Lucas spares

I have just been reading about Lucas on Google, and found this from;

"Although the Lucas company name is based in England, many of there parts are not made in England. We have found that some of there items are made in Taiwan, India and in the UK."

Plenty of reading re classic motorcycle parts now being re-made under the name.

I think most parts are made in 3rd world countries...mainly India. The Lucas 700 BPF headlight units are terribly badly made with the silver reflector usually full of pits and bumpy surface.....Les

Deleted repeat message....Les

I thought i had read that the only thing Lucas actually makes these days is money - from licensing the name. If the posting on another forum is correct then the "Genuine Lucas" name for our type of stuff licensed to Wassels.

I was told by a very well known trader of classic parts that the Lucas name and company was owned by TRW an company very well known in America.

From Wikipedia:

Lucas Industries plc was a well-known British manufacturer of components for the motor industry and aerospace industry. It was based in Birmingham. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In August 1996, Lucas merged with the American Varity Corporation to form LucasVarity plc.

The Lucas trademark is currently owned by ZF Friedrichshafen and is licensed to Elta Lighting for aftermarket auto parts in the United Kingdom.

This flurry of previously unobtainable parts is due to Wassells purchasing the rights to use Lucas name from the parent company of Lucas on motorcycle parts. The reputation of Wassells is patchy as they do make some absolute junk but also some good stuff too. Hopefully the licence agreement has some clauses covering quality and hence reputation of Lucas brand but for now its buyer beware.

I am a distributor for several companies who sell English bike parts, Wassell being one of them.

As to the Lucas wiring harnesses, they are Excellent quality & you will have no issues with it, in fact I have one of the same harnesses on my Model 7 & I stock a quantity of that same harness.

Keep in mind Lucas has never made every item in its catalog, but the items that they bought from outside sources had to meet their specifications. The same is true today.

I have sold a large number of the genuine Lucas Headlamps & every one has been flawless. I believe Emgo is making them, but again, the ones in the Lucas boxes must meet the Lucas standard & are warrantied as such. All items are UK tested regardless of country of origin.

It is my understanding that the wiring harnesses are made in the UK, but I will look into that & get back to you.

Lucas was at one time owned by TRW (formerly Thompson Power Products) based in Cleveland Ohio USA, just minutes from my home, but is now owned by a German firm ( ZF Friedrichshafen).

Here is the site with the motorcycle division:

http://www.lucasclassicmotorcycle.com/products.html

many of the new Genuine Lucas items are made much better than the originals, such as the wiring harnesses (looms) due to better materials being available, & more precise manufacturing facilities. We are fortunate the someone is taking the time to make these items available.

As to Wassell, they produce a wide variety of parts covering a variety of price ranges and qualities to suit each customer. As an example, I buy a large quantity of dynamo armatures from Wassell, I can buy the cheaper oriental ones, or the more expensive UK made ones. I prefer the UK made ones, made by the same firm that made them for Lucas as I prefer better quality over price. Some prefer the cheaper ones made in the orient, so Wassell carries both. Its not fair to blame Wassel for also carrying a cheap part if thats what some customers want.

I always chuckle when I read a comment on the new Hepolite pistons Wassell sells & how some prefer the old Hepolite pistons. I own old & new & can confirm without a shadow of a doubt that the new Hepolite pistons are much better quality & more consistent weight than my old ones & as a bonus, the new Wassell Hepolite pistons come complete with USA made Hastings piston rings which are hands down better quality than the originals.

Have a look at the name brands who make up the Wassell product line: Amal. Michelin, Hastings, Regina,Duritc,NGK, Champion, etc:

http://www.totalbikebits.com/

I bought a replacement ignition switch for a 1970 Commando. It looks like the real thing and has Lucas on the key but within 18months the detent in the on position is not reliable and I've gone to a quality toggle switch. I never thought that the key was a anti theft device when you can see the wires going into the back of the switch. I used to work on the premise, If you can start it you can have it. but since it is now worth a lot more than the £350 I paid for it in 1974 I tend to chain it to something substantial.

Hi David, sad to hear of the trouble with the key switch. Just curious, did you return it for a free replacement? They are covered by the warranty.

One of the reasons Lucas got back into the motorcycle parts for vintage bikes is due to all the legal work they were doing against the "fake" Lucas parts being sold in what seemed like genuine Lucas boxes. They figured if there was enough of a market for criminals to make fake pars risking legal troubles, there must be a good enough market to get back in.

I recently saw some fake Lucas tail light lenses, they really looked good, but if you looked closely the letter "U" Lucas uses, is a unique font & the lens had the wrong style "U". Most people would never notice.

I did notice on the first batch of ignition key switch cylinders I was stocking, only came with one key & it had an odd name on it. The new ones come with 2 keys & have Lucas stamped on them. I am wondering it the first batch had issues????

Skip

I managed a Diesel Injection Pump shop until 2010, having bought Lucas injection parts since 1978; parts being manufactured in England and Brazil.

In 2000, Lucas, at least the Fuel Injection section, was acquired by the American Delphi, based in Detroit.

Hans in Chile.