RonH said:
I'm a stock kind of guy is 40+ years of trying the "upgrades", the aftermarket. I came to the harsh conclusion that aftermarket is all garbage. I'm sure not *ALL* is garbage, but in 40 years 99% of all aftermarket stuff I used was,
I think your way off at 99%, but agree some 3rd parties come up with (poor) solutions, often for problems that do not really exist.
Stuff such as aftermarket shocks (especially premium ones) tend to be massively better, you do not see to many race bikes running OE shocks - or certainly not at the front of the field, and on the road they outperform and outlast the OE junk by a huge margin.
All bikes are built to a price, and often to meet certain laws, or a one-size-fits-all, as mentioned suspension upgrades tend to work well and I have never heard anyone complain of their Ohlins or Wilburs being worse than the OE shock, ECU-U Flashes that sort out many issues caused by emmisions laws and stupid restrictions that have been worked in to save us from ourselves.
Horns tend to be awful as well as many fasteners that fur up or corrode, and often OE lighting is not great, some bikes have weak regulators etc. etc.
There are some really good aftermarket products out there, just because you bought one rubbish item 4 decades ago does not make 99% of motorcycle accessories rubbish, or the poeple that fit them ignorant / stupid :exclaim:
I bet my Wilburs shock will be going long after what little damping your OE unit had has faded away, and now my engine is not running weaker than American lager I suspect it will last even better than in OE trim as well.