Bike Bandit

[Mercaholic]

www.bikebandit.com

Has anyone any experience in dealing with these folks to share?

I had heard that they may be a good sources for OEM parts

 

[spindle]

More than happy with them. Their prices may seem slightly higher than others, but shipping is more resonable. Everything I've ordered has arrived in good shape and in a timely manner.

Thanks,

 

[Tom MLC]

You could do a search and find lots of personal reviews about BikeBandit.

My own rating for them would be low. Others may disagree. I used to use BB exclusively when I needed OEM parts. Prices seemed reasonable compared to the local Suzuki dealer, and shipping was fast. But their customer service was poor, and got progressively worse. They back ordered parts without any notice, charged a 20% restocking fee when I canceled the order. No one would talk to me on the phone, and their on-line customer service folks were rude.

I stopped using BB last year. Things may have changed.

I now use Flatout Motorcycles for OEM. www.flatoutmotorcycles.com. You can also search here for reviews. Flatout is a little less expensive than BB, cutomer service is way better, but their shipping time is kinda slow.

One tip I can give you for BikeBandit. If you chose to use them, and use them a lot, then you should consider joining the AMA. BikeBandit offers a small discount for AMA members.

 

[gsgeezer]

I have never had a problem, but you can also get parts cheaper at ronayers.com

They also have oem parts fiche and the parts are cheaper than bike bandit.
I just used them for the first time, and their online store is very easy to use and the shipping was fast, also the status of the order is available anytime.

 

[Suzuki_dog]

I've always been happy with Bike Bandit, but I've never had to return or re-order parts. They do give a discount for AMA members, 6%, I believe.

 

[Tom MLC]

'nother thing I just thought of. BikeBandit uses proprietary part numbers. Not a knock against them, really. But I found that other sources like Alpha Sports and Flatout use factory part numbers. This is extremely useful when trying to cross reference parts from different year & model bikes.

 

[BassCliff]

Bikebandit is OK!

Bikebandit is OK!

Mr. Mercaholic,

I've ordered from them several times and never had an issue. They're one of my favs. Price is only one thing to consider when ordering online. There's also shipping costs, speed of delivery, reliability, etc. Bikebandit has a lot in stock and can ship quickly, but if they have to order a part from Suzuki then they will be about the same as anyone else who has to order from Suzuki. Did I give you the "list" of favorite vendors in an "unofficial welcome"? There's also a list in the "Links" section on the GSR homepage.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

***********Quoted from Mr. bwringer***************
http://denniskirk.com
Put in your bike model and see what they have.

I would definitely double and triple the recommendations to use Cycle Recycle II and Z1 Enterprises as much as possible. These guys are priceless resources. Z1 tends to have slightly better prices, CRC2 has a wider range of goodies available. If you're near Indy and can bring in an old part to match, CRC2 has a vast inventory of used parts.

http://oldbikebarn.com seems to be slowly regaining a decent reputation, but it's still caveat emptor. They don't have anything you can't get elsewhere at a better price anyway.

OEM Parts/Online Fiches:

http://www.babbittsonline.com/
Decent parts prices. Spendy shipping. Don't give you part numbers at all. Useful cross-reference if you obtain a part number elsewhere. Efficient service.

http://bikebandit.com
Fastest. Middlin' prices. Uses their own parts numbering system to obfuscate price comparisons -- can be very confusing for large orders. Cheapest shipping, so total cost usually isn't too bad.

http://flatoutmotorcycles.com
Slow. Cheapest parts prices, crazy shipping costs. Don't expect progress updates or much communication. Real Suzuki part numbers.

http://alpha-sports.com
Exorbitant parts prices. Different type of fiche interface that's quite useful at times, especially with superceded part numbers. Real parts numbers. Shipping cost and speed unknown due to insane, unholy pricing.

Stainless Bolts, Viton o-rings, metric taps, dies, assorted hard-to-find supplies and materials, etc.:
http://mcmaster.com
Fast, cheap shipping, good prices. No order minimum, but many items like bolts come in packs of 25 or 50. Excellent resource.

http://motorcycleseatcovers.com
Great quality, perfect fit (on original seat foam), and available for pretty much every bike ever made. Avoid the textured vinyl -- it's perforated.

http://newenough.com
You DO have riding gear, don't you? Great clearances, always outstanding prices and impeccable service.
***************End Quote**********************

Here are a few extra links:

Cycle-Re-Cycle Part 2
http://crc2onlinecatalog.com/

The ever popular Z1 Enterprises
http://www.z1enterprises.com

The Rice Paddy (salvage/used)
http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com

 

[RJz1100E]

I've ordered a few things from them. I've been real happy with them each time, especially when I bought my exhaust system for a great price and free shipping.

RJ

 

[kichigai]

I too have ordered many parts from them and am very happy with using them. Their prices are a bit higher like others have mentioned but I have confidence in my orders will be exactly as ordered. Thumbs up to these guys for any bike restorations.

 

[Billyboy]

Bike bandit rocks.

