BIMOTA PARTS ??? Problems getting parts and prices???

[daotoys1]

Im wanting to know if people have been having troubles either getting BIMOTA parts and/or having troubles getting parts prices.

Recently Ive talked to 3 different BIMOTA dealers ( one in California, one in Nevada, and one in Colorado). All 3 told me they have dropped BIMOTA because they can not get parts and that BIMOTA has extremely poor dealer service......

Ive tried to order some parts and I get different and extremely high prices from the dealers I have talked to, and parts are on back order.

What do the dealers have differing retail prices??? I guess they can mark up their parts, but I would think that the same part from different dealers should be at least close in price.

What really concerns me is that 3 different BIMOTA dealers I use to do business with have dropped the line.

The other concern is parts prices and availability.

Bob Smith, of Moto Point, the "old" BIMOTA USA importer once told me that to be sure he could supply parts to his dealers that he would often order a new bike just to have it for parts. That way he could supply parts and then wait to replace them without causing long delays and creating angry owners.....sounds like a good but expensive parts inventory control method.

When I was racing back in the "good old days" ( the 60s,70s,& 80s....) I use to have 3 identical race bikes for each class I raced. One bike was my "Race bike", one was my "Practice bike" and one was my "Back up and/or spare parts bike".....but I was riding some extremely rare exotic european bikes and back then we did not have next day air mail for parts like we do today.

Back to my thread; what type of troubles and/or problems if any are people having with BIMOTA recently????

thanks for any replys

[CBar]

I had talked with Bob at www.bimotaspirit.com earlier this year about some parts that he thought he could get for my SB6. His prices seemed fair. Later he told me that the parts had become unavailable by Bimota. Maybe Bimota is not required to provide parts for motorcycles over 10 years old.

Give Bob a call. He does stock some parts. I also got the impression that he is in regular contact with Bimota.

[CBar]

FWIW, eBay-Germany always seems to have a decent supply of spares.

[Bimota fan]

I am approaching my 3rd month waiting for the Walbro software cd/cable for my Tesi 3D. Ken Zeller tried for 6 weeks before giving up. About 5 weeks ago I ordered from Bob at Bimota Spirit. Hopefully he will be successful and I can get the Tesi back running like it should.

Steve

[CBar]

I read a few posts on a UK site about people having problems through the dealer, so they contacted Bimota directly. Both people had good service from a guy named Alessandro in Italy.

These were issues with newer bikes. I doubt Alessandro can help with the older model parts.

[daotoys1]

Originally Posted by CBar

I read a few posts on a UK site about people having problems through the dealer, so they contacted Bimota directly. Both people had good service from a guy named Alessandro in Italy.

These were issues with newer bikes. I doubt Alessandro can help with the older model parts.

The problem is worst the older the model, but the "new" models (2008 +) are not without difficulties in getting parts.

The last USA importer I guess did not do a very good job, and I guess BIMOTA Italy is importing into the USA themselves....at least this is what 2 different dealers told me.

It would be nice to be able to get parts from the local dealer....but the dealer network in the USA is shrinking in size.

Years ago I was told by a Honda motorcycle exec. that the USA only requires manufacturers to supply parts for only 10 years.....beyond that point it is not required so its up to the manufacturer to decide how long to make/supply parts.

BIMOTA has most of their parts made for them from suppliers all over Europe. It is normal for importers to go directly to the supplier to get parts when BIMOTA does not have them, but many suppliers stop making the parts shortly after the model is discontinued. BIMOTA makes so few copies of each model that its not cost effective for these suppliers to keep making and/or stocking parts for these bikes.

Getting a parts supplier to make replacement "old" parts usually requires a large "minimum order" of the part(s) to make the venture profitable, so unless an importer, dealer or owner can afford to buy 10-12 or more copies ( or meet the minimum order number) then the item is not made available.

BIMOTA parts do show up on Craigslist and other internet sites, but these are usually used parts and or parts from "parting out " a older bike. New parts are much harder to find.

This is not a new problem. Ive been riding BIMOTAs for 12 years and even in 1999/2000 it was hard to get parts for a new SB8R/SB8RS ( 2000 model bike). For example; I wanted to buy a full set of extra body work including the carbon parts and gas tank. It took over 2 years for my order to be filled....2 years....now thats not what I call good customer service....true story.....

Im not attempting to stir up trouble. Im just confused that even with new and improved ownership, the same old problems continue to haunt the brand.

