wow, harleys are gonna be made in...

[mattness]

I personally wanted to afford to buy Harley Davidson. ... and now what do I motorcycle spare parts which will be done in China or India? and I can not distinguish them from the original? but now have a reason to laugh at the Harley owners and poke at them with his finger-ride on China's radioactive plastic bikes. and generally a very bad trend. indeed, America's image is inextricably linked with the Harley. if it will make someone else, why not take the presidency himself something of an external control of, say, the Yamal-Nenets ... Yakut, for example. not me, of course, the bark in this case, but like all sad. disgusted that all governed solely by profit and gain. and quite often the question is not even in profit or loss, and profit margins ... Guys. I'm really sorry that all of this: (

sadly is its not just harley its every company wants to cheat like this. the sales are dropping for HD because the baby boomers, which are in their 40s-60s now, arent buying bikes anymore. so they made buell and came out with the vrod to appeal to younger guys. but younger guys cant afford 15k bikes. they dont have the money like the boomers and they WONT have the money like the boomers.

the last of the middle class is dieing out right now and working poor is considered 20k or less per year income.

the rise of communist china is already being written down for the history books, and so is the fall of the white man

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

Its not that the younger guys can't afford $15 grand for a bike. It's "Why would you pay 15 grand for a buell or vrod, when you can get a Japanese Litre bike that will kick the crap out of both of them for $10,500"?

 

[satariel666]

I heard they're adapting already :rofl_200:

Yep, Hardley Charkalson all the way :rofl_200::rofl_200::rofl_200:

 

[CaptainKyle]

One of the few things made here was the frame & its been that way for years. All the gauges ,electronics,forks,brake calipers & basically any thing that makes them run or roll has not been made here for a long time. Its just the typical Harley rider ( not all of them) wont believe that for ****. I have personally pulled a many of parts off that say made in Japan & showed them to there owners & they hate it when you show them that crap & start getting defensive real quick.

 

[SpecOps13]

A lot of the packaging says: Made in Taiwan....

Very Sad.....

 

[Rollie]

I doubt HD will have the success elsewhere like in the USA. True , there are cult like followings for HD in Japan and now Soviet block countries but there is no cultural affection for HD in many third worl countries. Who can afford them anyway? Making $3 or $4 bucks an hour? Punjab will ride his 125 cc New Delhi screamer before even considering a Hog. Same goes for Chang Lee. There just isn't the numbers of buyers to consume these bikes.

When you have a BILLION Chang Lees and Punjabs , it doesnn't take but a small % of them to do well , turn capitalist , and want to drive the Cadillac , Mercedes , or H.D.

 

[kaboom]

Harley's financial arm took bailout money.....:damn angry:

 

[RaWarrior]

Harley's financial arm took bailout money.....:damn angry:

Yep, Warren Buffet also gave them a $300M "bailout loan" since sales have been so ****** lately. HD's been getting bailouts and bugging the government for protection pretty much forever. People might finally be getting the idea that Hardly's are all image and no bike, and you can get a much better bike from, well, pretty much anybody else for less money.

I know a few people who work at a Polaris tech training center, that also deals with the Victory motorcycles. One of the key marketing blocks Pol uses to sell their bikes is that they claim 85% of a Victory is made in the US, compared to only about 50% of a HD. Pretty much the only bit Pol imports are the electronics, and only some of them.

While I can't stand Polaris, I have to say I'd buy one lightyears before I'd buy a HD. At least their bikes have some style to them, rather than the same old "classic heritage nostalgia ultra super fat glide" nonsense HD keeps churning out year after year.

 

[Slacker]

Loved the pic, KJ.

'Harley-Davidson, the iconic American motorcycle brand with a cult-like following, has announced it has chosen to build its second assembly plant ever outside the United States in India.'

OK. Where's this 2nd out of states plant? I had a 58 Pan Head owner tell me 5 yrs ago that HD's were being assembled in Mexico. Any truth to that? I know some parts come from there. Yes, parts do come from all around the planet to assemble a HD here. HD still sort of zooms people that they're getting a real American made scooter. The V Rod, for example... I believe HD is the only bike company to get gov't help. Just think, with the gov't helping HD in the 80's, the Fazer and Maxim X came to be. Great bikes. Indian, Victory, who else makes bikes here?

 

[COP RUNNER]

:ummm: .. :confused2:

 

[RaWarrior]

There was a small upstart "Fischer" motorcycles, but from what I got they were pretty much just re-badged Hyosung bikes, so I'm not sure if that really counts.

There's Eric Buell Racing now, which I think could really go places if he wants. That 1125 superbike is crazy and could really give some of the Japanese sportbikes a run for the money. Who knows if he'll scale up and build Buell back into what he originally imagined before HD neutered the whole thing since it was threatening HD sales too much.

The funniest thing is that a 1200 Sportster puts out, what, like 75hp or something? And Buell's 1125 V-twin puts out 175? I guess 75hp was probably a lot in 1960, and since HD lives for "nostalgia", that equates to it being fast, in a nostalgic sort of way.

