coordinated action

[georgesgiralt]

Hello !
My ignition key suffer from old age. Alas, the 5 position ignition switch is NLA as is the 3 position ignition switch.
Talking to other airheads I've found 5 people wanting a new ignition switch in  my vicinity.
Should we (could we, will we) together ask BMW to make new ignition switches for us ?
What do you think ?
We could also build a list of desired but NLA parts from Mr BMW...
I'll be glad to hear read you opinion on this matter !

[Justin B.]

George,

It' been my gut-feeling that BMW doesn't care as much about keeping vintage bikes on the road as they used to.  There are a lot of "generic" ignition switches out there maybe we can find one.  Have you checked Snowbum's site?

[georgesgiralt]

Hello Justin,
Maybe you're right. But if we do not ask, they won't help us 
I've read the Snowbum site but he lost me somewhere in it.
So if you've an idea of where and what I should look for, I'm all ears (and eyes)
Ideally I'll like to find a 5 position switch sitting at the very same place the OEM sits.
Thanks

[marcmax]

Just a suggestion based on my own past experience with unusual vehicles (Saab Sonnet, 2CV, etc.). Most of the manufacturers, then as well as now, source parts from a lot of vendors rather than make it themselves. A check of other European motorcycles from the same era may be helpful. I know that a lot of MotoGuzzi parts can be made to fit a BMW. I personally have run a Puch headlight on a BMW and all the internals, speedo, etc. fit perfectly. Just a thought.

[georgesgiralt]

That's a good one ! I'll check! Thanks

[Bob_Roller]

I've noticed that more and more parts for our bikes are NLA no longer available .

I don't know how it is in Europe, but in the US, vehicle manufacturers are required to stock parts for 20 years for vehicles .

Twin shock R65's were made up to the '84 model year, so I'm surprised there are any parts left !!!

I had this problem with my last car, a '91 Honda CRX Si, needed a fair amount of parts in late '14, I had to get parts from Honda dealers all over the US to put the car back into good condition to sell, Honda North America did not have any parts for this car in any of their warehouses in the US, or Japan .

It wasn't intended to be this way, but my '84 LS has slowly turned into a parts bike .

[Tony Smith]

Bmw have in the past week announced the formation of a separate division to manufacture and supply parts for "heritage" models.


Reading between the lines I think BMW has realized that their old bikes are remarkably long lived and owned/ridden with affection and that it makes economic sense to keep the fleet alive. I am hunting for details and will post if/when I find them.

There is precedent - Yamaha and Honda both have active "heritage" parts supply chains, I've been buying bits for my 1984 trail bike from one of the nominated dealers in Australia.

[Tony Smith]

http://shop.bmw-classic.com/index-ClassicDE-WFS-en_EU-EUR.html

[Justin B.]

Looks like an on-line version of the ETK..

[georgesgiralt]

Yes, and add to this a shop for European customers.
Everything with a tick case at tle leftmost column can be ordered for the price on the rightmost column in the line...
Free delivery for all order above 75 euros and usually at your door in 3 days...
Not bad.
I've used them a lot even to order at my dealer (this way I know what is in stock and the exact price I should pay...)
If there is no check box in the leftmost column but the part is not marked "A" or "AE" you have to order it from your dealer.
I bet that the European customer limitation is to cope with the Americans Dealers still supporting strongly the Classic community. Every time I go to my local dealer he has a little smile on his face and loose it when he is forced to supply me with an available part at a quite low price (compared to current model part's prices).