But I wish they'd snail mail my packages.
I don't need it right stinkin' now and I don't want to HAVE to pay the "right stinkin' now" shipping price.

 

[t3rmin]

Never heard of 'em.

 

[Billyboy]

Never heard of 'em.

Who?
Bikebandit, or "Right stinkin' Now" (FEDEX).

 

[t3rmin]

Who?
Bikebandit, or "Right stinkin' Now" (FEDEX).

Bike Bandit. Was being facetious. Forgot my asterisk. ;-)

 

[chuckycheese]

Not me!

Not me!

I've never purchased from them for the following reasons:

1) They use proprietary OEM numbers.
2) You have to set up an account to buy from them.
3) It's too much of a hassle to find out how much shipping costs.
4) I have no idea what their phone number is or even where they're located....(if it's California, that's another problem).
5) I've never found anything there that I couldn't buy cheaper elsewhere.

 

[kichigai]

I have used them several times and am very happy with them. My orders so far has been correct and delievered pretty quickly. If the item is incorrect, they give you a 15 day return period. I recently went with another vender which was a little bit cheaper but It took forever to get the parts. Never again! Cheaper is not always better. I highly recommend them.

Here is their address:
7625 Panasonic Way, Suite B
San Diego, CA 92154-8204
BikeBandit.com
service@bikebandit.com

 

[Kratzer]

You could do a search and find lots of personal reviews about BikeBandit.

My own rating for them would be low. Others may disagree. I used to use BB exclusively when I needed OEM parts. Prices seemed reasonable compared to the local Suzuki dealer, and shipping was fast. But their customer service was poor, and got progressively worse. They back ordered parts without any notice, charged a 20% restocking fee when I canceled the order. No one would talk to me on the phone, and their on-line customer service folks were rude.

I stopped using BB last year. Things may have changed.

I now use Flatout Motorcycles for OEM. www.flatoutmotorcycles.com. You can also search here for reviews. Flatout is a little less expensive than BB, cutomer service is way better, but their shipping time is kinda slow.

One tip I can give you for BikeBandit. If you chose to use them, and use them a lot, then you should consider joining the AMA. BikeBandit offers a small discount for AMA members.

HUGE DITTOS!

They are horrible on the customer service side. I ordered a stator from them a week ago. It hasn't SHIPPED even yet. Would have been nice to have a "temporarily out of stock" sticker or something in their window somewhere. The price was within dollars of other places. I will not do business with them in the future unless its a last ditch effort. I talked with their customer service and asked jsut that they give me free expodited shipping because of the backorder. Nope. "Not our fault. We don't ahve the part to ship it"

Not your fault, but your problem. My hundreds of dollars of bike parts in the future years will land elsewhere.

 

[bonanzadave]

Bought my progressive suspension from them and the guy swore the back springs came with the shocks. NOT ! Took a while to figure that out. Also got a bad fork seal from them. It even looked cheap.

 

[Billyboy]

Bad story

Bad story

OK, so I recommend BB to a friend. Needs bars, (Sold him on the Daytona's), new smoked visor, grips.

Blah, blah, +$6 duty and taxes + $20 shipping.

A week later no stuff.

He gets an email: OH hey! You owe us $17 more because it's heavier than we thought.

Pardon?

So he calls "Chats" with them. He says, "My buddy Billy orders stuff from you and he didn't pay extra".
"Who?"
Gives them my name, they look it up.
"OH! He should've been charged extra on his stuff too!"

So he cancelled his order, and I'm not buying anything else from them.

I sent my buddy to Z-1.

 

[KRISTI'SGS550]

I recently ordered about $200 worth of bike parts for the wife's GS and my Cb650 through BikeBandit. The web site is easy to use and always functional. The shopping cart and account information is simple and easy to find as well. BikeBandit has some of the best prices I have seen, especially compared to local dealers. Shipping items, including tired, for me is one of two flat rates; $7.95 for ground and $29.92 for second day air. I chose the ground option and got my parts within 2 days anyways.
There is one problem with BikeBandit I had. Their communication lately hasn't been the best. I think it is mainly because they are a small company trying to fulfill larger orders (I am not sure just a guess). Like I said I ordered almost $200 worth of stuff from BikeBandit. After check-out I got an invoice type number, but not email notification what so ever. A few days passed and I looked through my inbox folder and junk folder in my email account, still nothing. I was worried so I logged into the web site and went to my account. I found my invoice number and clicked on it. The items all said they were in stock and ready to ship except for one item. I later read all my items would not ship until they got the back ordered item.
To make a long story short I called BikeBandit and canceled the back order item and got my other stuff within 2 days. Still after canceling the item I didn't receive any type of email or notification that my order had been sent. One day I arrived home and there it was sitting on my pourch. Other than their horrible communication, BikeBandit to me is one of the best places to get OEM motorcycle parts.

Cory

 

[seuadr]

i got a set of clamshell rings for my exhaust from them, and a brake rebuild kit for my front master, both were pretty cheap, got here fast, and fit perfectly