Disappointing
Club Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 11,174
Likes: 2,480
From: Nor Cal
As a sort of a twist....
Company I work for sells components to an aerospace manufacturer that has sub assemblies made in China, so we ship the components directly there. One particular part, a little fastener with a threaded hole.... we sent a shipment of 27,000 the last time. They found 3 without threads & rejected the lot.
The Chinese certainly can do quality control, when it's in their interest.
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For ROCKOUT information & purchasing please click the LINKS below...
Company I work for sells components to an aerospace manufacturer that has sub assemblies made in China, so we ship the components directly there. One particular part, a little fastener with a threaded hole.... we sent a shipment of 27,000 the last time. They found 3 without threads & rejected the lot.
The Chinese certainly can do quality control, when it's in their interest.
__________________________________________________ ____
For ROCKOUT information & purchasing please click the LINKS below...
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 2,034
Likes: 127
I think this is the way it works. Somebody advise if it works differently.
The buyer at the MOCO specs the part out and then sends it out to various vendors for a manufacture quote. The vendors then respond with their various bids. Since there are no boundaries anymore, the bids go out for worldwide distribution. Harley does manufacture some of their parts at different sites around the world. Once parts are sourced they are sent to the various Harley sites for assembly. Since American labor rates are some of the highest in the world, we don't manufacture/sell nearly as many things as we did back in the 70's. Countries that have the lowest labor rates can sell for less.
The cheapest quote usually get the bid as long as they meet the specific specifications from the MOCO buyer.
Do cheaper costing parts always translate into lower prices for consumers. Hell no, unless you buy your Harley at Walmart.
The buyer at the MOCO specs the part out and then sends it out to various vendors for a manufacture quote. The vendors then respond with their various bids. Since there are no boundaries anymore, the bids go out for worldwide distribution. Harley does manufacture some of their parts at different sites around the world. Once parts are sourced they are sent to the various Harley sites for assembly. Since American labor rates are some of the highest in the world, we don't manufacture/sell nearly as many things as we did back in the 70's. Countries that have the lowest labor rates can sell for less.
The cheapest quote usually get the bid as long as they meet the specific specifications from the MOCO buyer.
Do cheaper costing parts always translate into lower prices for consumers. Hell no, unless you buy your Harley at Walmart.
Club Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 11,174
Likes: 2,480
From: Nor Cal
I think this is the way it works. Somebody advise if it works differently.
The buyer at the MOCO specs the part out and then sends it out to various vendors for a manufacture quote. The vendors then respond with their various bids. Since there are no boundaries anymore, the bids go out for worldwide distribution. Harley does manufacture some of their parts at different sites around the world. Once parts are sourced they are sent to the various Harley sites for assembly. Since American labor rates are some of the highest in the world, we don't manufacture/sell nearly as many things as we did back in the 70's. Countries that have the lowest labor rates can sell for less.
The cheapest quote usually get the bid as long as they meet the specific specifications from the MOCO buyer.
Do cheaper costing parts always translate into lower prices for consumers. Hell no, unless you buy your Harley at Walmart.
The buyer at the MOCO specs the part out and then sends it out to various vendors for a manufacture quote. The vendors then respond with their various bids. Since there are no boundaries anymore, the bids go out for worldwide distribution. Harley does manufacture some of their parts at different sites around the world. Once parts are sourced they are sent to the various Harley sites for assembly. Since American labor rates are some of the highest in the world, we don't manufacture/sell nearly as many things as we did back in the 70's. Countries that have the lowest labor rates can sell for less.
The cheapest quote usually get the bid as long as they meet the specific specifications from the MOCO buyer.
Do cheaper costing parts always translate into lower prices for consumers. Hell no, unless you buy your Harley at Walmart.
Just wanted to add...It's Bob
"The buyer at the MOCO"...His name is "Bob"
(btw, Willie G likes Bob...he's named a few bikes after him)
Tourer
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 254
Likes: 13
From: Stanwood, WA
A guy I work with just had some of his chrome parts sent to be powder coated black. The guy who does the powder coating told him that Harley chrome is known to have pitting. How the hell can you sell pitted chrome parts like that? I guess I've been lucky (knocks on wood) and haven't seen this on my bike.
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 1,712
Likes: 410
From: Puyallup, WA
The Chinese are more than happy to manufacture cheap crap. But in the end it all come down to; design, engineering, cost, and quality control. Spec it cheap, send it out for bid, and accept the junk. It is nothing more than corporate greed.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 2,034
Likes: 127
So who can we blame for bad chrome or shoddy products?
It is us. We are the ones who tolerate this behavior. We are the guilty ones because we keep buying this crap. The retailers are just doing what they are supposed to do-provide a product.
We bitch when the quality is not up to our specs, but we buy it anyway. Peter Lynch once coined the phrase "Bladder Theory" in which he suggest that countries and individuals make poor decisions when they have too much money on hand. In essence, we tend to **** it away.
It is us. We are the ones who tolerate this behavior. We are the guilty ones because we keep buying this crap. The retailers are just doing what they are supposed to do-provide a product.
We bitch when the quality is not up to our specs, but we buy it anyway. Peter Lynch once coined the phrase "Bladder Theory" in which he suggest that countries and individuals make poor decisions when they have too much money on hand. In essence, we tend to **** it away.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 3,156
Likes: 56
From: Milwaukee
Four years ago when I did my yaffe bars I got new (overpriced) clutch and brake levers cause I had gift cards to Harley and bought some cheap $15 teardrop style mirrors online. I thought for sure those mirrors would look like crap after one season. Wrong, The levers look like shyt and the mirrors still look brand new.
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