Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis"
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- HotFoot
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- Location: Michigan
Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis"
I suppose most any technical repair procedure can be accomplished if enough money is thrown at it and the appropriately skilled and tooled are tasked to perform it. (I'll bet Jay Leno would come up with all the 4Cyl GWing bearings he might ever need) Anyway....
The shortage of conrod and main crank bearings: Would it be feasible to have worn out shells reconditioned? .... custom replated with the copper, nickel?, and lead/babbit? Of course, providing that the steel base is sound.
Just wondering.
Hoppy
The shortage of conrod and main crank bearings: Would it be feasible to have worn out shells reconditioned? .... custom replated with the copper, nickel?, and lead/babbit? Of course, providing that the steel base is sound.
Just wondering.
Hoppy
'81 Honda GL1100 Std
'80 Honda CX500D
'79 CX500C (Stagnant Project)
Ever Growing SHOP (Shameful Hoard Of Parts)
The Past: Triumph, Norton, BSA, Honda, HD, Kawasaki
'80 Honda CX500D
'79 CX500C (Stagnant Project)
Ever Growing SHOP (Shameful Hoard Of Parts)
The Past: Triumph, Norton, BSA, Honda, HD, Kawasaki
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
Gimme a blank check and I can probably get anything done/fixed.HotFoot wrote:I suppose most any technical repair procedure can be accomplished if enough money is thrown at it and the appropriately skilled and tooled are tasked to perform it. (I'll bet Jay Leno would come up with all the 4Cyl GWing bearings he might ever need) Anyway....
The shortage of conrod and main crank bearings: Would it be feasible to have worn out shells reconditioned? .... custom replated with the copper, nickel?, and lead/babbit? Of course, providing that the steel base is sound.
Just wondering.
Hoppy
But would it be feasible, probably not.
78 GL1000 Original Owner 131k
- CYBORG
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
There are companies who will make new ones for you. But there is a setup charge, and a minimum order of a thousand. And ofcourse, thats for each color
1978 custom GL1000
1977 custom with 1200 engine
1985 gl1200
1977 custom with 1200 engine
1985 gl1200
- HotFoot
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
Hmmm... ok... six different colors of each for the rods, let's say 6000, double for the oil hole (drilled and undrilled), there's 12000.CYBORG wrote:There are companies who will make new ones for you. But there is a setup charge, and a minimum order of a thousand. And ofcourse, thats for each color
The mains, five colors, 5000 quant there. We are up to 17000 units. Maybe they can be made for (wild guess) $5.00 each material cost, add set up charges for 11 different units, bargain day at $5000. Innovation and Imagination Tax of $1000. So far $91000. Let's be safe and add a fudge factor and round it off to $100,000. Well...not today, just looked at my checking acct balance. But, going into town in a few hours for errands. Maybe I'll stop by the bank and see if they can help out. Probably not though.
Bummer,
Hoppy
'81 Honda GL1100 Std
'80 Honda CX500D
'79 CX500C (Stagnant Project)
Ever Growing SHOP (Shameful Hoard Of Parts)
The Past: Triumph, Norton, BSA, Honda, HD, Kawasaki
'80 Honda CX500D
'79 CX500C (Stagnant Project)
Ever Growing SHOP (Shameful Hoard Of Parts)
The Past: Triumph, Norton, BSA, Honda, HD, Kawasaki
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
Ya it's too bad that when Honda decided to pull support for the GL 1000 series that they probably had all the tooling destroyed along with a few warehouses full of other parts.CYBORG wrote:There are companies who will make new ones for you. But there is a setup charge, and a minimum order of a thousand. And ofcourse, thats for each color
78 GL1000 Original Owner 131k
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
And it's getting worse. I'm not sure about the 750's but I know that rod and main bearings for the cb500/cb550-4's are no more. My youngest son for a while had an 80 sumtin first gen v-4 vf500 interceptor and that bike was near impossible to find parts for, it was easier finding parts for his older bros 72 cb350 twin.SnoBrdr wrote:Ya it's too bad that when Honda decided to pull support for the GL 1000 series that they probably had all the tooling destroyed along with a few warehouses full of other parts.CYBORG wrote:There are companies who will make new ones for you. But there is a setup charge, and a minimum order of a thousand. And ofcourse, thats for each color
Scott
- joedrum
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
there only one reason this is done ...and its obvious
1979 1000
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
Other than wanting you to buy a new model I can't think of one.joedrum wrote:there only one reason this is done ...and its obvious
78 GL1000 Original Owner 131k
- gregforesi
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
Bingo. First try too!
