yamaha xj900 parts /commander

[NedSmart]

As you know most of the commander running gear (forks wheels etc) are yam xj900.Does anyone know of a good parts dealer for yamaha parts??The internet just takes me to all the pattern parts sites and all the dam idiots who have put yamaha in as 'key' words to get you to their websites I want genuine parts.Does any one know where i can get a new pair of commandsr mirrors??Thanks.

[Dell Boy]

As far as I know they weren`t a Yamaha part so no point in following that line.Graham [Startrite] used to have new ones in stock.In fact I think I have a new one somewhere still in the Norton packaging.Also try Andover Norton.Derek.

[wust588]

Yes, try Andover Norton, but don't hold your breath whilst you wait for the bits to arrive.Poor service.

[Ian]

Heard a rumour many years ago that the mirrors were Reliant Robin and could be bought in Halfords.Don't know if they still can be or indeed, ever were. Ian.

[vontripper]

halfords dont bother... they did but not no morevon

[ZFD]

Wust588,Your complaint about the speed of Andover Norton’s service, or lack of it, has been noted and I looked into it. Your order was placed on either Thursday 17th or Friday 18th. Most probably the 17th. Entered onto computer Friday 18th November. Would have been despatched on Tuesday 22nd but Phil, our rotary spares man, was on holiday that day. You rang and spoke to Keith on Tuesday. The order was despatched Wednesday 23rd.Whilst this is not ideal I wonder how long it would take others to supply parts for motorcycles 20 years out of date from a defunct manufacturer. With your opinion of Andover Norton being what it appears to be I further suspect you had not ordered from Andover Norton had you been able to get those parts elsewhere.Most rotary parts are held in storage in an outbuilding as we have outgrown the size of our premises with the Commando/Dominator spares alone. The storage of the rotary parts was not planned when we rented the Hungerford premises nearly five years ago. For an order Phil has to go to the outbuilding and get the rotary parts especially for that order, as small as it may be, besides his normal duties.Rotary parts currently account for about 1% of our total turnover- even our book sales account for more than that! There is a limited amount of time and effort we can afford to spend on a field of so little commercial importance for the company. See it as an indication of our enthusiasm and commitment we still try to fill rotary orders as quickly as possible, not to mention the fact Andover Norton have re-purchased and re-produced rotary spares, notably ignition components, control cables and most recently the luggage rack for the Commander, and plan to continue to do so.Joe Seifert, owner, Andover Norton International Ltd

[commando-rotary]

I don't normally get involved in these sort of discussions but feel that whilst the andover crew may not yet know their way around rotaries as well as the rugely mob, they do give a better service and are far more cooperative than many other suppliers and do genuinely do there best. and of course none of us get it right "all" the time. D G

[Interpol2471]

I am a happy teddy too

[vontripper]

re. Andover Nortoni have no complants with there service, phil and the rest of the gang are doing a great job down there a m coles aka vontripper

[ZFD]

Gentlemen,Thank you for your support and kind words. I am aware we can never get back to the level of support Richard Negus, for me the "father" of the Norton rotary, gave you. Fortunately we can still rely on his advice when we need it. Richard spent 100% of his working day at Norton Motors Ltd in Rugeley supporting the rotary Norton owners. No way can Phil, who is new to rotaries, and Pete, who has a demanding job as the buyer of an ever-growing range of spares for Andover Norton, give anything near those hours per day and level of support to Rotaries.That said, I only had another lot of purchase order duplicates through from Pete yesterday with about half a dozen rotary items on them, and I note the rotary content of those notes gradually increases, so your needs are being looked after.Joe Seifert

[wust588]

Joe, I note what you say, and fair enough, I was wrong to suggest I received poor service. I was in a bit of a rush in this instance, so next time I order anything, I'll allow a bit more time.Actually, Phil and Nick have always been friendly and courteous whenever I've placed orders in the past.I can assure you, I didn't (or do not) contact Andover Norton as a last resort, and am quite aware of the parts logistics involved.

[ZFD]

Thanks, John.Joe

[len588]

Hi, As far as I remember the XJ900 had handlbar-mounted mirrors. But for other Commander/XJ900 parts you could try Fowlers Of Bristol. Their stock of genuine Yamaha spares is pretty vast. Incidentally they were also rotary dealers when Commanders were new. No, I have no commercial links to them, just a customer recommendation. Len.

[Roberto]

I have just replaced the glass on both my Commander mirrors. I prised out the old glass and took it down to the local glass and mirror shop and got two perfectly fitting new glasses for £5. Somehow I think Norton might have been down to the Vauxhall garage for the mirrors. You could test this out by walking around a Tesco Extra car park on a busy day and look at all the cars....They certainly did for the rear pannier lamp units (Corsa). ..and by the way, you can still buy rear lamp units via ebay France; where the reversing light section is on the opposite side - meaning that you get an identical red fog light unit as used on the Norton. I bought one for £15 complete recently.

[Wayne]

HIPadggets at batley have new stuff, can be expenciveGraham at startrights obtaind me a yamaha mirror for my F1 (norton removed the yam name then beed blasted them)Foulers are also goodRegards Wayne

[bodgerbloke52]

As one who has some experience with parts supply, financing and stocking of Laverda parts for many years I can relate to Joe Seiferts point of view.Now as a overseas customer of Rotary parts I could venture a improvement to Joe on the already excellent service.It concerns the method of payment. For us out in the American boonies it is a delay, tedium, and expense to transfer funds to Norton.It would be a big help if credit cards were accepted.Roger SlaterSpokane, Washington, in the Pacific NW

[blynch]

Just a quick point to Roberto's comment above where he refers to commander rear light units being from a V...Corsa.I think you will find they are off the old V...Nova

[Wayne]

Hi Jo (zfd)You mention rotary parts in a out building, I strongly recommend acf50 on metal parts.I have noticed on some of my shenston new parts the protective oil originally applied is starting to deteriate to the point rust can start to form.To all I have seen rotors, shafts gearbox internals offered to me and when the owner opened the storage packaging, scrap especially eccentric shafts and rotors, hi value parts redused to a few quid,ALS note the sweat from your hand will cause rusting over night on a cleaned item with no protection on it.Lucky for me Graham introduced me to Acf50 I know use this on to protect my lathes, milling machine parts and even on the bikeRegards Wayne

[Richard Negus]

Just a quick point to Roberto's comment above where he refers to commander rear light units being from a V...Corsa.I think you will find they are off the old V...Nova

Back from a windy boating jaunt!Robert is correct about the rear lights; at that time, the UK Nova was also known as the Corsa outside the UK and both versions were assembled at the same plant in Spain.The Nova had its fog light on the right, the Corsa on the left, and as the lamps are fitted upside-down on the Commander, the right light is Corsa and the left is Nova. At least I think that's correct.At the styling stage, Seymour Powell also considered a similar pair of Volkswagen Golf lamps, but discounted them as too angular.

[ZFD]

You mention rotary parts in a out building, I strongly recommend acf50 on metal parts.

Wayne, the outbuilding is history. Since we moved back into Andover last winter everything is in a nice, dry warehouse, together with the Commando parts. Then again, we did run a dehumidifier in the outbuilding in Hungerford.As for Yamaha parts, we could probably make any Yamaha dealer looking for 1990s XJ900 parts very happy.....Joe