Topic: Thoughts on Chinese / aftermarket parts in general

[bamacb]

These are my opinion based on first hand experience or trusted shared knowledge. I say China but it could be Vietnam , Thailand ,ect .
1. Rubber items do not hold up , from failed engine o rings ,cam chain rollers , mounts for elec. items , hose , air cleaner / carb mount tubes , atv tires I have had or seen them fail in a short period of time. Not very good when the o rings inside your engine will not hold up to heat and oil 
2. Spoke kits are not correct the angles are bent wrong , wrong gauge , nipples may not fit . You might make them work but not very well
3. Handlebars are close but slightly larger so mounts and switches don't fit right
4. H.B. switches are slightly smaller and leave a large gap for water to enter and the sleeve  is made from the cheap rubber stuff. Add these to the above handle bars and you've got a grind fest awaiting
5. Ignition parts seem to fail in a short time . The arcing coil wires are also caused by the cheap rubber stuff
6. In general most of the aftermarket parts are close but not 100% correct and the quality is in question. I can upgrade or mod them to work most of the time and this can be your only option.
These are facts based on the number of vintage Hondas of all sizes I have restored and own or have owned. Everyone has an opinion so please share your's and experience 

[Tracksnblades1]

I can remember when the elders referred to similar as "Japanese Junk".
Who will be China's, Dr. Deming.....?

[ekpent]

  Who's old enough to remember where the really cheap junk used to be made? Bought this vintage 1960's working flashlight screwdriver combo kit for 25 cents and of course one of the phillip  bits is bad and a flat blade bit is bent    Made in Hong Kong !

[PeWe]

CB750: Rubber parts inside engine, go Honda. Same with the carb boots. O-rings, I have recently bought some viton o-rings that seems to work fine. They are harder and will probably seal better when they withstand temperature better.

There are others that produce good chain tensioners for racing with high revving engines and hard gearing downs that the stock Honda will not survive.

I have used China made clutch that worked fine on my K6 until it went bigger and produce much torque. That clutch is now in my other build (K2) with stock engine. Clutch ordered from Cruzinimage on eBay. (My K6 got an EBC clutch with even harder springs Barnett springs for CB550).
My K2 has cheap Cruzinimage $100US std pistons that seems to work fine so far, 1300 km.

Cheap aftermarket mirrors, crap. I saw that stock new Honda was not expensive.
Brake pedal switch with harness, harness connector had a loos insulation that could move, connector shorted when braking. I was lucky it was close to home or my friend both times. Bike blew main fuse, stopped completely black. both times autumn with dark evenings.
Honda did not cost much more. At least inspect these parts and possible to mend it before failure.

Price vs how long it will live is the real price to pay.

[bamacb]

I can remember when the elders referred to similar as "Japanese Junk".
Who will be China's, Dr. Deming.....?

same here , there was some cheap Japanese crap out there

[BomberMann650]

Thailand is pretty serious about making performance parts these days.

The price is right and they are team sponsors so they got the big idea

[bamacb]

One I forgot and get asked about a lot, carbs. What I have found with the repo carbs is they will run. How well and how long is another thing. A lot of tuning is required most of the time and then the rubber parts will not hold up to gasoline. If they are a close match to a oem carb then you can use the body with oem gaskets and internals and have a workable carb. I tend to stay with oem regardless.

[beemerbum]

I can remember when the elders referred to similar as "Japanese Junk".
Who will be China's, Dr. Deming.....?

same here , there was some cheap Japanese crap out there

As a matter of principle, I try very hard not to buy anything from communists

[Stev-o]

I try not to buy CCC (cheap chinese crap) but it is getting tough not to.

Even some Honda branded parts are made in China now!

[bamacb]

I try not to buy CCC (cheap chinese crap) but it is getting tough not to.

Even some Honda branded parts are made in China now!

True but at least they are held to a higher standard of quality

[PeWe]

I can remember when the elders referred to similar as "Japanese Junk".
Who will be China's, Dr. Deming.....?

same here , there was some cheap Japanese crap out there

"Made in Hongkong" was same as junk back in the 70's-80's maybe earlier too.

Check about China turbos to cars. I've read about failing turbos within 1000km despite correctly mounted with oil hoses etc. Common when tuning Audi and similar. Too cheap can damage expensive equipment or harm you as a failing China jack can, copy of a copy, copy.....

[rotortiller]

I have rebuilt a few bikes with replica bits from China. Hell, most vintage vendors get their products from China anyway and mark it up for sale. I've bought Asian rubber parts, engine parts, hardware, headlite buckets, H4 conversions, gas tank parts, clutch plates, electrical bits, spokes, seat covers, bearings, instruments, levers, mirrors, exhaust etc. In the end going directly to China saves both money and postage.

The fact of the matter is North Americans want more pay to do the same job, that or  mark up someone else's handy work thus becoming the middle skimmer man. Skimmer man is fine when he carries a wide range of stuff at my disposal, I will pay for that service sometimes but only when priced within reason. Sometimes there are layers of skimmer men. Just because he is my country man does not mean I will bend over and take it like a man LOL

Often modern vintage parts fit and look better than OEM.  I also look at what is made on this continent and have seen first hand our own domestic crap and goodness.

Here are a couple of restores with parts from China and none of those parts have failed, also has a few USA manufactured bits too:

[Don R]

 I've noticed ebay sellers passing on inexpensive marked up parts. I guess wisdom is knowing the difference. That's when we can help each other out by pointing out known good values. One I've noticed is replacement rims, some ebay rims are significantly higher for the same part than say, Z1 parts as an example. 

[PeWe]

I forgot, My LED H4 on both my bikes are ordered from China. Work fine!

[pjlogue]

I have found that it is a crapshoot from stuff from China and South East Asia.  Some of the stuff I have gotten is top rate and other stuff is truly junk.  The electronics is pretty good and getting better.  When you can get a digital multimeter for 1/2-1/3 the price of a US made unit of the same quality the decision is a no brainer.  Engine internals where there is a lot of labor involved to replace in the event of failure I always go with trusted source.  I got a rear fender for my 76 750K several years ago and it was from Vietnam.  The quality was A1 for chrome.  Price was kind of high but back then there was NO new/after market rear fenders available except on e-bay and they all were in rough shape with a high price tag.

-P.

[bamacb]

Now this is how we can help each other with our experience on these parts. I paid double the price for NOS head light holders / fork ears because the Asian repop's didn't have the buzzer mount. I have been looking at ways to disassemble and rechrome the rear shocks as $800 for a pair of NOS is not going to happen. Does anyone have a pair of the repop's and how would you rate them ?

[BPellerine]

my only comment here,does anyone really think they are getting genuine honda parts made by honda for these old bikes anymore,sure there is some old stock around,but not much of the stuff you use all the time.bill