Rebuilding, retooling or transforming your Harley-Davidson motorcycle with brand new, custom parts can be exciting, especially if you are getting creative and giving your bike a whole new look. It’s an opportunity to give your bike a new identity, a new feel but you still know it’s the same reliable motorcycle you have taken out on countless rides. You can change the color, you can alter the style, you can even transform how you control the bike when riding. There are so many options available but unfortunately this also leads to plenty of mistakes made during the ordering process.

Even if you are not a motorcycle mechanic you may want to do the ordering yourself so that you can find the best deal, will not have to pay a markup and you also get to spend more time looking through the selection available to you. Mistakes and accidents are made, it happens, but the goal is to limit them as much as possible. The last thing you want is after hours or even days of looking through catalogs of various custom Harley-Davidson parts, paying for them and waiting for them to arrive, is to finally open the box and realize you didn’t get what you wanted. Here are the 5 most common mistakes made when ordering Harley-Davidson parts and things you can do to avoid making them:

1. Ordering the Wrong Part: It may seem odd that you would order the wrong part but it happens and it happens a lot. There are plenty of reasons why, the most common being the make and model of the motorcycle. Custom parts that are made for Harley-Davidsons are actually just made for Harley’s and not for other manufacturers. When you are searching online for custom handlebars you want to make sure that you are ordering them for the right type of motorcycle you have. If you have a Honda or a Kawasaki you have to make sure that whatever you are ordering is compatible with the bike you have. Bike parts, for the most part, are not universal and every manufacturer is different. If you are looking at the information and it doesn’t list compatible bikes or the manufacturer then you may want to give the company a call to double check.

2. Make, Model, Year: Was your bike made before 2000 or after? Do you have a wide glide or a street glide model? Was anything changed or custom built on the bike before you started ordering new parts? All of these questions have to be asked before you start ordering anything. There could be a huge difference in the selection on front controls, wheels or handlebars just because your motorcycle was made in 1998 rather than 2001. You need to have all the information before you even begin to look at a specific selection. Again if you are looking at a new fender or an exhaust you want to make sure it is compatible with what you have and if the information is not available to you in a catalog or online then call the company directly to make sure you are ordering the right part.

3. Is it the right size: A quarter of an inch can feel like a mile if you order the wrong size. That is a huge problem, especially if you are waiting for a critical part. Imagine ordering T-Bar handlebars that are too short so the turning radius doesn’t provide enough room? Or what about ordering wheels that are too big or too small? This is a very common mistake, especially if you are trying to alter the feel or style of your motorcycle and they are made in two different ways. The first is that you order something that is the wrong size and it flat out doesn’t fit on the bike. Your measurements may have been off, you were given the wrong sizes before ordering or something else, but if what you ordered doesn’t fit it is a waste of your time. The second mistake made with size is that a Harley owner will order something that fits, but doesn’t give them the feel or control of their bike they were expecting. An example would be Ape Hangers that are too big and you do not feel comfortable or in control when you are riding. It can be tricky because how are you going to find the same model bike you already have with the part you are thinking of ordering so that you can get a feel for the size you want? There is one thing you can do, in the example of handlebars, if you are switching from T-Bars to Ape Hangers example, and you may not have any idea what size to start with. Even if you have the same two people, on the same model bike order handlebars they may sit on the bike completely differently so they will need different sizes. That’s why the best thing you can do to order the right size Ape Hanger handlebars is to sit on your bike in a comfortable way and hold your arms up as if there were handlebars already there. Pick the angle you are most comfortable and then have someone measure, that is the best and most effective way to get an accurate idea of the size you need and you can use a similar strategy when trying to determine what other size parts you need to order.

4. It didn’t come with it: This is an accident often made and it can be extremely frustrating when you make an order. Let’s say you need to order front ends and you find the perfect one, perfect size for a great deal and you place the order. It arrives and when you open the box you see that it is missing fork stops and wheel spacers. Frustration takes over and you are angry because you don’t have everything you need to put your bike together. Then upon reviewing your order you realize the front end you purchased did not include the fork stops and wheel spacers you need. It’s a mistake that happens all the time and sometimes the company can even make the mistake of having a picture of the complete part when you are looking on their website. That’s why when you make a purchase you need to go down the list of what you are getting and never assume everything is include. Sometimes the reason you are getting a great deal is because you are ordering something that is either not assembled or doesn’t have the additional pieces you thought would be included.

5. Does it come assembled: Obviously there are some parts you will purchase online or over the phone that are coming to you already assembled. But then there are others that are not and sometimes a mistake is made. Again the website you are on may show you a picture of a part completely assembled because that is the best way to show off the item to the customer, it allows you to get a better feel for how it will look on your bike, but when you receive it you notice it is in pieces.

Mistakes happen and companies do their best to eliminate them while still having a customer friendly site that is easy to navigate through but it is not simple. Think of how many custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts there are that you can buy from one company and you get the idea of how there can be so much confusion. Online ordering is fast and easy but if you are unsure of something speak with your mechanic before placing an order or even call the company directly so you know exactly what you are getting.