I also have an older Japanese bike. A lot of sites will carry certain NOS parts. My bike is fairly rare with low production numbers, and I find tons of parts on www.rockymountainatvmc.com. go to the OEM parts tab and follow through with the make, year, and model and see what they carry. There's a handful of sites like this and they also have parts diagrams that are annoying but helpful. Japanese manufacturers also had a ton of parts reuse.
Things like headlights and taillights are rough but I'm able to find all sorts of parts like this. Clutch/throttle cables, clutch plates/springs, fork seals, oil seals, all sorts of screws, nuts, bolts, clamps, etc. All the weird stuff that typically falls off a bike for a non oem replacement in the field.
Bigger parts are a pain. I have a crack in the left engine cover. Thankfully it doesn't need a seal but it's impossible to find. I had to troll ebay for months to find a correct headlight bulb and I'm afraid to install it, same with the correct OEM taillight assembly.
You can almost definitely get it running and riding with non-oem parts. If its a two-stroke, they almost all used similar Mikuni Carbs. If a four stroke, you'll have to get good at tuning the carbs but parts should be there.
All that being said, I feel you on gaskets labeled for a model incorrectly, I can't rebuild my motor until I find a gasket set and my engine/gearbox is fairly unique and tons of gaskets are sold with my bike labeled but meant for a similar bike. Additionally, specialty tools suck. Its probably worth while spending the 20-30 bucks on metal tire irons. You can break a bead with a kickstand if you have the bike up on jacks. I've had to make custom gaskets with raw sheets of gasket material without any issue, just patience and a steady hand.
try to find the old man online communities for your bike. Save that old institutional knowledge before its gone.
I also have an older Japanese bike. A lot of sites will carry certain NOS parts. My bike is fairly rare with low production numbers, and I find tons of parts on www.rockymountainatvmc.com. go to the OEM parts tab and follow through with the make, year, and model and see what they carry. There's a handful of sites like this and they also have parts diagrams that are annoying but helpful. Japanese manufacturers also had a ton of parts reuse.
Things like headlights and taillights are rough but I'm able to find all sorts of parts like this. Clutch/throttle cables, clutch plates/springs, fork seals, oil seals, all sorts of screws, nuts, bolts, clamps, etc. All the weird stuff that typically falls off a bike for a non oem replacement in the field.
Bigger parts are a pain. I have a crack in the left engine cover. Thankfully it doesn't need a seal but it's impossible to find. I had to troll ebay for months to find a correct headlight bulb and I'm afraid to install it, same with the correct OEM taillight assembly.
You can almost definitely get it running and riding with non-oem parts. If its a two-stroke, they almost all used similar Mikuni Carbs. If a four stroke, you'll have to get good at tuning the carbs but parts should be there.
All that being said, I feel you on gaskets labeled for a model incorrectly, I can't rebuild my motor until I find a gasket set and my engine/gearbox is fairly unique and tons of gaskets are sold with my bike labeled but meant for a similar bike. Additionally, specialty tools suck. Its probably worth while spending the 20-30 bucks on metal tire irons. You can break a bead with a kickstand if you have the bike up on jacks. I've had to make custom gaskets with raw sheets of gasket material without any issue, just patience and a steady hand.
try to find the old man online communities for your bike. Save that old institutional knowledge before its gone.