ance Parts | Forced Retirement? | Wheelspin
Aftermarket Performance Parts | Forced Retirement? | Wheelspin
Although
more and more older sportbikes are seeing a second life, there’s a big
problem: No one makes performance parts for them anymore
From the September, 2012 issue of Sport Rider
By Kent Kunitsugu
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With
the economy just beginning to climb its way out of the depression that
has seriously affected the motorcycle industry, many more riders are
still looking at keeping their older sportbikes rather than trade up to
the latest and greatest machines. Yes, upgrading to a new bike certainly
pays dividends in more ways than just the pride of showing off your
shiny new steed; but most bike owners are a society of tinkerers who
love working on and modifying their motorcycles, either for more
performance or just individualism. With the purse strings tightened,
we’re seeing more and more older machines out on the road, given new
life instead of ending up collecting dust in the back corner of
someone’s garage — or worse, in a salvage yard.
Unfortunately,
that revival has also revealed a problem when it comes to
modifying/upgrading those older machines: Unless you own a bike that was
extremely popular in its time or one that hasn’t changed much in a
decade, your chances of finding aftermarket parts is becoming about as
slim as your wallet’s current thickness.
Even something
as seemingly generic as an aftermarket exhaust can be a frustratingly
futile search for many bikes that you’d think would still be in demand.
Note that I’m not talking about classic sportbikes from the ‘70s or
‘80s — I’m talking about many bikes from as recent as 2000. And think
about the main weakness of the earlier bikes…the suspension. If you’ve
got a bike more than 15 years old, good luck finding an aftermarket
shock unless you get lucky with online classifieds…and many aftermarket
suspension specialists won’t modify the stock units because of their
primitive construction
 , forcing you to pony up for a custom unit.
Granted,
there’s a law of economics that dictates why those parts are no longer
available. If there’s very little to no demand, then it doesn’t make
much sense to spend the money to make or even stock those items. The
motorcycle industry unfortunately doesn’t have the size or breadth of
the automobile market, so the number of particular older models that
have a substantial enough cult following for aftermarket manufacturers
to continue producing parts for those bikes is rather small. The time,
manpower, and money required to produce some parts in small quantities
can be surprisingly enormous, making it financially foolish for a small
aftermarket company to help satisfy a comparatively tiny enthusiast
segment if it wants to stay in business in the current tough economy.
Part
of the problem is also the quick turnaround/trade-in with bikes
compared to automobiles. Unlike the average four-to-seven year new
ownership life span of an automobile before it changes hands,
motorcycles’ original ownership life spans are much shorter, as quick as
two years. Add to that the difference in usage in this
country — everyone feels they need and use an automobile for daily life,
while a motorcycle is viewed as a recreational vehicle, so it often
sits idle for long periods, especially after the first owner — and the
demand for aftermarket parts drops precipitously after the bike’s year
of introduction.
"
Even
something as seemingly generic as an aftermarket exhaust can be a
frustratingly futile search for many bikes that you’d think would still
be in demand.
"
Interestingly, unlike the lack of hard parts, the tire companies
have recognized that there are plenty of older sportbikes still being
ridden, and that they will need fresh rubber sooner or later. Honda’s
first generation CBR900RR is a perfect example; back when I had my
original 1993 model, finding a suitable good, sticky front tire in
16-inch diameter was somewhat difficult because the move to 17-inch
front wheels had already begun, and the CBR was the only sportbike with
that size wheel. Luckily, Dunlop made a limited production run of
16-inch tires using the stock tread pattern but with the Sportmax
compound and construction, but if you didn’t know about these tires or
unless you made the switch to a 17-inch front (which required
aftermarket triple clamps because of the Honda’s lack of trail), you
were stuck with the stock rubber.
Now nearly all major
tire companies produce and stock 16-inch tires in the latest
high-performance profiles and compounds for the CBR900RR. And it’s not
just the CBR’s 16-inch front tire; with the rapid advancement of tire
technology, many older bikes that used narrower rims — and even some
classic bikes with 18-inch wheels — now have tires with superior
compounds and construction to choose from than anything available back
in the day.
Perhaps modifications on an older bike’s
engine and suspension should be left to those with the time and money to
accomplish the task, as upgrading either can lead to more required
tweaking of other parts. It’s just too bad there wasn’t an easier
alternative.
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