Years/parts

[Mike337]

Here's a newb question for you senior Burger members.
Whenever I go in for an oil filter, look on-line for parts, or just looking at fitting an accessorie, it's like they don't know the year, or what to look up. I know a different Suzuki dealer struggles with this when I come in. So where is the cut-off in years where pretty much everything is the same? 2008 and up? Or with parts like brake pads, belt, air filter, oil filters do you HAVE TO use your exact year?
Thanks,
Newb.

[Daboo]

We had a huge issue at first when the 2007 400s came out. The dealer wanted to hand us oil filters for the 2006 and earlier models. There's no way that would fit. It took awhile for the dealers to get smart. Now, I suspect the problem with being handed the wrong parts, lies with the 2006 and earlier 400 owners, since the most recent 400s sold and maintained would be the newer model. It paid for us to be smart enough to be sure they were looking up the right parts.

If I was behind the parts counter, I'd make sure I didn't make any assumptions about parts either, and ask for the year and model. The parts guy/gal sees people come in and every bike is different. Since the part numbers need to be looked up anyway usually, it would pay to just look up the correct year while you're at it. Even on the 2007 and newer 400s, there are differences. The headlights are different on the 2007. The wiring harness is too. The ECM is different I believe...otherwise why would the 2008s have a recall and the 2007 not? The exhaust gasket is different. (You really want the newer one in this case. Far better.) The CVT ducting is different for 2007, 2008 and 2009+. The ABS brakes will make a difference to braking parts. Will it change the pads? Not sure.

I guess what I'm saying is it pays for you to know what you're getting fits your bike, and it pays for the parts counter person to hand you the right part. If either of those fails, you're an unhappy camper.

Chris

[Buffalo]

What I do when I go to the dealer to get parts is do a little research before hand. I go to one of the online fiche sites and look up the part number and write it down. Then when I get to the parts counter I ask them what the part number they come up with is. I then compare their number to the one I found. If they don't match then I question it and resolve the issue before buying the part.

[Desert Rat]

Daboo left out that the clutch is different between the 07 and later models also. That being said, the 08 clutch will work on a 07 and it is cheaper so guess which one I'm running in mine.