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Is a Harley Davidson Truly Made in America?

by Steve
Wednesday, December 29, 2004

This discussion always comes up in a forum somewhere across the Internet. It came up again this morning in a blog. The blogger listed out several parts that she feels certain is made foreign countries.

While I'm sure that several HD parts are indeed made in other countries, the fact is that there is very little of anything that is 100% made in America. The blogger notes that HD speedometers are made somewhere else. But a speedometer consists of several components. A company that builds speedometers get their parts from somewhere else also.

But I think however, that when it comes to "made in America" what we're really talking about is who is getting our money. I'd rather have my money going to a company that employs Americans in some capacity. And that's the case with Harley Davidson.

I noted earlier that Honda and Yamaha announced plans to have more of their motorcycles built in China. I know this is all economics and is about keeping prices competitive. But when someone tries to tell you that your Harley is actually built overseas, the point is that Americans still benefit from the sales of HD bikes.

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4 Comments:

  • While it’s true that America, the country, benefits from the sale of Harley Davidson Motorcycles, the same can be said of all motorcycles, regardless of where they’re manufactured.

    Motorcycles made on foreign soil are subject to a tariff upon entry into the United States. Then there are the people who make a living by unloading those motorcycles from the ship. Transporting them to locations all over the country also generates revenue that goes directly into the pocket of Americans. There are dealerships who sell these machines and service technicians who work on them. Let us also not forget the companies who make after market parts for all those metric bikes. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry with most of the money staying right here in America.

    Companies like Honda are finding it advantageous to manufacturer some of its bikes here in the United States. With 8 plants and over 20,000 employees, a very large amount of cash flows directly into the pockets of Americans in the form of wages and benefits. By September of 2003, Honda had made a capitol investment of $4 billion dollars right here in the US.

    It would be impossible for Harley Davidson to keep up with the demand for motorcycles in this country if it was the sole source, and millions of American riders would be unable to enjoy the open road. The sale of these foreign motorcycles places much needed dollars into the pockets of Americans.

    Metric bikes have extremely high quality and value for the dollar. They’re more affordable to the masses in comparison to Harley Davidson and offer a very large variety in style.

    I personally ride a 2000 Yamaha Royal Star Boulevard and am the author of the blog you referenced above (although I’m a “he” and not a “she”).

    By Anonymous Tone Parsons, at 6/16/2005 03:40:00 PM  

  • What a great response, Parsons. Unbelievably, people are still easily manipulated by the Harley marketing geniuses. I just got tired of getting into this discussion with people who are otherwise...smarter in their everyday lives. Of course, the blank stares you get when you state the facts is priceless. Unfortunately it is almost always followed by some accusation of unpatriotism.

    By Anonymous Sal, at 10/14/2007 08:15:00 PM  

  • here's a good article on CNN illustrating the economic impact of Honda in Ohio:

    http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/01/auto.main/index.html

    Honda purchases $12 billion from American suppliers of parts and materials annually and has invested $6 billion in Ohio.

    Harley Davidson makes less than $6 billion in total revenue per year, and what fraction of that is purchases from American suppliers? - Obviously they put far less money into the hands of Americans than does Honda.

    If feeding the families of blue-collar America is patriotic then buy a Honda.

    By Blogger Bobrahman, at 5/22/2008 11:57:00 AM  

  • While on a trip to the Amazon, we flew into Manaus, Brazil, which I have to say is one of the poorest cities I have every seen, people were living in cardboard boxes on the "filthy" streets. We boarded a boat to take us to the eco-lodge we were staying at and along the way, our Brazilian guide pointed out this huge mansion that was situated on the Amazon River. He told us that it belonged to the mayor of the city and so did the yacht docked behind the house. Apparently his pay is not very much, about what a teacher would make here in the U.S., so we were a little curious as to how he made his money. The guide then told us that Harley Davidson had a big factory there and that the people who worked there got a ridiculously low wage, but the mayor, got some kind of incintive for making Harley Davidson welcome in his rural town. We saw children with tummies swollen from worms they ingested drinking contaminated water, a man dying of gangrene from a fresh water stingray wound, and people living along the river and tributaries that had shacks with some walls made of tarps only. Yet the mayor of the nearest city lived in a manner better than myself and most
    Americans. I was dissapointed to here that this was mostly due to his side income from H.D., per our guide mind you.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10/22/2008 02:33:00 PM  

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