So I call FLATOUT today ..

[posplayr]

I don't disagree a bit.

I don't disagree a bit.

>>>>That's all understood and fine. However, in today's world, electronic communication is the standard.

However I'm sorry, I guess I have lowered my standards lower than you have. Underpaid (vendor) help or scamers on Ebay, you can't be too picky these days.

Fortunately, I have gone into any transation with Flatout under the assumption it would take longer but the price was lower. Generally they have not been bad, but the online status is still not as good as human voice confirmation.

I guess you makes your picks and youse takes your chances. I have a $330 junk GS100ED head that I have to fight ebay paypal on.

Good luck on the parts...

Pospalyr

 

[jeff.saunders]

There seems to be quite a bit of confusion here... many of you have a faulty mental model of how these businesses work, and your expectations are often unrealistic.

Flat Out is a large-ish Suzuki dealer in Indianapolis. They have microfiches on their web site and you can order OEM Suzuki parts there. They provide real part numbers, and have the best parts prices. (There are lots of dealers with online fiches provided by Power Sports Network, but many obscure part numbers or charge more.) As noted above, Flat Out tends to not communicate very well and they require a signature upon delivery, which is confusing, silly, and aggravating. However, you will get your parts and if there's a problem, real people will make it right.

Z1 deals in aftermarket parts for older motorcycles. They do not sell OEM parts. When you order a valve shim from Z1, you get an aftermarket part from their stock. Nothing at all wrong with that, and they can usually ship the same day. However, they do not stock or have access to parts only available from Suzuki, like piston rings, seals, etc.

These are COMPLETELY different types of businesses.

QUOTE]

I beg to differ - we sell a large volume of OEM parts. We do not tend to stock that many Suzuki parts at this time, but we can order ANYTHING from Suzuki that is still available. Our pricing is very competitive on Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha parts. If you browse our web site, you will see a good (large) selection of OEM Kawasaki and Honda parts. We will be adding Suzuki parts as we continue to grow.

Places like Bike Bandit and Flatout DO NOT stock the Suzuki parts you are ordering either. They place their order with Suzuki AFTER you place your order. Depending how efficient each place is, depends how quickly parts arrive from Suzuki and are dispatched to you.

Yes, we do focus primarily on aftermarket parts, but we source parts from whoever makes sense to allow customers to keep their bikes on the road.

Unlike many places, our business model is to ONLY advertize what we have in stock - this allows us to ship the vast majority of orders the same day. Having said that, we try to find parts for customers using both OEM and aftermarket sources - not only in the USA, but in Japan and other markets.

We also have been working to source parts that have disappeared from OEM stocks.

 

[posplayr]

I only placed one order with Z1

I only placed one order with Z1

It was for just less than $300 I think.

They have a nice selection of somewhat obscure motor cycle tools (remote tank, fork level tool, tappet tool, tappet feeler gauge, carb gauges , OEM style black engine paint, etc )and everyone of the items ordered was in the mail the next day.

Very impressive and certainly not the norm.

Posplayr

 

[Joe Nardy]

I beg to differ - we sell a large volume of OEM parts. We do not tend to stock that many Suzuki parts at this time, but we can order ANYTHING from Suzuki that is still available. Our pricing is very competitive on Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha parts. If you browse our web site, you will see a good (large) selection of OEM Kawasaki and Honda parts. We will be adding Suzuki parts as we continue to grow.

Places like Bike Bandit and Flatout DO NOT stock the Suzuki parts you are ordering either. They place their order with Suzuki AFTER you place your order. Depending how efficient each place is, depends how quickly parts arrive from Suzuki and are dispatched to you.

Yes, we do focus primarily on aftermarket parts, but we source parts from whoever makes sense to allow customers to keep their bikes on the road.

Unlike many places, our business model is to ONLY advertize what we have in stock - this allows us to ship the vast majority of orders the same day. Having said that, we try to find parts for customers using both OEM and aftermarket sources - not only in the USA, but in Japan and other markets.

We also have been working to source parts that have disappeared from OEM stocks.

Jeff,

Thanks for this valuable info. Next time I need OEM parts I will definitely check with you first!

Joe

 

[bwringer]

I beg to differ - we sell a large volume of OEM parts. We do not tend to stock that many Suzuki parts at this time, but we can order ANYTHING from Suzuki that is still available. Our pricing is very competitive on Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha parts. If you browse our web site, you will see a good (large) selection of OEM Kawasaki and Honda parts. We will be adding Suzuki parts as we continue to grow.

Places like Bike Bandit and Flatout DO NOT stock the Suzuki parts you are ordering either. They place their order with Suzuki AFTER you place your order. Depending how efficient each place is, depends how quickly parts arrive from Suzuki and are dispatched to you.