 

[mattness]

a 1200 sporty puts 50 to the ground

 

[Rollie]

a 1200 sporty puts 50 to the ground

So does my '70 XS-1 650 :rofl_200::rofl_200::rofl_200:

 

[Heretic]

a 1200 sporty puts 50 to the ground

Typical Harley rider response to comments like this:

Yeah, well my 124 cu. in. S&S powered bad boy puts down 120hp. Yeah, put that in your pipe and smoke it! Low power H-D my ass! I can even get 5k between rebuilds! I beat Hayabusa's and jet bikes all day long!

Then you realize that's actually 2000cc and he spent $10,000 on the engine alone...:rofl_200:

 

[mattness]

i know of two guys in my town that think their 88 cubic inch harleys will go 200 mph. no $hit

one of em said he got pulled over going 180.. MILES PER HOUR.. thats how he knows

shadow 750 puts 35 to the ground
883 sportster puts 40 to the ground
vtx1300/honda fury puts 53? i believe down
sportster 1200 is 50
vulcan 2000 puts out 98 hp - The engine is all torque and no revs, signing off for good at 5250 rpm. The rush of acceleration is solid, breathtaking and gratifying, let there be no doubt. But as we've said many times before about many big-inch V-twin cruisers, this thing is no V-Max. The short-winded engine, for all its low-rpm torque, runs up quickly against its redline, necessitating a quick shift to stay off the soft electronic rev limiter, and the lack of a tachometer makes this harder to gauge than it should be.
magna 750 throws down 75hp

 

[RaWarrior]

My old V30 Magna was rated at like 65hp, plus it would spin up to a 11,500 redline, and had a six-speed. I never went against a v-rod with it, but several sportsters and dressers posed no competition whatsoever.

The 750 was only a bit stronger than the 500, I think the V65 1100's were right around 90-95.

I guess they don't put tachs on the "cruiser" bikes for the same way a lot of "family" cars don't have them either. They assume it's never going to be driven in a way that needs one, or that the driver would know/even care what it is. I still think Yamaha totally dropped the ball putting that tiny ass tach down on the airbox lid....Honda knew how to make a dash right and proper.

Having two Folgers cans for pistons is just too much weight slinging around in there to spin any faster.

 

[gamorg02]

My old V30 Magna was rated at like 65hp, plus it would spin up to a 11,500 redline, and had a six-speed. I never went against a v-rod with it, but several sportsters and dressers posed no competition whatsoever.

The 750 was only a bit stronger than the 500, I think the V65 1100's were right around 90-95.

I guess they don't put tachs on the "cruiser" bikes for the same way a lot of "family" cars don't have them either. They assume it's never going to be driven in a way that needs one, or that the driver would know/even care what it is. I still think Yamaha totally dropped the ball putting that tiny ass tach down on the airbox lid....Honda knew how to make a dash right and proper.

Having two Folgers cans for pistons is just too much weight slinging around in there to spin any faster.

agreed. altho they were able to keep the style 'timeless' the way they did. that instrument gauge, if still produced into 2007 would look FUGLY.

 

[RaWarrior]

Triumph still does that style. Equal size tach and speedo, right next to each other up top. Like on the Rocket 3. I can't find a decent picture off google, but I've seen them in person and it's a very classy design. Triumph also managed to stick a fuel gauge on them too, something that's eluded Yamaha for 20-odd years.

That's the difference I see with HD and everyone else. Triumph can take a "classic style", and update it so it's attractive all over again. Modern technology and lines "inspired" by older models. Harley just keeps making the exact same bike year after year and tries to sell it as "nostalgic" and "classic", without actually doing any work. I guess why bother....people keep standing in line for the same old crap year after year.
I really like the style of the new Thunderbirds and the R3. Wonder if British bikes have redlines on the tachs yet?

Those gauges off an '85 Honda would look ugly on a new bike no doubt, from the plasticky face and very "80s" look to them. Give it a fresh look but keep the size, layout, and placement the same and it'd be great. Always seems the tach was on the right and speedo on the left....never seen a bike with it the other way.

 

[gamorg02]

Triumph still does that style. Equal size tach and speedo, right next to each other up top. Like on the Rocket 3. I can't find a decent picture off google, but I've seen them in person and it's a very classy design. Triumph also managed to stick a fuel gauge on them too, something that's eluded Yamaha for 20-odd years.

That's the difference I see with HD and everyone else. Triumph can take a "classic style", and update it so it's attractive all over again. Modern technology and lines "inspired" by older models. Harley just keeps making the exact same bike year after year and tries to sell it as "nostalgic" and "classic", without actually doing any work. I guess why bother....people keep standing in line for the same old crap year after year.
I really like the style of the new Thunderbirds and the R3. Wonder if British bikes have redlines on the tachs yet?

Those gauges off an '85 Honda would look ugly on a new bike no doubt, from the plasticky face and very "80s" look to them. Give it a fresh look but keep the size, layout, and placement the same and it'd be great. Always seems the tach was on the right and speedo on the left....never seen a bike with it the other way.

in theory yes, i meant more the lights and black plastic the way its moulded n such looks dated.

 

[mattness]

my other magnas were positioned like that too. i always hated where the gen 1 tach was : /