Gah! I got a card through the door today to say that I owe UK Customs some money and I can't have my 7602 slave piston 'til I pony up. That's the first time I ever had to pay duty on imported stuff (and one of the least expensive shipments too - phew!!) I'll go pay tomorrow and then think of an excuse why I'm working on my bike instead of laying paving slabs at my GF's house.
Ahhh man, that sucks. Sorry about that. Seems like paying import duties kinda depends on how the customs agent is feeling that day.
I truly feel your pain. Same thing happened with my BRP fuel cap a couple of weeks back. Really annoying for two reasons. :rant: Firstly because of the delay while it sits in the customs shed for 2 days, then it gets to the courier and they post you a card, you get the card and make the payment, then they finally deliver the package (or you avoid another three days wait by going to the depot to pay and collect as I did, which was over a 2 hour round trip and of course the cost of the gas). Secondly because ParcelFarce charged an administration fee for collecting the sales/import tax on behalf of Her Britannic Majesty (God bless you ma'am) which was more than the amount of the tax itself! I've had to pay import charges several times in recent years as they seem to be hotter on it than they used to be. It mostly depends on what the label on the package says. If it says "Gift, value $0" then usually you won't be charged anything. If it says "Exotic foreign bling for one of those filthy, antisocial, dangerous motorcycles, value $1Million", then brace yourself.
Sorry you got stung too, Pete. Yeah, maybe if H.M. teh Queen was into bikes it'd be a little easier and cheaper, although with her ancestry I wonder if she has any contacts in BMW...(a joke that only other Brits would get!) The whole excise thing is a can o' worms - you can ask the sender to declare "gift" on the package, but max. item value is £35 (I think) and it's at their risk of being busted and it'll not be insured for the trip I believe, so it's impolite to even suggest it. No worries here btw - a friend is off to Dubai next week to teach rich tourists xtreme sports so instead of dicking around with my clutch tonight I went for a few beers. My local post office branch is mebbe 6 miles away so I'll pick up the part tomorrow (and stop off at work for a fried breakfast). Back on topic, my stock clutch is pretty good after some fettling (I have a bloggy story I've been meaning to post) but I'm hoping the new piston will eradicate the occasional grabbiness that I get before the motor's properly hot - not a problem on the dirt, but a liability in traffic. I'll keep the Cafe posted after the part is fitted.
I know, that's why I never expect or ask anyone to do it. Some people just do it anyway on their own initiative and take the risk! BRP didn't but I don't blame them and at least I now have a fabulous fuel cap. Having had the leaking seal replaced in the master cylinder and the clutch fluid drained and replaced this week, I'm hoping that will have cured the occasional problems I had with not being able to quite disengage the clutch fully when the engine's hot. Couldn't see any obvious damage in the slave cylinder, but if the problem's still there it may be time for me to brave HM Customs again and order up a slave piston just to be on the safe side. We'll see this weekend...
