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that would be a terrible day indeed, guess i would start riding victory motorcycles or get a custom bike made here...
it's strange to read this because of the socialization and unionization of france. judging by peoples replies here if more and more people unionized we would have essentially protectionism going on and no more foreign goods coming in and all jobs will return from afar...
the unions are all powerful in france and yet NOTHING is made there... hmmm i wonder why?
FYI i use gillette razors i think those are still made in france right?
it's only a matter of time until the US manufactures nothing, once budweiser became Budenhizer i gave up all hope.
The US will never be like France. Believe me! You wanna know why? Because here in the US people are generous, they help each other towards the common good. In France, people are extremely selfish. Yes a lot of people are unionized (first time I hear that word btw) but these unions are against any law that will law that will not benefit their own people. I don't know if that makes sense.....we have so many socialists that people who actually have a bit of money should give away everything they make to pay others that do nothing (not because they cannot do a thing but because they prefer not too - because they getr paid anyway). So lets the the French Government makes a new law that will not benefit entirely the guys in the union, well you have a strike, people go on the streets and the Government puts its pants down once again. And because different unions each want something specific to their needs, therefore the unions don't agree and when there is a law that will make YOUR Life better but not the one of your neighbor, STRIKE!
Therefore, nothing ever moves in France. And the Government wants to control all big companies so the mess is even bigger.
Need to look at what is causing companies to move industry off shore nationwide.
Start in Washington.
Exactly. H-D has to survive first and foremost. It does no good to tout American Pride as they go out of business when they simply cannot compete with the competition ALL OF WHOM are using foreign parts/labor.
That $20 t-shirt would be $30 if made in America thanks to Unions, labor laws, etc.
The Showa shocks on a Harley are designed and built in Japan as are the brakes. Other components on the bike come from other countries. The VRod engine was designed in the Austrian offices of a Canadian company (Rotax owned by BRP). The steel in a Harley did not come from North Ameriaca. On the other hand a lot of the Japanese bikes and cars are designed in the US and Europe. Most of the Hondas, Toyotas and Mazdas sold in the US are built in the US or Canada. In todays global economy a complex product like a motorcycle or car will be designed and manufactured in multiple countries. A new Ford model was designed in Austrilia but will be manufactured in the US. The image of a Harley wrapped in an American flag is just marketing.
Last edited by twowheelstoo; Nov 20, 2009 at 09:15 AM.
The Showa shocks on a Harley are designed and built in Japan as are the brakes. Other components on the bike come from other countries. The VRod engine was designed in the Austrian offices of a Canadian company (Rotax owned by BRP). The steel in a Harley did not come from North Ameriaca. On the other hand a lot of the Japanese bikes and cars are designed in the US and Europe. Most of the Hondas, Toyotas and Mazdas sold in the US are built in the US or Canada. In todays global economy a complex product like a motorcycle or car will be designed and manufactured in multiple countries. A new Ford model was designed in Austrilia but will be manufactured in the US. The image of a Harley wrapped in an American flag is just marketing.
you've written this in like four different threads, in another one you clearly said that (speaking of harley davidson motorcycles) "so it purchases most of the components from outside manufacturers, most of which are Asian..." here you are stating that harley purchases "most" (key word) of its components from asian countries. i gotta call BS on this until you provide some evidence...
in your statement above you are claiming things like most japanese cars are designed and built in the US, most harley components are built in asian countries. me thinks you need to start backing this stuff up instead of just writing it.
let me guess you got sold on that honda shadow or some other metric at 25% off sticker and now you're trying to justify that purchase (even though you really friggin want a harley) with this hyperbolic argument?
Unless you work for HD it would be difficult to know the true source of various parts. Buy, yeah, the global economy thing is bending the perceptions of what is made where to the point where it is almost moot. I said almost. I'm more dissappointed in GM than HD. They took taxpayer money and you would be very dissappointed in their domestic parts content. Harley is doing ok so far.
anyone else feeelin this? I love my bike so thats really not the issue. I'm pissed off because of the "american pride" that harley sells and yet everything they make is either mexico, phillipens, china....and then they still charge 20$ for a t shirt?
They just loose their credibility to me, i have alot of harley shirts from christmas prresents and what not but i will not be buyin anything from them anymore (besides parts for my bike and those will only be neccassary mechanical parts, nothin bolt on from them) because although i have american pride i feel as though harley could give a **** less they just wanna sell stuff and when thats all your intereseted in....when people loose track of where they came from and who helped get them there...well i believe that should not be rewarded.
Anyone else disapointed in hd's moves latley? Buell's gone, 200+ american factory workers out of a job but harley revamping and gettting into "new markets" with all there china crap
just disaponted
here here
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I sold my 2007 Ultra with 4,000 miles and reinhardt's, cell phone interface, thundermaxx with wide-band O2 sensors, extras, extras and more crap I put on it, for $14,000. It had always been garaged, and never fell over. I wasted more money on that thing than I would have if I had bought an airplane. I did all the maintenance and work myself. That was the biggest pile of junk I ever owned. When ever I miss my bike I go to the nearest Harley Dealer, and look at the quality of the bikes. From 20 feet they still look great, but up close, they are getting worse and worse. The Harley I use to know is gone. They don't make Hogs anymore, they make harley davidson's -made in china, assembled in America-
2005 Softail Springer
2007 Ultra Classic (1,300 degree exhaust head temp after wasting $6,000 trying to correct the heat problem)
I sold my 2007 Ultra with 4,000 miles and reinhardt's, cell phone interface, thundermaxx with wide-band O2 sensors, extras, extras and more crap I put on it, for $14,000. It had always been garaged, and never fell over. I wasted more money on that thing than I would have if I had bought an airplane. I did all the maintenance and work myself. That was the biggest pile of junk I ever owned. When ever I miss my bike I go to the nearest Harley Dealer, and look at the quality of the bikes. From 20 feet they still look great, but up close, they are getting worse and worse. The Harley I use to know is gone. They don't make Hogs anymore, they make harley davidson's -made in china, assembled in America-
2005 Softail Springer
2007 Ultra Classic (1,300 degree exhaust head temp after wasting $6,000 trying to correct the heat problem)
I'm sure glad that when I look at my '08 EGS I see good looking parts that continue to do their job. Go buy a Honda if you don't like how HDs look, or if you think their parts are sub-standard. 4th post and you're blasting Harleys.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.