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This is the disclaimer that appears on Rocky Mountain's website regarding OEM parts. They do carry parts on hand at their warehouse, so they aren't strictly a middleman. And it's not just things like brake pads: when I ordered parts for my recent valve check, they had things like the crankcase cover gasket in stock and available. Even the cam chain tensioner was an in-stock item. They must have a pretty extensive in-house inventory, if they carry parts like that for a bike that isn't all that common. If you look on their website for the cam chain, you can see which items are stock and which ones have to be ordered (the cam chain itself is one item that, at least currently, they have to order). I've always found that those indicators (the "in stock" vs "5-7 business days") to be accurate.
I don't want to seem like I'm shilling for RMATV; I have no connection with them at all. But I definitely appreciate good customer service.