Dont get me wrong here.....I plan to continue owning, riding, and buying BIMOTAs to slowly expand my collection, but the "BIMOTA Experience" is truely a unique one in motorcycling.

I was hoping that eventually BIMOTA might vastly improve parts service and availability. I have a part for a 2008 model that has been back ordered for over a year now. The last time I called the dealer, they told me that they no longer carry BIMOTA so they cannot help me get the part any more......

I guess I need to go through BIMOTA Italy directly .,.....

[Bruce_Allison]

Speaking as someone who's been in the parts business for 30+ years, I could take a guess at the noted pricing disparity.

It's all about time & effort. A normal parts profit markup would cover 1 call (or click more likely), and a $12/hour guy to handle/stock/sell.

I think we could presume that to get a Bimota part the effort will involve the owner/manager plus several, if not dozens, of follow up calls/emails, with even more calls & apologies to the customer. The time & effort swells...and somebody has to pay for it.

Just a guess from a guy who has dealt with Italian companies before.....

BA

[froryde]

Originally Posted by Bimota fan

I am approaching my 3rd month waiting for the Walbro software cd/cable for my Tesi 3D. Ken Zeller tried for 6 weeks before giving up. About 5 weeks ago I ordered from Bob at Bimota Spirit. Hopefully he will be successful and I can get the Tesi back running like it should.

Steve

What's wrong with your Tesi? Anything that I should be looking out for?

[daotoys1]

Originally Posted by froryde

What's wrong with your Tesi? Anything that I should be looking out for?

No problems.....Ive been ordering replacement/spares to keep in inventory....

From a reliability standpoint I cannot find any fault with BIMOTA personally. In 12 years of riding I have only had one issue ever. And that was a ignition coil that shorted out on one of my SB8RS bikes.....it was a Weber Morelli item that I got directly from the manufacturer ( not through BIMOTA parts).

I have a small collection of exotic bikes, all Italian except for a BMW or 2 in the mix. I tend to buy/collect multiples of models I like the best, and also collect parts and accessories for the models that I either ride, or might ride some day. Needless to say I have my own small parts inventory. On the very rare event that something gets damaged and/or breaks, I often can simply go through my parts and fix it without needing to order something.

When I was a young man I worked at a number of motorcycle shops including being a parts department manager, so I have a good understanding of how to stock parts as well as knowing what type of parts are the most used and/or needed to supply basic demand. So I stock parts for the models I collect.....its something that Ive always done, and along with working on my bikes and building custom project bikes, I enjoys these things as part of the whole ownership experience.

I know that most owners do not stock their own parts, but if you start collecting and/or riding extremely rare models it becomes almost a needed part of the equation.....most of the collectors I know collect parts to some extent or other.

Enjoy the ride

[shat]

Originally Posted by daotoys1

No problems.....Ive been ordering replacement/spares to keep in inventory....

From a reliability standpoint I cannot find any fault with BIMOTA personally. In 12 years of riding I have only had one issue ever. And that was a ignition coil that shorted out on one of my SB8RS bikes.....it was a Weber Morelli item that I got directly from the manufacturer ( not through BIMOTA parts).

I have a small collection of exotic bikes, all Italian except for a BMW or 2 in the mix. I tend to buy/collect multiples of models I like the best, and also collect parts and accessories for the models that I either ride, or might ride some day. Needless to say I have my own small parts inventory. On the very rare event that something gets damaged and/or breaks, I often can simply go through my parts and fix it without needing to order something.

When I was a young man I worked at a number of motorcycle shops including being a parts department manager, so I have a good understanding of how to stock parts as well as knowing what type of parts are the most used and/or needed to supply basic demand. So I stock parts for the models I collect.....its something that Ive always done, and along with working on my bikes and building custom project bikes, I enjoys these things as part of the whole ownership experience.

I know that most owners do not stock their own parts, but if you start collecting and/or riding extremely rare models it becomes almost a needed part of the equation.....most of the collectors I know collect parts to some extent or other.

Enjoy the ride

Amen to that. And let me add that this forum has been especially helpful for Bimota and both late model twin Ducati and early singles part sourcing. Recently I advertised the need for a db2 rear rotor and carrier, thinking, 'oh sure...' but only a few weeks later one of our fellow Bimotas ponyed up.

Not all searches get satisfied, but one thing sure, if you don't ask, you'll never get your parts needs met.