The problem with Harleys is....

[Iron_Zombie]

Every Harley states clearly where it was assembled/made and it most certainly is in the U S of A

Mine was born in Kansas city.

[NMBRPL8]

Assembled in USA, from parts made in china, japan, australia, taiwan, brazil, and as a token gesture, throw in some american made bits too :p Still, better than Rolls Royce, built in germany, shipped to england in kit form and assembled there so the badge can say 'made in england'

[Kiwi]

Assembled in USA, from parts made in china, japan, australia, taiwan, brazil, and as a token gesture, '

What parts are made where exactly?

[g0zer]

P/$ = LOLO_alarm

[El Skitzo]

What parts are made where exactly?

[Kiwi]

OK.. sweet as, I submit.

[Skut]

I am at a loss as to why "Made in America" is such a good thing (unless you are American and rooting for the local economy/manufacturing). Every bit of American made photography kit I have experienced has looked like it was built up in a garage using Tandy breadboards and shitty solder and sold for a premium because of "Made in USA".

[THX1138]

Used to be the same when they asked us to 'buy British' - and their stuff ws absolute crap.

[chew]

Well depends if it was made in Usa, Oita Prefecture, Japan or U.S.A.

Back on topic, there is no problem with this Harley

[NMBRPL8]

What parts are made where exactly?

Further to El Skitzos excellent picture there, the forks have been japanese since nearly forever, the electrics are japanese/chinese/taiwanese/mexican/thai/indonesian, the cast alloy wheels are Australian made, or were until recently, probably moving that to india or china or somewhere similar. To put a tag on the harley that says 'made in america' they legally must be 50% or more american built, parts and all. They tried to do this a while back, and wound up in court for it, and now you wont find made in america on their bikes. Word on the street is your looking at about 85% imported parts on most harleys.

[shmoo]

No different to GM calling a commodore Australian.

It is surprising how little of the assembly of a product needs to occur in Australia for it to get the 'australian made' tag.

[Macca1]

I'm happy its so important to be made in America, my Honda VTX was made in Ohio USA.

They reportedly had more local parts than a Harley.

Cheers

Macca

[Kiwi]

To put a tag on the harley that says 'made in america' they legally must be 50% or more american built, parts and all. They tried to do this a while back, and wound up in court for it, and now you wont find made in america on their bikes. Word on the street is your looking at about 85% imported parts on most harleys.

Talkin shit?

dsc02197sj.jpg

[truewheel]

Evil Kenevil was nay a fag...

evil kenevil2.jpg

[NMBRPL8]

No, not talking shit. Im not 100% sure on the exact percentage but general concensus is around 85-86% imported parts. And the picture of the tag posted doesnt say made in america, it says the company is american. Big difference. The commodore dealio im not as familiar with anymore, but i dont know if they are claiming to be made in Australia, or again just saying the company is australian. Its the Marketing Machine, something all of them do, whats that chinese motorbike, daelim or something, their ads always scream ten times DESIGNED IN EUROPE to give you a false sense of security. Its still a chinese bike but they are free to tell you where it was designed.
Harley has always excelled at marketing, they make a shitload more off acessories and merchandise than actual motorcycles. Marketing. And giving the impression that its american made, without crossing the legal line and outright claiming it is american made, is just a good marketing strategy.

Personally i dont care where they are made, i ride a jap bike, im getting the missus a royal enfield built in india. Wont bother either of us any, by the time im done itl be 'built from eBay' most likely lol
It only seems to matter where its made when people start getting overly proud of the bikes origins. I really dont think it should matter to owners or non owners or any man and his dog where they are made, but i do think people should be aware of the fact that they arent the 'all american' bkes that some people think they are. Thats all. But by the time you swap out a load of parts and add a bunch of acessories, you will change that percentage again

[NMBRPL8]

Sorry, clarification, macca the tag you posted says an american company. Kiwi the tag you posted shows a sticker on the frame saying the frame was made in america, one of the few parts that is, but its an important part after all!

**edit for clarification Kiwi im talking of the USW tag, the bit your posting to show it says made in america. USW is united steel workers, shows that the frame is built by union labourers at the harley plants in america. They also make a small pportion of the rims for a few bikes too. heres the wiki page if your interested. United Steelworkers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[agrid]

My "German" car was made in Portugal. While I was in China I had a ride in a number of locally-made Volkswagens, I expected bits to be hanging off and the leather seats to look like shit but the quality control is obviously in place. I suppose the Chinese robots work just a well as the German robots.

[kawabunga]

When ever I see a bike that has broken down at the side of the road it usually tends to be a Harley.....

[thumper humper]

When ever I see a bike that has broken down at the side of the road it usually tends to be a Harley.....

How do you know it was broken down just because its on the side of the road?
Bikes do run out fuel,owners do stop for a piss,backsides do ache after a long ride necessitating a stop.
Some owners neglect the maintenance on their bike and any bike will break down because of that.

[Kiwi]

Sorry, clarification, macca the tag you posted says an american company. Kiwi the tag you posted shows a sticker on the frame saying the frame was made in america, one of the few parts that is, but its an important part after all!

**edit for clarification Kiwi im talking of the USW tag, the bit your posting to show it says made in america. USW is united steel workers, shows that the frame is built by union labourers at the harley plants in america. They also make a small pportion of the rims for a few bikes too. heres the wiki page if your interested. United Steelworkers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

OK no worries.
I know that some of the bits that make my bike are not made in the US, percentages I don't really care about. But I do enjoy the heritage/history. I have visited the home of HD in Wisconsin, a few years ago ( 09 ) when they were building Buells there, and they were most certainly making the cylinder heads and alot of the other engine components then.

When we go back in June I am planning a visit to the Dyna plant in Kansas City, just cause I find shit like that interesting.
I have a Ducati too, that suckers got Made in Japan written all over the electrics.....