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Shopping for motorcycle parts can be taxing most of the time especially when you are on a tight budget. When to buy an OEM or aftermarket motorcycle parts can be very difficult to determine.

But what are OEM parts, you ask. And what about aftermarket?

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts

These are the genuine parts found at an authorized distributor of your brand of motorcycle. They are usually considered as originals because they have the exact same specifications that came with the original part. They are generally more expensive and almost always recommended by dealers because of the higher income they'll get selling OEM parts. Hence, they will always tell you that OEM parts are of the higher quality.

But this may not be true due to the fact that the parts are not necessarily produced by the original manufacturers themselves. Many motorcycle and automobile manufacturers nowadays often have the parts designed and made outside by independent companies. Afterwhich the motorcycle manufacturers install them in their machines or put them in their own boxes to be sold as OEM parts.

Aftermarket motorcycle parts

Aftermarket motorcycle parts, on the hand, are those that are produced by companies other than the original manufacturers. These are generally cheaper than the OEM parts but have the same performance.

Sometimes, after a certain period of time, the original manufacturer will allow the aftermarket motorcycle parts to be sold in their own packaging but at a reduced price. The part now becomes an aftermarket OEM part.

At times when the original manufacturer allows the company that physically produced the part to sell it at a reduced price and in their own packaging, the part now becomes an OEM aftermarket part.

There's a lot of competition out there that's why many aftermarket motorcycle parts may come up as OEM parts. You just need to look closely and hunt for the part that you need according to your budget. If you think that you cannot find the quality you are looking for in an aftermarket part, then search for the OEM, if you can afford it.

All in all, it really depends on what you're looking for. You need to consider where you're going to use the motorcycle parts--- for replacement or improvement. You also have to consider other factors such as the availability of the part, your budget and others. All of these will help you decide to either go for OEM or aftermarket motorcycle parts. Or just go for broke.