Mrs. slayer's GPz1100 refresh & upgrade

This bike had to be one that was assembled on a Monday morning after a holiday weekend!!!!!!!

we used to refer to that a a "saki sunday"

So do I just have horrible luck sourcing parts online? Or are OEM parts just that hard to find.

I got jerked around by Bikebandit over fork seals & bushes, so I cancelled the order & placed it with Partzilla, only to experience the same delay horse siht.

Where are y'all getting OEM parts?

I think most companies are experiencing supply and shipping problems due to Covid shutdowns and personnel restrictions.

I have noticed Partzilla orders have gone from 3-5 days to 2-3 weeks.

TexasKZ wrote: I think most companies are experiencing supply and shipping problems due to Covid shutdowns and personnel restrictions.

Skidmark wrote: I have noticed Partzilla orders have gone from 3-5 days to 2-3 weeks.

Thanks fellas. I just figured that if I have to go to work, everybody should be at work... :huh:

Not to mention shipping prices have doubled because truck drivers are in crazy demand. Pre-covid it was about 7K for a tractor trailer coast to coast now its 13k-14k

I just ordered the stud install tool from APE - $19.95 tool, $18.35 in shipping. SHEESH!!

slayer61 wrote: Where are y'all getting OEM parts?

For factory parts, it may be the case that they are all sourcing parts from the same kawasaki warehouse, or kawasaki distribution system anyway, and that may be where the bottleneck is.
I know when I used to walk into dealers and order parts, they came from kawasaki warehouses. I can't imagine partzilla or bike bandit actually keep that many parts in stock, especially for 40 year old bikes. Their "in stock" items may just be in stock at the kawasaki warehouse.

I have not worked in Kawasaki dealership for almost 20 years now. Back then Kawasaki had 4 parts warehouses across the U.S. Santa Ana, California. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Atlanta, Georgia, and somewhere in New Jersey. From Chicago area where I worked, Grand Rapids was two days away. Atlanta was three to four. New Jersey was like four or five. and Santa Ana was seven days away before your cross-shipment showed up at your door!!!

So after your dealer ordered your parts it could be a week or as little as two days before they showed up at his door. Most dealerships do not place a parts order on a daily basis. In the past Kawasaki always got their parts orders out on time all the time I worked at a dealership. This Covid crap might have changed this. Now you have the shipping time from the dealership to your door. USPS is completely unreliable right now for delivery times!!!!!! That does not include the extra time when USPS mis ships your package!!!!! Mis shipments are real high right now from USPS. I had one package that must have traveled across all 50 states before I received it!!!! I watched its tracking every night and I could not believe how many times it got thrown into the wrong truck!!!! 12 days from New Jersey to Prescott, Arizona for a FIRST CLASS PACKAGE!!!!!!!!

Don't know if UPS is having any problems because I have not had anything shipped by them in the past few months!!!!

slayer61 wrote: Where are y'all getting OEM parts?

I've always looked up the OEM part number on the Kawasaki site and plugged them into Google; aside from more rare parts I usually get a few eBay results and order from whichever has a decent shipping time estimate. Over this summer most of my parts have arrived in 3-4 business days.

As an aside, I'm having good luck with All Balls fork seals from eBay, which were around $20 and came with a new pair of dust boots.

Skidmark wrote: I have noticed Partzilla orders have gone from 3-5 days to 2-3 weeks.

Looks like USPS issues rather than Partzilla. My most recent shipment was in town (GA) on the 15th but was redirected to Michigan for some reason. It doesn't help that when I contacted Partzilla they told me that yeah, your shipment is in Michigan. That's lazy customer service.

ghostdive wrote:

slayer61 wrote: Where are y'all getting OEM parts?

I've always looked up the OEM part number on the Kawasaki site and plugged them into Google; aside from more rare parts I usually get a few eBay results and order from whichever has a decent shipping time estimate. Over this summer most of my parts have arrived in 3-4 business days.

As an aside, I'm having good luck with All Balls fork seals from eBay, which were around $20 and came with a new pair of dust boots.

Thanks Ghostdive, but I have recently completed a pissing match with ebay. A seller advertised OEM, Japanese parts & upon arrival they were cheap knock-offs & returned. Seller wouldn't refund after agreeing to and ebay said, "too bad, too late to open a claim"

I like the convenience of the all balls site, but those parts are Chinese as well, & well, that just won't do.