old trials fanatic Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 As many of you know i an still persevering with the sows ear project. Mainly because i have no choice and no money now What i want to know is we are now in the 21st century so why is it that when i buy an item sometimes costing hundreds of pounds manufactured from billet on a CNC machine that cost more than my house NOTHING EVER FITS !!!!!! why do i always have to work on the item to make bearings fit or to make it fit the other parts supplied sometimes from the same supplier ????? Everything i have bought lately NOTHING fits ! i have to spend ages with wet and dry or machining the component on my lathe etc Surely it's not too much to expect when paying so much money that things go together is it ? Anybody else find this ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalshell Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 i built my own drayton and had theexactly the opposite experience everything that i bought for the bantam just bolted straight on it was as simple to build as it is to ride. the only point of abrasion was setting up the carb. i took perhaps 9 months to get it smoother than silk and picking up from zero.. put the same carb on other bikes though and they wont run. setting up seems individual to each engine even if they are standard.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_earle Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 It's not just classic bikes that have the problem, Triumph and other classic car parts are the same, Stupid money and you have to almost remake it to get it to fit, It's not the car as I can try the same part on 4 others and it still isn't right. I think some companies don't care as some parts you can not get elsewhere so they have you over a barrel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axulsuv Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I go thru the same all the time ; Even on late model stuff , OE gaskets and other maintenance bits and pieces are crap ! I'm coming to believe quality control is a lost/forgotten art ? Glenn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copemech Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I call this "tax on the stupid" but it is soo rewarding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanorbust Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) Nothing really new about this. I recall decades ago parts supplied by the multiple trials champion of the time inevitably seemed to need some "encouragement" to fit their intended role. Why does this sort of thing still go on? Complacency, garnished with arrogance plus a side order of greed seems to cover it. Edited June 4, 2015 by cleanorbust 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon v8 Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I don't mind making parts fit properly - been doing it for over 40 years... What I do object to is parts made out of poor quality materials,not so much bike stuff,but in recent years a lot of stuff I've bought for E Type Jags and early land Rovers is absolute sh-te. Especially ignition components,breaker points,condensors and rotors etc. Building up a bike from bits is always going to be a challenge, I love studying the bikes, the obvious massive amounts of skill and time that have gone into lots of the bikes I see at trials - esp when the builder is a good rider too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old trials fanatic Posted June 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Nice to see its not just me then. Think it only prudent to point out that i wasnt pointing at any one supplier as like others have had the same problem with my twinshocks and mono as well as classics and wont even mention the Land Rover. Had a conversation with one supplier of mine and they did make a sort of relevant point which i think i could and should repeat. A lot of the people making parts are effectively small one man bands and they cant afford to have a big pile of rejects so a lot of parts are machined slightly, possibly a couple of thou, oversize so that the component can then be fettled to fit thereby eliminating the rejects as so many of the bikes we run especially the classic are effectively one off prototypes. OK fair point and i suppose we have forgotten what was common in my youth that a mechanic was a fitter i.e. they made a part fit not just unbolt and bolt the new part on. Perhaps we need to remember we are all "fitters" with our bikes. After all if a part is a couple of thou oversize you can always dress it to fit but if its undersize you cant add metal etc. Still annoying but perhaps we all need to remember the above when trying to fit items we have bought. Plus if it wasnt for the specialist one man bands we might not even have bikes we can ride as its only them making and selling us the parts that enable us to keep them running. As Jon V8 said though never any excuse for substandard materials. Bearings immediately come to mind because its hard to tell just by looking if a new bearing is made of the right stuff or not and it's too late when it all fails. Which brings me on to the other point i have been made aware of. Even with quality bearings there is sometimes a thou or so difference between one manufacturer and another which i must admit i was not aware of so parts are sometimes made to accommodate this which is why they are sometimes made oversize. Just wanted to hopefully put things in perspective as i dont want to ruffle too many feathers and my original post made whilst still frustrated may have been taken by some to have been too harsh. If that was so i apologise but suppliers also need to remember that not everybody has a lathe at home or access to equipment or posses the experience and skills to fettle. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collyolly Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 I built up my old car last year and found that rubber components that I had fitted 10 years earlier and had never done a days work had perished away, so replacing ball joints for the sake of the gaiters was annoying. Probably down to cost reduced made in China parts or health and safety concerns over the materials used, so if you can, buy N.O.S. parts made in the U.K. for that old rebuild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bashplate Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 I've had BSA road bikes, singles, twins and triples, plus an A65 race outfit.....believe me, nothing is ever a straight bolt on out the box fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pschrauber Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 I have had the same experience. Beside sometimes poorer quality there are too slight differences in the construction of the item when it was made over the years. For example: are the top nuts of a 1980 and 1981 Marzocchi fork same model the same sometimes! Likewise tiny changes you find nearly everywhere. So these little changes are often to me the biggest trap I use to find frequently. But it's too part if the game. Where I had most problems with were replicia parts with low quality. I know try to avoid replica parts that are made in a serial production too much extra time and money spend. NOS or custom made is cheaper in the longer run. It should be a nice idea to have a listing of good resources for parts for twinshocks monos and pre65. Just to mention the very best parts supplier to get the standards higher and too the competition. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axulsuv Posted June 10, 2015 Report Share Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) So True ; I've got four sets of 35mm Marzocchi forks , All supposed to be from 83 240 pro models , No two are exactly the same ? From sliders to clamps to brake cable anchors to dampning rods... But they are all the same overall and interchangeable .... Edited June 10, 2015 by axulsuv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnied Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I go thru the same all the time ; Even on late model stuff , OE gaskets and other maintenance bits and pieces are crap ! I'm coming to believe quality control is a lost/forgotten art ? Glenn you said it just there, Quality Control dismal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrfun Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I built up my old car last year and found that rubber components that I had fitted 10 years earlier and had never done a days work had perished away, so replacing ball joints for the sake of the gaiters was annoying. Probably down to cost reduced made in China parts or health and safety concerns over the materials used, so if you can, buy N.O.S. parts made in the U.K. for that old rebuild. This seems to be a common problem with rubber components not just automotive things, due I am told to the reduction of carbon used in manufacturing rubber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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