I have seen it happen time and time again. A man or woman buys a brand new bike, and immediately start giving the dealer money for custom chrome parts, custom exhaust, saddlebags etc. Hurts every time I see it because I was that guy once. Now I know better.
If you truly want to customize your bike without spending a small fortune and ending up with a bike that looks like everyone else’s you have to learn the right places to buy custom motorcycle parts. Whether you own a metric bike or a Harley Davidson, it is very easy to get caught up in customizing your bike without much thought to whether you’re spending too much money or if you’re getting the best parts for your bike.
Sometimes the best parts can be found at Dennis Kirk or Cruiser Customizing, or even J and P Cycles, but often times the parts you really want aren’t to be found there. Hard to find gems in the custom motorcycle parts business are everywhere yet really hard for most people to find. I’m here to help you look.
OK. You’re number one friend in hunt for custom bike parts is Google. But you’re going to have to learn to move beyond page one of the search results. In the past I have found many unique parts for my bike by simply typing in the bike model into the search engine and going page after page through the result. If you’re too specific about what you are looking for often times the way search engines rank sites can work to your disadvantage. This is one of those times where a broad search works best. Here’s a tip: bookmark each and every site that may be of interest. It is really easy to come across a cool custom bike part maker only to not be able to find them again.
Directories are your friends. I say that not just because I own one, but because they have already done the work for you. Hunt down sites that list custom bike part websites. This will save you countless hours of searching. On my site I list a lot of website that I have found in magazines, sites that you will never come across in regular search results because the search engines just don’t know about them.
One of the best sources of custom parts is custom motorcycle builders themselves. Almost every custom bike builder makes custom parts that they sell direct. These are parts you are never going to find on those large motorcycle parts websites or even at your local bike rally. A great place to find parts if you’re looking to have a unique bike. Do broad searches like “Custom Softtail” or “Custom V-star”. You are bound to come across a bike builder who is making some of his own parts.
Ebay is a great source of custom motorcycle parts at discount prices but be wary. Many sellers are selling parts that look similar to the ones you have seen on other more expensive websites but may be of a seriously inferior quality. I have had much success on Ebay both buying and selling slightly used as well as new parts. Often time guys will customize a bike but a few hundred or thousand miles on it and then completely change the theme and resell the parts they no longer need. You can pick up exhausts and chrome covers for half of retail here.
One last thought: if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for wait a little while and try searching for it again rather than settle for something close. Many times I have come across exactly what I wanted right after buying something else that was close. After all it’s your custom motorcycle, why should you settle for less than perfection?