Yes, we do focus primarily on aftermarket parts, but we source parts from whoever makes sense to allow customers to keep their bikes on the road.

Unlike many places, our business model is to ONLY advertize what we have in stock - this allows us to ship the vast majority of orders the same day. Having said that, we try to find parts for customers using both OEM and aftermarket sources - not only in the USA, but in Japan and other markets.

We also have been working to source parts that have disappeared from OEM stocks.

Good info, Jeff. I stand humbly corrected. And it's exciting to hear that you're bringing the same incredible level of knowledge and service to sourcing OEM parts.

And I'm especially interested to note that last sentence... do you want our wish lists of discontinued OEM Suzuki parts now or later?

However, it doesn't say anything on your web site regarding OEM parts, other than "Genuine Suzuki" or "Genuine Kawasaki" notations on some parts listings.

How would one go about ordering a batch of OEM parts? Email you a list of part numbers? Call? Are you ready for this?

 

[Guest]

How would one go about ordering a batch of OEM parts? Email you a list of part numbers? Call? Are you ready for this?

thats what i do, take part # off some other website and email to z1. no prob :-D

 

[jeff.saunders]

If you know the part numbers you need, emailing us or calling us works fine - either Rob or myself can handle this. If you don't know the part number, and we need to lookup the parts, then sometimes email is better as it gives us time to research the part numbers, the availability and price (especially as some of the Suzuki parts info is very suspect) - we can also investigate aftermarket options if OEM parts are not available. The other thing we've been able to do for some items is find other OEM parts that are the same - for example some of the Mikuni VM carbs fitted to Kawasaki models have use the very same parts - so if the part is not available through Suzuki, Kawasaki may have them. We've been able to do similar things with petcocks between some Honda models and Kawasaki models.

For those of you that don't know, Rob Darby our main help on sales & parts etc. He used to work for a couple of OEM dealerships, including Long Island Kawasaki, plus he spent a number of years working at Orient Express.

We haven't been pushing advertizing too much as our growth has been phenominal - as we add more parts to inventory, we'll mention the OEM parts more..

We are always interested in knowing what parts are a problem to find - that doesn't mean we can easily (quickly) source those parts, but we've been able to work with some manufacturers to produce key parts - like a shift fork for the Kawasaki Z1, some custom 530 conversion sprockets, some needle jets and more.

 

[Erich Z]

I'm having problems with Flatout now. I ordered what I needed to complete my carb rebuild/ valve clearances (o-rings, gaskets, half-moons, etc), because they're the only place that has all of it. I got a confirmation email a week and a half ago, and nada since. I emailed twice to ask for a tracking number and no reply. The website shows my order as "reviewed on 5/21" and only shows the half-moons on my order now, and with $10 shipping instead of $6.

Suppose I'll call after the holiday and see what's up.

 

[Joe Nardy]

I'm having problems with Flatout now. I ordered what I needed to complete my carb rebuild/ valve clearances (o-rings, gaskets, half-moons, etc), because they're the only place that has all of it. I got a confirmation email a week and a half ago, and nada since. I emailed twice to ask for a tracking number and no reply. The website shows my order as "reviewed on 5/21" and only shows the half-moons on my order now, and with $10 shipping instead of $6.

Suppose I'll call after the holiday and see what's up.

That's what I went through too. It sounds like they usually get the stuff to you but not in any hurry. It took over three weeks for my parts to arrive. Like someone else here, I got an email confirming shipping AFTER I received the order. Communication definitely isn't their strong point!

Thanks,
Joe

 

[mighty13d]

I placed an order with flat out on the 9th, e-mail confirmation on the 10th... still isn't here yet. hopefully it will be here THIS week.

 

[Erich Z]

Got it today, everything together. Ordered 15th, received 30th. Not terrible shipping price or time I suppose, but communication was terrible, in fact i got the delivery tracking today in my inbox too.

 

[chris@flatout]

sorry about that guys, we had some tech problems on our end. which hopefully that we have these things ironed out. if you guys have any problems please give me a call at 765-342-6335. we are working on the communication problems. thank you for the feedback good or bad helps me know what to do, so we can do a better job.

thanks
chris adkins
Internet Sales Rep
Flatoutmotorcycles

Got it today, everything together. Ordered 15th, received 30th. Not terrible shipping price or time I suppose, but communication was terrible, in fact i got the delivery tracking today in my inbox too.

 

[8trackmind]

If you know the part numbers you need, emailing us or calling us works fine - either Rob or myself can handle this.

I would much rather deal with you guys than anyone else.(you're one of US) From now on, you will get the first call.