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The parts business is a nutty business and it hard to please everyone all the time. The good ones figure out how to do it more often than not.
You have a cable but didn't take it with you to an area that you are not familiar with as far as parts availability, and you say that you have never needed it before, and then feel like you need to come on here and bitch that a dealer doesn't keep one in stock in case somebody needs one and can't wait.
Ok, makes sense
A couple years ago I was working on a bike and I needed a special bolt. I called the shop and gave them the part number dude says yeah we got 10 of them. I'm like wow shocking i get there and guy shows me it and it wasn't even close. I'm like wtf dude i gave you the part number he's like oh my bad i typed it up wrong. I was pissed because I gave the dumbass the number 3 times and confirmed it before going down there having learned my lesson before.
This is at no one specific....
Just because you own the bike, does not make is a common. Take a peak in a Parts Unlimited catalog and look at how many different brake and clutch levers there are for "common bikes". Then look at how many different throttle cables, clutch cables, and brake lines there are for "common bikes". Then look at how many different air filters, brake pads, grips, handle bars, etc. are available. Then you wanna talk "common" hardware? That is a completely different ball game...most of the time you have to order 5 bolts to sell 1....great business plan.
If you want to stock brake pads....What brand do you stock? DP, Moose, Renthal, OEM, Galfer, EBC, etc??? Then after you decide the brand, do you stock the premium? Cheapo? Middle of the road? Everyone always wants something different. Same with air filters....
Stocking "common" parts to you is not necessarily what is common to everyone else. Tying up $20 here and $10 there really adds up when you've got 250 pieces of stagnant inventory....Then the tax man comes in to take his cut of your in stock parts as well.
Point is there are thousands upon thousands of these "common parts" and it is nearly impossible to stock everything whilst still turning a profit.
Six months ago I went to buy footpegs for my 2019 KTM 250XC-W and went to the best 'buy box' (price and freight) on Google. I was pushed directly to the dealer (a popular online store) to the store's page for the footpegs. Everything looked right (right year, right bike, right price) so I ordered the pegs.
They came in and the were wrong for my bike (the peg angle in the carrier was off by 20+ degrees). I called the store and they said that they would be glad to take them back for a credit, but I had to pay the freight back. I sent the link and to the manager and asked him to walk through it. He definitely said that something was coming up wrong, but said that their policy is that the customer pays the return freight. I reminded him that all of the errors were on his side of the ledger, I did not order the wrong item or have buyers remorse. He said, that is the policy. So, I lost $11.00 on return freight to get the footpegs that I wanted the second time. ...and, not buying there ever again.
Pit Row
Every MX guy that comes into a shop wants a different brand tire....Very difficult to make everyone happy. Think of how many brands and size variations there are for just MX tires....Then think street, then cruisers, then dual sport, then ATV, then UTV....it never ends.
MX is a very small portion of sales for a lot of dealerships....They would rather stock a light bar or a winch for a side by side than 10 air filters and clutch cables for MX bikes. Would you rather sell a winch for $150 profit...or sit on clutch and throttle cables for 3 years to have some MX guy beg for a discount on a part that you stand to make $4 on if sold at retail?
Most dealers bring zero value to the transactions anymore, The KTM dealers in my area, they cannot keep competent mechanics, they don't stock any parts, they have little product knowledge. The only value they bring is selling me a bike. I'd buy the bike from Amazon if they sold them there.
I wish that wasn't the case, but it is. So I deal with it. I stock my own parts, I fix my own stuff. I do my own research. Rocky MTN ATV and AOMC are my "dealers".
I don't have the answer. We all have the same stories. Go to the dealer to get an NGK B8EV and the parts monkey asks make and model. After he finally finds it, of course he doesn't have it, but he can order it. We can all order it.
These dealers don't understand value. They need to figure out the value they bring and sell that.
KTM doesn't help either. KTM dealerships used to be mom and pop shops. They were enthusiast, they raced, they rode. Then KTM pushed them out and those franchises are now part of the multiplex. The multiplex suck.
Motorcycle dealerships these days are running on razor thin profit margins and doing everything they can to stay open. Carrying tens of thousands of dollars worth of spare part inventory, just to support their product lines, is crippling for most shops.
The burden of carrying spare parts is on the owner and/or the mega-online retailers these day, NOT the local dealership.
There’s nothing stopping you from organizing a list of common wear parts, taking that list down to your local dealership to order, and then carrying those spares and maintaining the replacement inventory over the life of bike ownership.
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