2006 GL1800 (Brutus Maximus)
1978 GL1000 (White Trash - 2012 BOTY
(If you want to discuss the Trashmobile, Webers, Rearsets, Clubmans, or other stuff then send me a PM.)
"Getting old ain't for sissies" - Phyllis Diller
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1978 GL1000 (White Trash - 2012 BOTY
(If you want to discuss the Trashmobile, Webers, Rearsets, Clubmans, or other stuff then send me a PM.)
"Getting old ain't for sissies" - Phyllis Diller
"So how much you gonna spend to win that $5 trophy?" - Cyborg
- Bugdaddy66
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
The other reason parts disappear after while is that they are many times supplied by an outside subcontractor. Once the manufacture stops ordering the parts for new vehicles, they have no incentive to keep making them unless the aftermarket/repair world is selling them in sufficient numbers to justify it. Our beloved GL1000 engine was produced in a fairly limited number, for a fairly short time period when you compare it to something like a Harley V twin which has great aftermarket support. I play with Yamaha 650 twins and 500 singles also, many parts are available in the aftermarket due to the long production life of these bikes. That's what we get for owning a bike that goes 30+ years and 100,000+ miles before needing repair!
Todd Logan (Bugdaddy66)
"Never argue with a moron, they'll always drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."
1978 GL1000 Daily commuter (SOLD)
1981 XS650 Hot Rod play bike (SOLD)
2003 BMW F650CS (Wife Bike)
2009 BMW R1200RT
"Never argue with a moron, they'll always drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."
1978 GL1000 Daily commuter (SOLD)
1981 XS650 Hot Rod play bike (SOLD)
2003 BMW F650CS (Wife Bike)
2009 BMW R1200RT
- joedrum
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
thats a lame excuse not to honor there product ... and it is certainly no excuse to be considered the last person they want in there dealerships .....
1979 1000
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
A big problem is that it's hard for the aftermarket to have the incentive when companies like Honda are always evolving their engines so much so that there is little in common with previous engines. My 77 cb750's engine for the most part remained unchanged since the day it was introduced in 69, some subtle changes here and there but still interchangeable between years. My sons vf500 on the other hand was a first gen v-4 that was only out for 3 or 4 years and then a new design/generation v-4 appeared and all changes made do not allow parts to be interchangeable from one gen to the next, basically when a next gen of engine appears the previous gen quickly becomes obsolete and unless a whole bunch were sold and those owners are still spending the money to repair them then the aftermarket will walk away too and focus on the next gen engines. What makes the cb750 such a survivor is that so many were sold in the first place and are gaining popularity again with the vintage bike crowd so a lot of parts (not all) are still available even from Honda. In a way it's good to see companies like Honda always trying to stay on top of new technologies but that moving forward attitude sometimes makes it hard to look back. In comparison how often has HD come up with a new design compared to Honda?
Scott
- Bugdaddy66
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
I don't feel its not honoring their product, that there are any parts available on a 30+ year old product is amazing, I have to deal with many 10 year old vehicles that are next to impossible to get parts for. Like most manufactures, they probably estimated the amount of parts needed to take care of their customers (original purchasers) for the foreseeable lifetime of the product. To supply all possible parts for all subsequent owners and restorers indefinitely would be impossible.
