Hello,

On 15th November I sent a BSA WD M20 gearbox to a address in the Channel Isles. I organized the shipment through parcels2ship and these people use parcel force. It never arrived at it's destination and parcel force is now saying that the parcel is lost. It was very well packed in a substantial box, the box was taped up and bound with a bailing twine.

If anybody hears of a BSA WD M20 gearbox being "found" please will they contact me The gearbox housing was painted military green, but well worn. There were no side covers to the gearbox housing, but it had a complete gearbox cluster.

email (option): pat.slinn@btinternet.com

I know its no help now but I use parcels2go on this site you get most of the shippers and you can insure your bits plus the prices are low I sent a pair of Bonneville exhausts to Holland cost just over £6 and was there in five days and sent loads of stuff all over the country I have nothing to do with this site

email (option): roger.beck@node6.com

Keep an eye on ebay, HMVF, WW2 re-enactors site classifieds, - any of the usual enthusiasts/ classic bike sites that could be used to unload it. Regrettably there are light fingered scrotes in too many of the postage/courier companies and this time of the year particularly they are active. Best of luck in finding it but don't hold your breath.

I would advise when using parcel2go not to use my Hermes, as they seem to be a little bit erratic on their deliveries, sometimes taking up to two weeks to deliver a two day service parcel and also they seem to move the parcels around with a bulldozer, ask Ron!!! I'd always use one of the more expensive ones on there as they seem to be a little bit more professional.
Did you put a return address on the parcel? If you did they sometimes turn up anything up to a month later.

email (option): davmax@ntlworld.com

I was expecting a parcel of land rover wheelnuts a while back and after many excuses for non delivery the courier eventually said they were damaged in transit,I enquired as to whether they meant the parcel was damaged and they said no the items in the parcel,how the hell does a courier damage 25 metal wheelnuts?

By far the worst, Yodel

DHL Drop it Hide it Lose it

I had a lot of grief with a wine delivery with DHL, deliberate sabotage I reckon, via their Heathrow depot very bad.

Not had any bother with My Hermes, although delivery can be a bit odd, late at night etc, which I put down to overworked drivers on poor pay per item.

I've seen My Hermes and Yodel advertising for local part time delivery drivers. I've had parcels delivered by a nice women in her private car in the evening while her old man sits in with the kids.
I've never really had any problem until my girders arrived poking out of a completely wrecked stout box. Both lamp brackets were bent but after I came down from the ceiling I managed to straightened them ok. Fortunately the forks were quite well wrapped up so nothing too serious. But it does beg the question " how did they manage to treat the parcel so badly"?
I receive lots of parcels for my Dutch/Belgium friends and my neighbours so I meet quite a few couriers and never seen anything like this before.
One guy told me yesterday, " his firm allow their drivers 1 min 20 seconds to deliver at each address. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

I think Yodel drivers are paid something like 30p a drop, impossible to earn a decent wage, especially out in the sticks; thats why so many immigrants delivering all evening driving like lunatics round the lanes here trying to keep up.

regular occurance is some harrassed looking guy with very basic english flagging me down and pointing to an address on a clipboard.

Unfair exploitation.

At one point earlier this year there was an online petition to get Amazon and a couple other to quit using Yodel it was so bad,not only for low pay but poor performance.

I dislike ebay sellers sending my parts via Hermes & would rather pay the extra so if I'm not in I can retrieve the package from my local post office parcel department. If Hermes turn up at a strange hour & I'm not about they drive off with it & as they are just a bunch of random people it means my package is laying in their van or garden shed all night... Hermes can't give you details of where to collect it & although the driver is supposed to leave a contact number they often just have an unused phone number that they never look at in order to avoid being contactable. .. you just have to let them try again.
On the subject of heavy items getting damaged one of my mates worked for a large parcel company about 10yrs ago & he said drivers would often meet up on the road & swap packages around & it sometimes resulted in the items simply being thrown 20ft from one van to another with the vehicles back to back.!

Here's a video I found although there's no proof it's genuine...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFE8AIx4vj8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Just last week spotted two parcel force vans doing that exact thing.

Just had a parcel lost by hermes, terrible company to get info from, and wont tell you who local courier is.
another parcel I had delivered to work, the boxwas battered and a fin was broken off the barrel inside...hermes again...I wont bid on ebay now without an assurance thet they wont use hermes. Complete bunch of cowboys with no proper network.
chris

email (option): chris@mgowner.co.uk

surely its down to the seller to make sure that the item is properly padded wrapped?

