Well yes, shit does happen and it always stinks. But overall I reckon most of the people out there do their best, despite the odd balls-up. Most of them and their staff own bikes and ride bikes and know what it's like when things don't fit/ don't work / die young.
I haven't needed a lot of BSA bits despite a lot of miles because the darn things are so extremely reliable (and I'm not that fussy for my everyday bikes). But Draganfly, BBB, C&D, SRM and others have always sorted me out quickly and reasonably, usually for oily bits, as have Andover Norton and Norvil for Notrun bits, Hitchcocks for Oilfields and various excellent marque specialists for AJS/Matchless parts.
I don't think most of them are in the business to get rich quick, or at all (there are easier ways!) and I think most of them take us seriously when we're unhappy. You kind of build up a relationship with the ones you use a lot, over the years. Parts prices aren't so bad frankly, when I think what it costs to replace bits of my one and only modern-ish machine, a 17 yr-old XJR (or modern cars for that matter). And when friends tell me what typical service & parts charges are for, eg, recent Triumphs and Ducatis, I go pale and require wine intravenously.
Maybe some of our parts are, dare I say it, built down to too low a price, which causes part of the problem? We're naturally a bit 'careful', suppliers try to satisfy a world fixated on 1950s parts lists and prices . . . and the result is what it is. Occasional crap fit, lousy finish, short life. Thank the stars for enthusiast suppliers like Beezermacc and Manor Mike, who do it for reasons that aren't necessarily economically driven, or they'd be off living the high life somewhere else.
It's very sad this one has gone tits up, but from where I sit - also not always handy for things - I'd say again that classic parts suppliers do a good job most of the time. Variations between model years, and the difficulty of even identifying what one has got sometimes, don't help. However much I think something is 'correct' there is always someone who knows more and better who says 'er, not quite', or I find out when the bits arrive and aren't quite what I had in mind. Part numbers and parts lists drive me insane - for all marques. Like a lot of folk, I just press on with what I've got mostly, if I can, but try to go to people who don't quote strings of numbers at me, because they know the machines, the variations, the confusing areas, and they recognise descriptions.
It's a bit of a shame this one has gone so public, as it makes it harder to Get to Yes I'm thinking. It looked promising for a while, . . .
