Is it just me, or do you...

[Dan]

go into your local dealer and look at all of the bling you would like to buy for your bike and just put it back after seeing where it is made? I know that my bike has parts made outside of the USA, not that I am thrilled about that but it wasn't until after I bought it that my delusion of it being 100% made in the USA was torn apart.

This isn't about picking up a part and seeing the price and putting it back due to the cost per say, but more to do with the premium price that is charged on items made outside the USA with cheap labor. This includes everything at the dealer not just parts.

Here recently I have noticed that the dealers may be hit by this on a greater scale than I would have imagined. It is to the point that the dealers appear to be putting price stickers over where the part was made. At first I thought this was only due to there being a different price per dealer but have found that the pricing is the same at any one of the half a dozen dealers that are close to me.

So I guess what the question is, do you try and buy items/parts made in the USA from other sources, just go ahead and buy at the dealer, or just say screw it and leave empty handed?

I myself have saved thousands of dollars just because I have put alot of stuff back due to where it was made.

[gruss]

Well Dan,
I dont spend alot of time at the dealer, due to the fact that i dont usually buy factory parts unless i have a repair to do, that cant be done any other way...I generally buy American products when i can, even if the price is higher.

I have the belief that if my money stays inside the USA, i'm in some small part, helping an American worker. So i suppose it's safe to say that i would turn and walk away from a non-US part, if i didnt need to have it in order to keep the bike running.

My last mods were done with parts made in the USA, with the exception of the gas cap, and i didnt have a choice on that one at the dealer or otherwise.

It's a shame to see so many parts made elsewhere.......g

[jirvin]

I hate to say it but I'm afraid we Americans are partly to blame. We demand a low price even if the item is less quality. Now I know there is a select few of us (probably all Harley riders) that will pay a little more for US made, but just look at Wal Mart! I don't see less cars in their parking lot and they are full of Made in China junk!

[Dan]

Oh I forgot to add whatever you do is up to you and I didn't start this thread to bash anyone for what they do. Just a topic to discuss and see if I was the only one, which so far I am not.

[41bigdawg]

It is a sad state of affairs when you can find what you need made in the USA!! This is due to the fact that this country doesn't really make anything anymore so I do the best I can to find American products but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet if you really need it. I think more about that too and ask myself do I really need this before I buy something that is made in China.

[Crocodile56]

No its not just you!!!

It makes me sick, Genuine Harley Davidson Parts made in China or where ever! Just goes to show ya what direction this country is heading, I guess that's why we have a 18% unemployment rate or is it higher? :gruss : :help

[Bonsai]

Well...somebody has to be the outsider.

I have never not bought anything because of where it's made. I will buy American if they make what I want for the price I want to pay.

It makes little to no difference to me where, when or who made it.

As an aside I also have near zero brand loyalty. Don't get me wrong, if I like a produc made by company x it's likely I'll buy from them again but it's never in stone.

So to answer your question directly I have no idea where the parts I have bought from the dealer are made, I never looked.


I'll leave it at that or it'll turn political in a skinny minute.


Well....I'd never own a Suzuki but that's another thread...LOL

[sonnyd]

Dan, No as others have said, it's not just you. This conversation is comming up a lot lately. I don't mean here, I mean everywhere. I
also collect knives. The very same conversation is going on in one of my knife forums. I had the conversation yesterday at the bar I
stopped in. Seems everyone is getting frustrated about not being able to find American made products. I sell Auto parts and not a day
goes by where at least 1 customer doesn't exclaim "can't I get anything made in the USA anmore?" or "Do you have one made in the
U.S.?"
Converation at the bar yesterday was about Harley parts. It's a Biker bar so the normal converation is Harley's. Guy was talking about how
everything he saw was made in Pakistan, and I nodded. He asked me where my Harley hat was made and I laughed because I already knew
from looking and told him,.....Bangladesh! Told him the Harley jeans I was wearing were made in Mexico, the Harley belt I was wearing was
made in China, and my 250 dollar and 600 dollar Harley coats were both made in China. The Harley packaged laydown license plate holder and
footpegs, and temperature dipstick were all made in Taiwan. I have yet to buy a Harley product made in the USA except some of the dealer tee shirts.
I'm really getting tired of it personally. I don't mean to bash anyone either, but damn it I'd like to start buying some products made right HERE!
I try my darndest to buy things made here. I'm by no means a super Patriot or anything, but it's a SAD SAD thing when you have to search high
and low to get something made in your own country.
I agree with whoever said the part that we are partly to blame for demanding cheap prices on everything, because I agree. I know this country
has had some companies putting out junk products, but damn it, things need to change.
Regards Sonny