I'd claim back via ebay,seller is meant to ensure its well packaged. Once a parcel is in the system it can only go forward not back.

I don't think thats down to My Hermes, its well known surely that parcels get rough handling from every carrier, including the Post Office and Parcel force.

I get a lot of stuff in glass bottles delivered by various couriers, none of it suffers because the sender packs it well.

My pal recently bought a B33 barrel from ebay and it arrived with 5 fins broken off it...No doubt it was the fault of the sender after one look at the inadequate packaging...
He contacted the seller and got his money back (all of it)...I have a contact who did a very nice repair for £45 so he ended up with a cheap barrel!...'Every cloud has a silver lining' as the saying goes...or is it 'Every barrel has a silver liner?'.. ...Ian

I use Royal mail to post my repro headlamp glasses and out of all 100s I have sold uk & worldwide I have had only one breakage.I have devised a system for packages to be sent via large letter/small packet but still strong enough to sustain the ravages of the posties.I agree its up to the sender to make sure the item they send arrives in one piece..As for stuff like barrels and heads I always use polystyrene to pack out box so anything inside cant move around.And I also wouldnt use hermes as I have had them turn up on my doorstep early on a sunday morning by a housewife in her fiesta crammed full of kids.

You usually get what you pay for. Yes, it's easy to say, but it needs to be repeated. Cheap parcel delivery firms are cheap for a reason. Ditto cheap air flights.

But keep this in mind. Up to a point, the parcel industry doesn't CARE about how many parcels are lost or damaged. It's simply built into the costs. It's much the same with supermarkets and pilferage. They factor in X-amount of losses and live with it.

We think about our motorcycle parts as precious items. But they're just numbers on a docket.

You're probably generally better off with the Royal Mail if you live in the UK, and God only knows how the professionalism in that service has degenerated over the years

Postage is expensive, and in a "shrinking world", it's rising further. Double wrap it. Insure it. Factor in a certain amount of pilferage. And remember always that couriers don't care, not at minimum wage.

email (option): dannydefazio@sumpmagazine.com

Hi Dave
I too could be very interested in a headlamp glass. Would you like to send a PM with contact/item/sale details please.
Regards
Paul

email (option): paul@holmesfamily.ws

Dave, if that is you on eBay...could you explain the system used with the 'Difusa' logo ? I've been meaning to ask,

Cheers !

Sounds to me like Dave? has a rubber stamp. Nice touch! I use the transfers from Bob/Marcia and coat with Humbrol clear lacquer. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Hi, Rik I use a stamp as Ron says this is special glass ink once stamped & dryed I then use a vinyl disc on top of stamping for protection.I have had one of my difusas fitted to my WM20 for last two years now and its still good,just have to be careful cleaning glass I use only soapy water.I first tried the transfers but the ones I had didnt like being coated with lacquer they melted, also some have a white background around the centre spoked wheel inside the difusa logo which dont look right.Cost me a bit of money to get the stamps made to spec but overall finished glass isnt far from original lucas glass I have fitted to my old W6. Dave..

The glass I had from you cut to size fitted perfectly. Your packing method works a treat.

Thanks Ian good to know your a happy man!. quick question for Ron are the handlebars on your Norton pictured 1" bars ? only reason I ask is I have a pair of solid levers the same as the type fitted to your bike .. these are for a 7/8" bars and the clamps finish below the centre line as per yours,I dont have top levers though are they a Bowden lever ? just be nice to know what they fit. thanks Dave. P.S I have included my email address for anyone needing a glass.

email (option): dave@allied-glass.wanadoo.co.uk

Dave, is the vinyl protector visible ? Any chance of a close-up photo ? I have an original on the 16H at the moment, but it curbs my style on the green lanes as I'm paranoid about going arse-over-tit and breaking the headlamp glass (the rest I can straighten)

I can't see Ron's clamps too well, but the original for Norton were manufactured by Doherty and had quite a sophisticated friction / locking system on the top levers (Bowden used a leather washer in a conical seat, a bit of a bodge really and if the top cap detached, the whole lot flew off).

If you post a picture of yours, I can probably tell you what make they are.

Here you go Rik. vinyl cover is translucent and not noticeable and is exact size of logo.this is the one on my own WM20..As for levers I know about the bowden taper type mine just look the same as Rons..

Yes Dave. My Norton bars are 1" But I can't remember if the levers are the absolute correct Bowden type. I have most makes of levers on various bikes and can take pictures as required. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

HI Pat, Could this be your lost gearbox?
Ebay: 281224060122

sharp work.

If it is I suggest he contacts Post Office security team before the seller.