The Bike Shed .com

Do you need a Part for your Harley Davidson Motorcycle?

This site welcomes all sorts of bikers, not just Harley Davidson but GasGas and indeed pedal/push bikes.  We all need a place for our pride and joy.

Need a Harley Davidson Part for your ride?

Where do you get a good quality Harley Davidson Part? Can I use an aftermarket part?

These questions can be tricky to answer. A lot depends on your circumstances, particular part you're looking for, and of course how much money you want to spend on it.

At the end of the day... you must decide.

I have a some pointers here that may assist you in making your decison, so keep reading!

An OEM part versus an aftermarket part.

An OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) part is, of course, the genuine Harley Davidson part possibly manufactured by them in their factory that you would find at an authorized Harley dealer.

These parts are original in that they may have been manufactured on the same equipment and have the exact same specifications of the original part, because they are!

Other times these parts many not have been manufactured by Harley Davidson themselves but by another company Harley have asked to manufacture the parts to Harley specs, and then they will sell them in the Harley packaging as OEM.

OEM parts are generally more expensive than aftermarket parts and are almost always recommended by the official dealer. (They often make the bulk of their money by selling parts, not bikes).

A dealer is almost certain to tell you that OEM parts are higher quality. This may or may not be true.  A lot depends on the quality of the aftermarket part you're thinking of using.

An Aftermarket part is supposed to perform as well as an OEM but take note; These parts were made by a company other than the original manufacturer possibly using different machinery and unlikely to have access to the original drawrings.

Sometimes after a period of time the original manufacturer of a part will allow the company that physically manufactured the part to retail it at a reduced price and in their own aftermarket packaging. The part is now considered to be an OEM aftermarket part.

So what's this got to do with that Harley Davidson Part you need?

If you're having trouble finding a quality aftermarket part you will probably then start searching for the OEM part to see if it is within your budget.

Usually there is fierce competition between vendors who want your cash.  Aftermarket Harley parts, for your Harley Davidson, are generally of good to excellent quality but you must assess this yourself before you buy.

As a Harley owner, sooner or later, you will need to buy parts for it. Buying these parts online can be convenient and you don't have to go downtown and fight traffic.  This is great if you know what you need and the quality of the brands of aftermarket part you're looking at but of course you can't look at the part in your hand on the web!