Pirate Parts.. "ah-har, avast eh matey!"

For years now, the manufacture of  aftermarket, non-genuine (or whatever you wish to call them) parts for cars and most motorcycles has been well established. In most cases, certainly with the parts we get here in New Zealand, they are of perfectly acceptable quality and sometimes are of even higher standard than the original parts. They are usually also much cheaper than the genuine item.

Unfortunately this is not often the case with aftermarket parts for the Enfield. Even a quick glance at some of these reveals that they are of very low quality and finish, often made of inferior materials. This was certainly the case recently with some brake shoes that had been fitted to a bike that was shipped from India to New Zealand. They had been cast badly and did not even sit squarely on the backing plate!

Before we go any further let me state clearly, I do not work for Royal Enfield nor do I have any financial interest with them.

My opinion is based solely on my own and others experiences. While many of these parts sell for ridiculously small money, you need to be very wary of their quality; where they came from and who made them.

Having said this, not all aftermarket parts for these bikes are bad. There are notable exceptions, one of which is the Samrat company. These guys make innovative and well made parts, the fit and finish of which is good by anyone's standards. In fact Samrat work closely with Royal Enfield themselves in developing new products for the Enfield bikes.

You have to ask yourself, if genuine brake shoes (for example) cost $25.00 and pirate ones cost $10.00, how do the pirate guys make a profit selling their product at less than half the cost of genuine ones?

Advise? As with everything be discerning. Examine the product and if it looks poorly made it probably is... so give it a miss.

Ultimately it is up to you, the person riding the bike. Will those cheap points or clutch cable have been worth the saving when you are stranded out in the middle of nowhere because they were made of junk material that was put together badly?? As bikers we just know that if a part is going to fail it will do so at the worst possible time in the worst possible location.