ordered the correct quantity, then waited a long time Monday morning for them to open at 9 a.m. from the UK, to give me a shipping quote. I kept checking my shopping cart and email for an update even before it was 9am and finally received an update at 10am UK time. Phew! But the drama had just started so as I went to pay, they didn’t have a Paypal option, which I use on Yambits or Amex. Only Visa and Mastercard. So I tried to make payment via my Visa credit cards, two different ones and both were declined. I tried several times and even checked my banking app to confirm that international transactions hadn’t been disabled, but to no avail, then it hit me: should I use a debit card? I inserted the details and it was done, just as the money in my bank account became a few thousand thin in a matter of seconds….

Before placing the order I checked with my friend Tony as I had messaged him about this error on Sunday but he never responded. He was cool and not too stressed as he had kept the shock absorbers that came with the bike as they didn’t look damaged and could be reused. But since there was a crack at the front shock mounting point on the housing we welded, we weren’t sure if it was the wrong size shock or if it had been hammered instead with a pressure fit. So fingers crossed the shocks from the UK arrive before Christmas and the postman plays the perfect Santa and doesn’t charge me customs duty

Some photos….

When you step back and see the smallest details. While the MC cap I ordered from Eddie looks similar, the one on mine being a JDM spec has all the warning letters in Japanese.

I guess I’ll now save this one for a later date and refurbish the original one.

Amount of parts left to mount on the bike

The rectifier sent by Eddie

OE and non-OE tank in action

Up close

I guess I’ll get a set of replacement panels and paint them a different shade to use the stock tank.

Soon to move on to RUN

RZ will scream as the tachometer needle climbs and unleashes hell in Mumbai

If you could still read the signs. Bad caliper pin boot just below the wrong quantity ordered shocks

When you order parts on Yambits, this is how you see them and add them to cart.

But the full description and required quantity are only mentioned when you click on each part. I ordered just one piece of this when I needed four total. Bright!!! But I can’t help it when you order hundreds of individual parts for multiple bikes.

Fowlers website in comparison. Has a parts diagram but does not always mention the quantity required.

I’m waiting for my shipping quote

Some information on powder coating. Everything is done

A clean, shiny engine case, ready for assembly

The original tank slides under my bed so I can dream about its future…

When my family thinks that I can never throw anything away and that I only pick up trash

But only legends will understand what it means to still own a set of OE RX side panels on your own bike after its 25 years.

Daytona parts, which will now be stored for use when needed

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