I may be biased in this opinion in that I get confronted with this problem daily because I don't have parts available for every year and model of Ford ever built (I work in a dealership). With about 50,000 new part numbers every year, about 5 years is average for every single part to still be available for a given model.
I may be biased in this opinion in that I get confronted with this problem daily because I don't have parts available for every year and model of Ford ever built (I work in a dealership). With about 50,000 new part numbers every year, about 5 years is average for every single part to still be available for a given model.
Todd Logan (Bugdaddy66)
"Never argue with a moron, they'll always drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."
1978 GL1000 Daily commuter (SOLD)
1981 XS650 Hot Rod play bike (SOLD)
2003 BMW F650CS (Wife Bike)
2009 BMW R1200RT
"Never argue with a moron, they'll always drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."
1978 GL1000 Daily commuter (SOLD)
1981 XS650 Hot Rod play bike (SOLD)
2003 BMW F650CS (Wife Bike)
2009 BMW R1200RT
- scootsx2
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
No, it's not a lame excuse. We have not been victimized by Honda.joedrum wrote:thats a lame excuse not to honor there product ... and it is certainly no excuse to be considered the last person they want in there dealerships .....
I work for a computer systems manufacturer and the situation is basically the same. All machines share two characteristics: EOL (End of Life) and EOS (End of Support). EOL is essentially when the machine is no longer manufactured and sold new. EOS, which comes some number of years after EOL, is when parts and other support are no longer available. Its not a matter of trying to coerce customers into buying new machines. It a matter of economics. A manufacturer or parts supplier can not be expected to continue to have parts available for an indefinite time. Its economically unfeasible. In many companies, when EOL approaches, the supply chain people usually make a one-time last purchase of parts from their suppliers in order to support the installed machine base until EOS. At my company, by policy EOS is somewhere from 3 - 5 years after EOL however, as a practical matter, we frequently still have some parts as well as product knowledge available well after the EOS date.
1975 GL1000 Sidecar Outfit
1982 CX500-based Trident ex-Police Trike
2001 GL1800 MotorTrike
2006 Vespa LX150
1956 Francis-Barnett Falcon 74
195x Solex 1700
196x Solex 2200
St. Louis, MO
The dude abides.
Brothers of the Third Wheel - Gateway Chapter http://www.btw-trikers.org
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Antique Motorcycle Club of America http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/
Vintage Motor Cycle Club http://www.vmcc.net
British Motorcycle Charitable Trust http://www.bmct.org/
VeloSolex Club UK http://www.velosolexclubuk.com/
1982 CX500-based Trident ex-Police Trike
2001 GL1800 MotorTrike
2006 Vespa LX150
1956 Francis-Barnett Falcon 74
195x Solex 1700
196x Solex 2200
St. Louis, MO
The dude abides.
Brothers of the Third Wheel - Gateway Chapter http://www.btw-trikers.org
Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club http://www.vjmc.org
Francis-Barnett Owners Club http://www.francis-barnett.co.uk/
Antique Motorcycle Club of America http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/
Vintage Motor Cycle Club http://www.vmcc.net
British Motorcycle Charitable Trust http://www.bmct.org/
VeloSolex Club UK http://www.velosolexclubuk.com/
- joedrum
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Re: Musings on "The Great 4Cyl GWing Bearing Shortage Crisis
well thats your opinion ...and i gave mine ...your opinion with all the words of support is still an opinion ..i never said honda was any different than others that do the same thing .. in some fields it make stuff that cost lots of money worthless instantly ....to me that a screw job from the big to the little ...if ok with you fine its not for me ...i see on the forums every day people will to spend money for parts ...again it really lame excuse and lack of product support and turning a great motor like oldwings into junk period in my book ...and no excuse to dealer policies towards people with older bikes they will fix up after trade and sale them after they take it in on trade when they refuse to fix them ...your argument just dosnt hold water to me
1979 1000
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