Aftermarket Parts Q&A
Sometimes aftermarket parts are the only alternative when OEM parts are no longer available. And depending on the manufacturer, aftermarket parts often exceed OEM parts in quality and performance.
John Talley does weekly live Q&A sessions every Friday at 3PM Eastern on our YouTube channel, in which a variety of powersports vehicle repair topics are addressed. In this session, John answers several questions related to renowned aftermarket parts manufacturers Wiseco, Ohlins and K&N.
Wiseco Aftermarket Parts
I would like to know if you guys build Yamaha Banshee engines and if so, how much for a top and bottom rebuild?
John Talley: I’ve actually never rebuilt a Banshee … but, if you’re needing the equipment to do so, you might want to look into our website and check out the different garage buddy kits that Wiseco has. They have comprehensive kits that go all the way down to the crankshaft, all the way up to the top end, so you can buy one box that can basically do the entire engine.
What do we do if an OEM part is no longer available?
John Talley: Well, we’ve always specialized in OEM parts, but we’ve been branching out into other areas and one of our most recent partnerships has been with Wiseco. They make exceptionally great parts which usually meet or exceed the OEM. A lot of manufacturer parts that are no longer available, especially on the two-stroke side … do a search in Partzilla and it’ll actually show you non-OEM parts that are available for your particular unit.
Watch the video above to learn more about why you should buy Wiseco aftermarket parts.
Ohlins Aftermarket Parts
Are Ohlins worth the money?
John Talley: Ohlins is one of the leaders if not, THE leader in suspension components. A lot of machines actually use them as factory OEM. Is it worth the money? I say, absolutely. The best example I can give you is we did that Grom giveaway and we upgraded the suspension with a different shock and a front fork kit … So especially, if you’re dealing with an entry-level machine with entry-level suspension components, Ohlins is a great decision to make if you’re expecting some good handling out of your machine.
Watch the video above to see an Ohlins suspension upgrade done on a Honda Grom.
K&N Aftermarket Air Filter
Do you think an aftermarket K&N air filter will void a Polaris warranty?
John Talley: No, it will not void the warranty. If anything, they should tell you “thank you” … the K&N will actually filter out smaller particulates than the OEM. Well actually, giving you a little bit better flow and we proved that on the dyno with our little CBR 600 that we had a few years ago … watch what we did there, as we compared a stock, dirty OEM filter to a clean OEM filter to a K&N filter.
Watch the videos above to see how a K&N air filter improves performance on a Honda motorcycle and how to clean K&N air filters.
Want to see more live repair questions answered? See more motorcycle and ATV repair questions answered here.
