Got to agree...a front brake switch (now a spare) and a rear master cylinder and postage from moto-bins cost the same as just the rear master cylinder from a spare part's business on the western side of Oz.
Delivered in 10 days. Bloody brilliant!

Preaching to the converted a new rear disc 4!!! days door to door.
But I have also had good response from MotorWorks or BikeBandit or BeemerBoneyard in the US.

Having 'enjoyed' a stint with a BMW motorbike dealership in spare parts here in OZ (as well as three shops in the US over the years) I can say without hesitation that BMW Australia haven't a clue about competitive pricing of spare parts. Items which should absolutely be on the shelf in the warehouse were frequently backordered to Germany, and most other parts are priced way off the scale as compared to North American and European prices. Of course, it's a catch-22: if we don't buy from them often enough we run the risk of them eventually not being there for us. But then again, are they there for us now? It's a conundrum! At the end of the day, if it can wait, I'll always buy it from overseas.

Sad to say many Australian distributors look on the Aussie and Kiwi public as a cash cow to be milked and expect to be able to say "Hold out your wallet and repeat after me Help yourself" They get surprised and offended when we decline to play that game.
Regards,
K-BIKE

As BMW parts are not so cheap here in Canada, about 6 years ago we got together with my brother and 3 friends owning K bikes.
We spent about $200 each and invested in spare parts. Anytime that we found cheap parts in Ebay, we bought them. We also bought 1 crashed bike as well as another complete power train. We now have a lot of spare parts on hand.
When one of us needs a part, he gets it from our "cooperative" but should give it back to the community within a reasonable time (few months).
This gives this person the opportunity to find a cheap replacement from Ebay or any other source.
The advantage is that we almost always have what is needed and we can keep our bikes on the road without having to wait for a shipment from a dealer.
We can troubleshoot any electronic parts by swapping it.
If one breaks down, somebody can deliver a part to fix the bike and ride it home (towing is a least $75)

I wanted to have about 10 K owners joining the project, but most of them were too cheap and declined the offer.
For the ones that didn't join our coop at the time, if they need a spare and we have more than one, we will sell it a fair market value. If we have only one, .... though luck! Everybody had the opportunity to plan for the future. If a person was too cheap to invest $50 for a mechanical insurance, well he can wait for a week to receive a part from the dealer (at high cost).
You usually see a lot of cheap parts on Ebay when you don't need them. When you do, they are sold.

Ahh,
Motobins Service is the best.
The animated "R" engine on their site is downloadable as a screen saver.
I have it on my computers.

There must be something in the rarefied air up there in the Maritime Provinces that is similar to the air in the Lucky Country. I too do the same. While I have not 'cornered the market' on BMW spares, I do have a good stash. Late at night when all of the house is sleeping I like to creep out to the garage, sometimes even in my barefeet and by the light of a single candle, and count all of the golden Beemer spares I have hoarded, stashed away in my secret counting room. Oh, but wait, that's a fairy tale already told!

Same here. I bid on eBay ridiculous low amounts (don't you love the 'no-minimum' auctions) and just let it run and end up with spare parts at next to nothing. I then refurbish those and use them on the bike. What comes off stays as spare if not broken. I have gearboxes, drive shafts, 12 rivets shafts, idle gears, LMM's, alternators, starter motor, throttle valves, looms, airboxes etc. It allows me to test/play with the parts to understand them better and get the bike in a good shape.

I bid on eBay and won a pair of front brake discs this arvee from the top bloke in Melbourne who's advertised here in a post that he's dismantled a coupla RS's. One other person bid on these in-spec rotors. The price? Less than AU$60.00 for the pair! Was everyone out for a Sunday ride, or sleeping?

Two Wheels Better wrote:One other person bid on these in-spec rotors. The price? Less than AU$60.00 for the pair! Was everyone out for a Sunday ride, or sleeping?

This is kind of problem with Ebay. We start to know each others and we may bid against each others.
We knew that you wanted them and we were so nice that we didn't overbid you

Ah, but you'd have to know my top notch, 100% satisfaction, eBay name...well perhaps now you do! LOL

Crazy Frog wrote:

Two Wheels Better wrote:One other person bid on these in-spec rotors. The price? Less than AU$60.00 for the pair! Was everyone out for a Sunday ride, or sleeping?

This is kind of problem with Ebay. We start to know each others and we may bid against each others.
We knew that you wanted them and we were so nice that we didn't overbid you

Maybe, we should get a list of Ebay names to avoid bidding against each others and inflate the prices.
My Ebay login is bertrand.vogel

OriginalPMC...from the long-gone but not forgotten Original Portland Motorcycle Company in Portland, Oregon, when I lived in 'Merica lo these many years ago and started selling off their old moto treasures from owner Dave's reign. We had BMW, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Triumph and later Vespa too.

I've seen the spares that you have mentioned TWB, but at the moment, funds are a bit low.

My ebay moniker is blakey5ate.

Mine is hfxrzw.

Hummm.

What hfx stands for?

How do I get in on a co-op? Here in Winnipeg I've only seen maybe a handful of original K's.