BREAKING GOOD!

Their spanners often only twirl the one way, but your friendly neighbourhood breaker’s yard can still be a treasure-trove of odds and sods for a restoration or special’s build… Just make sure you take your wallet and a sense of humour.

My local breaker’s yard in Kent was a treasure trove of parts and information – and also a hive of friendly banter and mickey-taking.

Johnny who ran the place (no second name was ever mentioned, and he liked to keep it that way) had a toilet seat hanging over the very cluttered counter and when a young, green kid came in looking for bits for his or her bike, would dare to ask about the relevance of the loo seat he’d simply say: “A bog only has to deal with one arsehole at a time…” Invariably the phone would ring, he’d hold his hand up for you to be quiet and he’d deal with another fool. Good times: eventually there would always be enough time for a bit of banter and a brew.

For Johnny, knowledge was always power and it was here than many a customer would fall foul of his wrath. If you didn’t know what part you wanted, or even exactly what model of bike you had, how could he help? Conversely, he and his team (two other

blokes) were pretty damn knowledgeable. They’d know what parts would fit what bikes (after all, many parts were used on a wide array of different models) so it made sense economically. It’s worth mentioning this now, as often today’s world of buying from a breaker that onus is now on the buyer, so beware! You ordered it, it didn’t fit as it’s the wrong part – that’s not the breaker’s fault, is it?

One thing Johnny never had time for was getting involved in flogging old frames with log books. Back in the day desirable sports bikes would often be ‘rung’, where a stolen bike would become legitimate using a crashed bike’s frame/numbers, which were supplied by the insurance companies.

Back in the mid-1990s, when ringing Johnny for a quote about this seedy practice he simply said to me:

“Despite the lure of the money, I like to sleep at night.” Think about this – back in 1997 a used frame with log book on something like a Fireblade could cost £3000…

It’s clear that the main benefit of these used parts from a breaker’s yard is price: they’re always going to be much cheaper than NOS, and should be somewhat cheaper than pattern (but not always) and of course do you have comeback if the part fails when it’s put on the bike?

It’s fair to say that that slightly seedy side of the breaker’s yard (often today called a ‘motorcycle salvage yard’ or ‘motorcycle recyclers’ has receded somewhat, but it’s still good to have a bit of a clue as to what you want what’s hot and what’s not at a breaker’s…

Know what you want: Simple this and thanks to the worldwide web it should be that much easier to know what you want for what bike you have. Parts numbers are key here, so find them as this will help. Join the various clubs and forums to gen up on the model you’re restoring. Many parts providers and many dealers have the original manufacturer’s micro films/fiche with part numbers on them.

Have an idea on price before you buy: Some parts are like rocking horse poop often due to their popularity as (maybe) they often fail on the bike. As a result the price of such parts will be correspondingly higher. Again, a web search of owners’ forums/clubs and various auction sites will give you a general idea, but the part’s newness/lack of mileage and cleanliness are clearly important factors on the cash you’ll be spending. With this in mind, often it’s cheaper to buy as complete a second bike as you can – it’s amazing how much you can make on a bike that you’ve already stripped for what you need.

Feedback: Good breakers are popular breakers, so check out the feedback other buyers have left. Communication (and subsequent breakdown thereof) can mean some bad feedback has been left and it’s not the breaker’s fault. If in doubt, ring them. Some may offer to buy back a part if it proves to be faulty or the wrong part entirely. Be courteous, be kind, and they will often go the extra yard for you.

Communication is the key: When you’re on the phone, ask about the state of the part you’re buying if it’s not stated in the advert. Why is the bike being broken? Was it crashed? And with bulky parts check on the price of shipping/postage and tracking details. While you may want to pop along and look at the other odds and sods coming off the bike, do remember that in today’s fast-paced world, the breaker may well not have time and other parts could well have already been despatched elsewhere. If their spanners aren’t twirling and parts aren’t being boxed up, they’re not earning, so be quick and economical when chatting. There are the odd breakers’ yards (such as U-pull-it) which allow you to come along and strip the parts you need from a motorcycle yourself. Often you’ll need to book a time slot to visit, but the advantages include the fact that you’ll know it’s the right part and you can negotiate for any other parts you want to take off the bike being broken. Don’t forget your tools…

The world is your oyster: Clearly made more problematical post-brexit and shipping from the USA can often be a nightmare, but if the model you’re looking at is identical across the world or Europe, then there are a number of well-established breakers on the Continent and in the US you can turn to. DO factor in the cost of shipping; often it’s uneconomical, unless it’s a ‘hen’s teeth’ sort of part.

Wheels/tyres/suspension: If the bike has been in a smash, wheels and front suspension need to be looked at very carefully as to their subsequent integrity – frames also, if you’re in the market for one. Usefully, wheels can often come with tyres with life left in them. Ask exactly what you’re getting when you buy something that has other bits normally attached to it.

Pick and choose: By this we mean choose what parts are best bought from a breaker’s. Often big things like engines, gearboxes or carbs have question marks hanging over them as to how well they will work when they arrive back at your workshop – the carbs will need a strip and clean, it’s par for the course. Tanks invariably have leaks if they are above a certain age and gremlins may well be lying in wait in a gearbox. Some parts may not be worth even getting second-hand as they weren’t reliable the first time around – think Honda regulator-rectifiers of the 1990s, hence more reliable pattern parts are out there. Also, things like brake discs/ pads/lines can frequently be bought cheaply as pattern parts but the main caliper bodies are what you’ll need. Often it’s the simple things which are best sourced from a breaker, such as mirrors, indicators, bodywork, head/tail-lights, etc., but even then do your homework to check prices against pattern or NOS parts.

Even in today’s world of the internet, pattern parts and remanufacture, there are still many ways in which our hobby benefits from a good breaker’s yard.