Boxerworks.com

jjwithers wrote:Excuse me while i vent for a minute.
After owning airheads for the past 12 years i am completely baffled at the recent asking prices for used parts.
Completely beat up gas tanks are selling for $150+
A local guy is asking $700 for a used 5speed transmission with little history on it.
Where are people getting these figures from and who is paying these kinds of prices that is driving everything up so high?
I thought Airhead owners were smarter then that...

ok. i feel better now.

They sound cheap. Well, not unusual asking prices for us here in oz anyhow. A transmission for $700...no surprise. They seem to sell here if offered on ebay.

Well, now I'm glad i have a stock pile of BMW bits on the shelves. It has done better than the stock market! ha ha.
unfortunately, my random parts aren't what i currently NEED. Oh well... keeping my eyes peeled...

Here is a contentious theory:

Those people stockpiling parts are actually creating a "shortage", or at least removing stock from the market and therfore creating demand..... thus pushing up the price for everyone else.

It is just a theory.....

Rev Light wrote:Here is a contentious theory:

Those people stockpiling parts are actually creating a "shortage", or at least removing stock from the market and therfore creating demand..... thus pushing up the price for everyone else.

It is just a theory.....

I don't necessarily disagree with your "contentious" theory. However there is an upside to what you describe. Increased demand is that, increased demand. People with the means will start producing knock off parts to profit from that demand. And knock off parts help keep our airheads (and other bikes) running.

In line with my own "theory" I have to wonder if the high prices for transmissions isn't being driven to a large degree by the currently unobtainable cluster gears--at least for the older airheads. If the demand will support it (i.e. airhead riders will actually be willing to spend a significant chunk of their money to keep their bikes running) then sooner or later a gear maker will decide to go into production. That or some seller, like Motobins, might commission a run of parts from a gear maker.

One of the things we airhead lovers have to face is that our rides are gravitating from economy transportation on a cool bike to the thinner air of collectible motorcycles. A couple things that have been favorable to our "cause" is the perceived quality of our bikes coupled with the fact that there has been and still is a significant quantity of them actually being ridden.

While I'm rambling on about spares support for our airheads I need to note my personal gratitude for BMW's decision to support these old bikes through their spares system. Though the support isn't as extensive as we would like it to be, it is amazing that any company would so support a thirty year old product. I'm not assigning "nobility" to BMW here, but perhaps enlightened self interest. Or maybe not so enlightened considering that so many successful motorcycle manufacturers don't support their bikes when they are more than a handful of years old.


Ken

Used parts do hurt, like trying to find a decent Mono gas tank. The new parts get to me sometimes too, like the price of a "Euro" switch assembly when my original left side switches crapped out. Want to make yourself feel better? Get an old John Deere tractor. A simple control lever for the hydraulic lift on my JD costs as much as the switches for the BMW.
A fuel injection pump for my old Deere costs more than my R80 is worth.
Relativity.

BMW supports bikes that are 50 years old, not just 30.

The used transmission price is going up due to it failing first in the drive train. Simple supply and demand rule and it applies to all of the other parts too.

I have long suggested each owner stockpile their own parts and especially the transmission. Since all airhead owners heed good advice, it is refreshing to know that all of the readers here already have a stash.

Dump your cash and get comodities that you will need. Water, food, shelter, guns and ammo, airhead parts and other things needed for survival.

Quite amusing that "free market capitalism" will be eschewed in this thread as a force out of control.


But wait ! There's more !

In the time that it took you to read this thread, at least 200 people in the world have died of starvation.
@ 840 million people regularly do not have enough food to eat.
300 kg of grain per head is currently produced worldwide each year.
200 kg of grain contains the calories needed by an adult per year.
And @ 240 million tons of grain are being stored worldwide in order to keep the price and profits high.

It is the poverty of millions of people who cannot afford to buy food that causes starvation.

So sad that you cannot afford (or do not want to pay the cost of) a used transmission ...

Cheers Vanzen!

....if you're talking about the guy on CL selling the $700 tranny and othere parts, check again. Someone has posted a rant on the dude.
Some people think their shite is golden. There's one guy on ebay selling very nice parts from his 'collection'...yeah, he thinks the stuff is golden, just check his prices.
Then there are those that's shite is shite and they'll try and gouge the interested buyer. Let them gouge away.
There are many (still) fairly priced and honest parts sellers out there.
Screw the rest.

While prices do seem to vary a lot, I've seen things as pretty good deals in general. Sometimes it is a bargain to pay a premium for a part that is in exceptionally good condition. I've been burned on just a few parts bought off of ebay. Most have been pretty good deals. I've bought some stuff from Craigslist sellers and since you can see that stuff before you pay for it, assuming it is local, you shouldn't get burned on that stuff.

Driving used cars has taught me that a few extra bucks spent on a used car in really nice shape is a good investment. It is still cheaper by far than driving new cars. That extends to used parts as I tried to make a case for above.

For BMW to have kept parts available for the older bikes has engendered a sense of loyalty in me. I feel that making these parts available to us makes the brand more premium than any other brand which does not support their product. It is more like a complete circle and that seems like true value. And I mean "value" as opposed to "price".

Chuey