ORIENTAL ANGLES
There’s a fundamental sea change going on in the classic Japanese world and, for many of us, it’s a breath of fresh air. Finally people are accepting, even welcoming pattern or aftermarket parts – hooray! For far too long self-appointed aficionados, finger waggers, anoraks and rivet counters have been unnecessarily nit-picking other people’s bikes apart for not being ‘accurate’. Yes, in the sterile world of concours awards there’s been a justified need to be able to differentiate the best from the truly superb. Date-stamped wheel rims on certain Kawasakis can, apparently, be the delineator between a rosette and a gong, but meanwhile, over in the real world, things are changing.
Decades ago the classic British scene had to accede to use of pattern parts and now it’s happening in this world as well. All over the UK enterprising people are rolling out replicas and facsimiles of parts that were marked NLA (No Longer Available) ages ago. Most of these skilled people are artisans; folk who operate on a relatively small scale, making things by hand, to order and of a bespoke nature. They make items that perfectly match their experience and skills set so that we can all keep our old Japanese classics out there on the road. And yet, of course, because this is happening in ‘Let’s Pick Fault Britain’ there’s always a vocal few that have to take issue over what’s on offer.
Until you look you really have no idea what is actually available. Who had any idea there’s someone out there making replacement seat bases for Yamaha YDS7, YR5 and round tanked RD250/350s? According to the people who have used them, they’re very much the business and complete with captive nuts for the seat hinges, etc. One or two misanthropes have been sufficiently mealy-mouthed to opine that these replicas don’t carry the OEM spikes to which the cover is attached. Really? Is that the best you can throw at someone doing their utmost to help others from a workshop at the bottom of their garden? Could you do better for the paltry £75 the guy charges? I seriously doubt it!
Another gifted chap has taken to 3D printing various plastic panels for the coffin tanked Yamaha RDs and he’s making a damn fine job of them. Side panels, tool trays, tail pieces and probably more are all on offer. The chap has found a niche market, yet some smug fool just has to make some asinine comment on Facebook because they had nothing better to do that morning. Yes, DIY 3D printing isn’t fast, but so what? We’re talking cottage industry at best. Scaling up to offer volume manufacture takes not only take a leap of faith but hard cash, too.
For a number of years there’s been a guy making replacement grab handles for Japanese classics and he does a fine job. I know this because I fitted one of his best to my Suzuki T500. And yet there are people who bemoan the fact that what’s on offer isn’t necessarily totally comprehensive, but guess what? There’s a very limited market for some bikes so why would you tool up for stuff that’s unlikely to sell?
This column has had personal experience of a similar situation recently. When the kickstart lever on my Suzuki GT500 went all floppy, I discovered there were no service/ repair parts available. Many hours of research and investigation later I found the relevant parts and commissioned some purpose-made springs. Having sorted my own lever out I then decided to offer kits to others in need of the same. Most enquiries have been positive, yet some 10% have been from people asking
– then demanding – to know where I got my parts from! Most enthusiasts are decent folk enjoying a shared passion, but a few just want to find fault, carp, bellyache and generally belittle the efforts of others. I just can’t help wondering if they’re the same saddos who pick fault with other people’s bikes yet brook no criticism of their own!