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[FLSTFI Dave]

There are a lot of foreign company parts on a Harley.  Many of those, like the Starter, made by Denso, are made in the USA.  Denso is the 4th largest supplier of parts in the world.  A Japanese company with 22 plants in the USA, the Starter is made in Maryville TN.  Many other parts are the same, a foreign company, but made in USA.

[charles05663]

I've never been "hung up" with the notion that ya gotta buy the item that is made in America.  As a pre (baby boomer), I can tell ya that I bought whatever from whereever the best one was made.  When I learned to snow ski waaaaaaay back when, my skis were made in Austria as I recall,  the ski bindings were made in France.

Those countries had the skills and knowledge to make those items the best.  Same with ski boots, back then, there was only one ski boot as I recall made in the USA.

My cornet that I played in grade school was made in Chechleslovokia.  My enduro bike (Bultaco) was made in Spain.  Most Harleys way too heavy for enduro riding.  My shotgun was a Browning.   John Browning I believe was American,  but my version of his 12 gauge shotgun was made in Belgium.

How many of you have Glocks and/or Sig Sauers,  etc. 

Bottom line,  buying American is (not) always the wisest or best choice to be making.

I agree.  I buy the best I can.  Unfortunately, Harley sells the lowest quality product they think they can get away with.

I like buying American because it supports American workers.  Buying stuff from China only supports the CEO's bonus and builds up China's world power.  We are starting to see them flexing their muscle and it is not going to be pretty.

[moscooter]

I agree.  I buy the best I can.  Unfortunately, Harley sells the lowest quality product they think they can get away with.

I like buying American because it supports American workers.  Buying stuff from China only supports the CEO's bonus and builds up China's world power.  We are starting to see them flexing their muscle and it is not going to be pretty.

Charles........if you are interested,  I recently got a stunning email regarding just what all China has been doing and where we are today with it all.  I'm at moscooter@aol.com,  send me your email address and I'll forward that China writeup to ya.

[Road Dad]

Benefits other than CEO's. Company employees in the US, Investors, shareholders, 401K holders (which is most of us), and everyone that shops at Walmart.

If we can't be competitive we will not be the choice for manufacturing.

I agree.  I buy the best I can.  Unfortunately, Harley sells the lowest quality product they think they can get away with.

I like buying American because it supports American workers.  Buying stuff from China only supports the CEO's bonus and builds up China's world power.  We are starting to see them flexing their muscle and it is not going to be pretty.

[mark]

I agree.  I buy the best I can.  Unfortunately, Harley sells the lowest quality product they think they can get away with.

I like buying American because it supports American workers.  Buying stuff from China only supports the CEO's bonus and builds up China's world power.  We are starting to see them flexing their muscle and it is not going to be pretty.

In our global economy, I don't think anyone can truly "buy American."  What does that mean?  Buying a GM vehicle made in another country?  How about a BMW or Mercedes, made in South Carolina or Alabama? Is that "buying American?"  Honda has a plant in Alabama, Nissan in Mississippi...and the list could go on.  I bought a Samsung TV...it was made in Mexico.

[CAmike]

Whether Harley is the best or wisest choice really depends a lot on personal preference. Are there motorcycles with more efficient engines that put out more horsepower? Yes. Are there motorcycles that handle better? Yes. Are there motorcycles that give you more bang for the buck? Yes.
I bought a Harley because it is a beautiful machine, extremely comfortable, sounds awesome and I enjoy riding it whenever I can. There is a reason Harley has the highest profit per motorcycle. That profit is shrinking but so are Harley's competitors profits.

[grc]

In keeping with my penchant for tilting at windmills, I try very hard to buy American made whenever possible.  Yes I know all about the "global economy" and what that has done to our middle class, and I also know all about how even American brand names are often American in name only.  That still doesn't stop me from seeking out real American made items, such as buying New Balance 990's instead of Nike's, and taking a pass on as many made in China items as I can.  The globalists have basically told America's workforce they now have to compete directly with the lowest paid people on the planet, and the planet has an endless supply of poor people.  First we lost massive numbers of jobs to Mexico, then the jobs moved to Asia, then India, and we still have plenty of other poor countries available to take those jobs.  China has already found themselves having to increase wages and thus lose jobs to other lower cost countries.  Some say they will go to robotics to try to keep the business they have, and they have already done so in some industries.  I remember one of the main cheerleaders for NAFTA blowing off concerns about losing manufacturing jobs by saying Americans would just shift over to "service" sector jobs.  Yeah, right.  Would you like fries with that?

The sad fact is that there are rapidly growing numbers of Americans who now have very little hope of having a better life than their parents, something we baby boomers took for granted.  But as long as the rich get wildly richer, everything is good, right?  Yup, right up to the time when the peons revolt again just like in the history books.  Sadly I doubt I'll still be around to see it.  I was looking forward to watching a guillotine in action.

Jerry