[WideOpen]

I make an effort to buy American but it can be a challenge. I have paid attention to clothes labels for several years. If it says Qatar or United Arab Emirates or Jordan, I put it back on the rack. Pretty much the same with China. If it is a country we support in trade, like Mexico, then I'm a little more lax. My Samsung TV was made in Mexico. If you want small consumer electronics, you're going to buy from China, it is almost impossible not to, even when you are buying premium brands. Leather goods are the same story. You can buy an American made leather jacket, but be prepared to drop a months pay. I recently bought a new pair of Chippewa motorcycle boots, made in the USA. But I have a different pair of Chippewa buffalo hide waterproofs that were made in China. Didn't know it until they were delivered. Many companies have chosen to move their manufacturing offshore to drive down costs. The service industry has headed the same way. You'll know what I mean the next time you call customer service and Rashid answers the call with such poor language skills you just give up after a while. I think I will continue to resist passively, may not do any good, but it seems like the right thing. Sorry for the ramble, must be turning into a geezer.

[steveston]

I hear you guys...I recently was shopping for leather and was hard pressed to find USA made items. Any way I decided to go to the HD dealer and by the top of the line FXRG outfit and damn it is also made in China.....Dropped over a G on the jacket & Pants.....

[toorglide]

Genuine Harley Davidson Parts

aint that an oxymoron.......to use that term in the same sentence........wooops

[vlade]

I rike Harrey David-san.! Rike Yakasoba too. Ervis Presrey was the Greatist

[sonnyd]

I hear you guys...I recently was shopping for leather and was hard pressed to find USA made items. Any way I decided to go to the HD dealer and by the top of the line FXRG outfit and damn it is also made in China.....Dropped over a G on the jacket & Pants.....

Yeah, my 1 jacket that's all leather was 600. I couldn't believe it when I looked at the label, but I did buy it anyway. I'll have to say though, Harley must be using
premium Chinese shops because I went over that jacket with a fine tooth comb, and I couldn't fine a flaw on it. All stitcing was straight and clean. Looks like with
some care it would last a life time.
Regards Sonny

[Dan]

I'm not saying the stuff made outside the US doesn't have a quality standard that the MOCO sets, but the premium price for the cheap labor is what bothers me. And it bothers me more and more when you hear about more workers getting laid off because of companies moving out of the country.

[wndchsr]

Dan, your not alone in feeling that way. I make an effort to purchase items made in the US but often times that is very difficult to do and sometimes just impossible and/or impractical. More and more companies outsource their products overseas everyday due to a financial benefit and to benefit the shareholders, not to the benefit of the employees.

While I can understand their reasoning for the outsourcing, not saying that I agree with it but I can understand it from a finance standpoint and at the same time you have to look at the unfair and unbalanced trade deficit. I think the only way this issue will be solved or at least have dent put into it is when our so called "political leaders" take a stand and make an honest effort to solve this issue. Because the companies are just trying to survive so they are not going to shoot themselves in the foot so to speak.

The leaders of this country are going to have to be the ones that step up to the plate and solve this ever growing problem. It will need to become financially feasible for an American company to manufacture their products on American soil. Currently it is not financially feasible for said companies to do that which is why you see so many outsourcing in today's economy.

Just my thoughts on the matter, doesn't make it right or wrong.