Riders have been warned about fake motorcycle parts after New Delhi Police arrested four people selling the counterfeit products with the names of three prominent motorcycle companies.
Delhi Police police have not officially revealed the names of the motorcycle companies nor the specific parts.
Is it the 300th case of copyright infringement listed in New Delhi since 2016, resulting in 308 arrests.
Nationwide Research Group director Craig Douglas warns that the counterfeit parts could have found their way to Australia and other countries.
“There is a market for these cheaper parts and we have many buyers unaware of the background or history of parts sold through what look like official Aust based selling sites,” he says.
The Indian incident is one of many around the world including a major haul of counterfeit parts in 2017 in the United Arab Emirates.
Part of the UAE fake parts haulThe Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and Nationwide Research Group have regularly warned motorists to be on the lookout for fake parts.
Basically, if the price is too good to believe, it’s probably a fake.
Fake parts could cause your motorcycle damage, make it unsafe and, in a crash, may void your warranty and/or insurance.
How to identify a counterfeit part
“These counterfeit parts parts are normally offered just a little bit cheaper than if purchased from a legitimate outlet so as to convince the buyers that they are genuine, albeit from a discount seller,” Craig says.
“There are many ways to offer these parts and the savvy buyer tends to surf the internet for cheaper parts thinking they are still real as they look genuine, have packaging that looks official, are sold by what appears to be legitimate sellers and are not too cheap to make it seem to be fake.
“If buyers see parts to be available they tend to think they are authorised or approved as they were not stopped at the border. And this is no different to auto parts or running shoes.
“As long as there is a market someone will look to exploit these options and the unaware public will always be a willing buyers if money can be saved and turn a blind eye to the dodgy sellers background.
“And remember sometimes these auto parts are purchased by the trusted local mechanic so the ultimate owner has no idea where they really came from and thinks the parts were sourced from a genuine seller.”
Genuine is best
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Vehicles promotes genuine parts through their Genuine Is Best program.
They urge all motorists to use genuine parts in regular maintenance and repairs.
They also warn about buying over the internet.
The program says the only way a motorist can guarantee supply of genuine parts is by buying them through the vehicle maker’s authorised supply chain.
“Use anything else and you may be taking a risk.” their website warns.