One thing, please tell me what parts or merchandise is NOT relabeled, not only for Harley Davidson. Only the parts they make their own as Motor Company are 'genuine'. The rest is purchased from special suppliers, manufacturing parts with the mark 'Harley Davidson'. The next production charge is labeled "Honda" or "Kawasaki" or what brandname ever. To comfort you all, it is not HD alone. The entire industry, from motorparts to paint and from food products to toiletpaper consists of 'manufacturing under brand name for a certain production charge'. Or do you think that your light bulbs are special manufactured for HD? No, a certain number of a production charge is specialy labeled for HD, the next for another brand and their own brand name. Your marmelade is not manufactured only under the name of your supermarket but your supermarket brand name is one of the many they produce as the same product under different brand names.
Once the cheap outdoor paint of supermarket in the Netherlands was famous for its quality and endurance. The tins were printed with the name of the supermarket involved. When I got an order to re-organize a professional paint factory who was famous for his high quality paint, amongst others in the heavy duty professional marine paint business, I discovered that the surplus of every production charge of the professional paint was packed in tins of the supermarket and delivered to them. So you see, what you see on labeling is not always what you get.

 

Hard to tell. Every so often the bean counters put out bids to numerous manufacturers for products that meet the HD requirements and specs. If they are currently using Manufacturer A, but Manufacturer B meets the standards at a lower price they will switch to "B." Their wax might be Meguiars today, but next year it could be Mothers or Collinite.

The real question shouldn't be "who makes it for them?" It should be, "Does their stuff work?" I don't care if a chemical is brewed in a vat in somebody's basement in Tentflap, AZ. If it works, it works.
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Don't know if they still do but Champion used to make the spark plugs for Harley to their specs. I always ran Champs in my Shovelhead but the Harley Champs sucked. I tried them twice and both times at least one of them crapped out within a few weeks.

 

i don't know about today but about 8 years ago or so, a machine shop here in green bay was machining the pistons for HD.

 

When I wear my HD shirt I am automatically worth 50% more. (I told my boss that...it didn't fly...)

 

This place makes Harley crankshafts. I've seen the marked pallets in the engine plant.

https://www.aam.com/

So to answer the question; just about everything is made by someone else. HD either assembles it, re-labels it or both. To be fair, that's the same thing car manufacturers do.

 

 

The tour pack latches are on lots of equipment here at work. Must have been a "right off the shelf" part.

 

I have an HD branded battery tender...with the HD sticker right over the top of the regular battery tender sticker

 

I have a pair of HD boots. Rumor has it they are Timberline. if I tatoo HD on a woman's ***, does that make her worth more?