Squirrel Away Parts, Good/Bad Idea, Opinions ?

Admittedly I've been a spare parts hoarder most of my life, not in general stuff, mostly specific to motorcycles I've owned, that I'm fairly certain I will keep for a while, specially if the bike was a limited production and/or was discontinued, kinda like my previous bikes/scooters and now the SW. Usually what is known to fail/wear, what normally get dinged in a side drop, etc., etc., etc.  They are mostly used/serviceable, some new.

 Finding good condition, used serviceable, cheap parts for the SW in the US is not very easy, ebay is really a crapshoot, mostly overpriced crap. But why buy used when OEM is relatively cheap in the US , I replaced 80% of my body plastics with "New Oem" cost was very similar to repair/paint my scratched parts, similar wait, just bolt on, no brainer

 In the US in general there's a 10yr rule for retail vehicles, where they have to provide spare parts for a vehicle after it's discontnued. Well there's a lot of gray areas, in what is usually considered a pleasure use vehicle in the US, like a motorcycles. IAC SW's time is up.

 So with the knowledge(for now ) that the SW is a keeper and nothing is sparking my interest(The new MP3 500 is cool, but waiting on lottery to buy it) and looking at price increases, supply chain, "new abnormal "
etc. I decided to go all in and purchase my own stash of "Squirrel Away Parts ", got everything to essentially, zero time the cvt, engine gaskets, etc., etc., etc. Is it smart, who knows  In the past I've been able to sell or negotiate parts with bike$$, when selling, was the case on last bike and 2 scooters

 Here's the pic of most of the parts, expensive?, not really, if you compare to similar parts I've purchased for my Burgman 400 wich are relatively smaller, less durable and twice the cost , but if you average both as "Scooter Expenses" it does not look as bad

I'd say good idea.  SW was last sold in 2013 in US maybe a bit longer overseas and new parts will be harder to find or on backorder. Price increases are here inflation now at 7.5 % and climbing I could go on.  
Ebay is difficult unknown quality or use.

I say good luck sir if you have the $$$$ o do it and time to wait until someone else needs it go for it. I STILL have some 1500 GW items and a friend ended up making a landfill deposit out of his.

I did that soon after I got my silverwing. Somewhere around 2010 I watched someone on ebay breaking down a wrecked wing with 5000 miles on it and every week they kept dropping the price on the engine/drivetrain. After a couple months I put in my bid and got it all for a few hundred $. (Forget exact as it was over a decade ago). I also have a spare set of wheels and plastics that I was collecting whenever I saw a cheap part go on ebay. The wheels came in handy as I could drop off a set to the shop and get tires installed without having the bike down for a day or 2, but as I'm mounting and balancing my own tires now I'm ready to let those go. As far as the drivetrain goes, I've harvested a couple small parts off of it as things needed attention on my bike and to me are an amazing insurance policy as my wing gets long in the tooth.

Long response to say I think it's a good idea for something that's a long term keeper.

Here's my two bob's worth. I kept my Silver Wing eight years and apart from replacing worn tyres, changing to Iridium plugs and the usual fluids and filter changes, the only part I had to replace in all those was the rear brake hose which I accidentally damaged a couple of years before I sold it.

So for me hoarding away parts doesn't work. When I retired and moved to York there was all sorts of junk for BMW's and MZ's I'd acquired and never used or needed to dispose of. Plus there's a couple of Burgman screens I still have.

I sold my Airflow screen and FSM last year and the only stuff I have now an oil filter, Magazzi mirrors and mirror extenders, and a few tools that were specifically useful on the Silver Wing for changing that silly tappet cover sump plug, or getting at the deep seated spark plugs.

All the accessories I had for the Silver Wing and no longer use like Givi soft panniers, Givi E52 top box, Airhawk seat, the aforementioned mirrors, and other sundry items, I should really get my lazy arse in gear and get rid of them.

It doesn’t take long for what once useful items to be downgraded to clutter.
I initially find it difficult to get rid of stuff,but once it's gone I don't give it another thought.

I only keep what I call emergency parts on hand. Brake levers, one brake micro-switch, transponder wire (for my Piaggio) and oil filters that were purchased at discount in bulk, because they are the slot end type.

I used to build Yamaha Zuma 2-strokes for a hobby and had enough parts to rebuild a whole scooter on hand. But for the Silverwing and the Piaggio I just keep the above on hand. It never thought of the fact that the Silverwing has been discontinued for a long while and parts may be harder to come by, but I rarely keep a scooter very long, 5 years max. The SIlverwing is the wife's and she no longer rides.

When I rode sport bikes I zip-tied a front brake lever and a clutch lever under the panels, or what was left of the panels, because I went down a couple of times doing stunts and had control levers get broken off.

My main focus in the case of the Silverwing is wear/maintenance oem parts, specifically CVT components, seals, bearings, etc., even though they are very durable, they wil wear. There's very few aftermarket cvt parts and they are mostly performance, no interest. Buying used cvt parts is not a good idea, IAC very hard to find any used parts.

In my last years I have really downsized on almost everything in my shop area, is just more sh.. to manage and take space, you don't need 1/2 dozen of the same tool  

I wiil keep all parts in their original packaging, sealed bags, etc. and  marked with value, you never know when ....  

The last part I wanted arrived ..., time to squirrel it all.

Squirrel away!

I have accumulated a number of new OEM screws, bolts, clips and rubbers. I have a used rear driven assembly which is far from useful but, it could be made good if they became rare. I've got two front brake levers and master cylinders. Part worn front and rear tyres and a belt with 14000 miles on it. Also kept my old Pollini rollers and my DR Pulley Sliders both with low mileage on them.

Squirelling away parts can get you straight back on the road while you arrange a new or better replacement. I guess when I order the small bits I usually order 1 or 2 extra. It's actually paid off on more than one occasion.

Outside of parts dealers never have,, even for current models----I carried spare belt and exhaust gasket. and I prefer to ride current model still under warranty....and ride a lot, different than many here. Had 2 new SilverWings, 2009 and leftover 2013---riding them to near 50,000 miles each....and got rid of them, getting anything I needed from Honda dealers.....not mail order. Will be 83 in spring, looking at Honda Super Cub 125 ABS.

I've had this theory for a long time now, there's those that get their enjoyment regularly riding, touring, or just going to different places. I'm in that camp.

Then there's those I get the impression will  never go far from home as they're forever tinkering and seem more interested in getting their jollies doing that.

Let's all just make soothing noises and tell zrx212 that his behaviour is perfectly normal.

BTW...80 bucks for a clutch bell? I'll buy one!

Loosemarbles wrote:

Let's all just make soothing noises and tell zrx212 that his behaviour is perfectly normal.

BTW...80 bucks for a clutch bell? I'll buy one!

I do appreciate that

Actualy I mark my parts at the price I'm wiling to sell them with no loss at any given point, usually rounded to next full dollar of what I paid, not retail.

FYI, Average retail for clutch bell here is $90 USD+ship+Tax ??

I Paid $79.80 total TMD

I like your logic but I think more soothing noises are required!

I've PMd you. Please check