What Do You Think? Manufacturing Quandary

[hjames]

Just for my qualifications - I was the Service manager of Rockville (Md) Kawasaki in 1976-77 - no longer in biz due to the 4 dumbo investors ...
Had a yamaha in 1970, bought a new Honda CL350 in 1972 - swapped it for a Triumph Trophy 500 later that year and never went back.
Tho I did repairs on a number of bikes - and nearly bought a Knucklehead at one point, I generally rode British bikes until I stopped riding circa 1980.
Around 2000 I bought an old Trophy 500 in Nashua NH, barn fresh, got it running, fixed it up, and decided the magic wasn't there
(too many idiot drivers around DC), and since I don't feel immortal like I did when I was 18,
I sold it off and put the money into Audio instead - and here I am now!

My point was simply that Harley is not the peak of innovation -
Otherwise I have no complaints about Harleys - like a small block chevy, they're brute force reliable.
And thus this thread since there are MANY friends of the Harley brand ...
Again, I wish Harley Davidson well and many years more!

But lets not bash other brands - that gets old, the arguments never settle,
and I gather folks here have had both good and bad experiences with them.

I would have to disagree with this statement, simple and reliable IMHO is not a bad thing.
A Harley is infinitely rebuildable ,you can ride one forever and it will still hold some value.
A Japanese bike not so much,when something goes wrong inside the engine or trans they are off to the junkyard.
The cost to repair far outweighs the value if you can even get the parts.
You can still get parts for Harleys made 50-90 years ago and even older , there are many examples of bilkes that old still being ridden.
A trans problem on a Japanese bike even a minor one means completely tearing the engine down in most cases,not so with a Harley.
I've been riding the same Harley for over 18 years now and it has never made me walk or call a tow truck.
That says something in my book as the bike nears 200,000 miles.

 

[quaddriver]

A Japanese bike not so much,when something goes wrong inside the engine or trans they are off to the junkyard.
The cost to repair far outweighs the value if you can even get the parts.

I dunno if I can align with that. did too many for too long that come apart nicely and go back together without a hitch. In fact, the last 'old' restore I did was a 1969 ct90, EVERY part I needed to come back to life was at honda, incl the 6v bulbs! only the clutch kit came from vesrah on ebay....

Im about to redo every brake pad, bearing and bushing in my extremely low serial number 1993 quad (hence my username) front end and every part is already located. honda, or some severe duty upgrades..will even replate the clutch, just becuz. once I toss in the rear axle bearings, I will still have under a $300 bill to get another 25 years.

 

[quaddriver]

....until I stopped riding circa 1980.

geez, u stopped while just a kid...missed out on the whole superbike thing! I myself sold the last magna 8 years ago - too many irons in the fire and yeah, 2 kids and mortality concerns creep in with the dodge truck driving idiots on the road ;-)

 

[604man]

 

[quaddriver]

ooo, that was your 666th message. clearly the devil. post another to remove the stigmata

 

[604man]

 

[Poultrygeist]

As far as American companies moving manufacturing overseas here's a twist. This new Chinese tire plant recently opened in Chester, South Carolina. GITI which will soon be supplying tires for new VW's, provides 1000 new jobs to a small town with no industry since the cotton mill closed. GITI makes lots of different tire brands and their entry level tires are sold at Walmarts. Just put a set on my van and they're good. Samsung's washing machine plant will soon open in Newberry, SC and a new Volvo plant in Charleston is under construction. In South Carolina we are already operating in a global economy and it helps that SC is a right to work state with little unionization and low taxes.

 

[arts]

I remember HD trying to copyright the exhaust beat note of their V-twins. Idiots.

Many years ago,my young (10?) stepdaughter said that a passing Harley sounded like a ''farting duck''. Damn near pissed myself

 

[y2keglide]

I dunno if I can align with that. did too many for too long that come apart nicely and go back together without a hitch. In fact, the last 'old' restore I did was a 1969 ct90, EVERY part I needed to come back to life was at honda, incl the 6v bulbs! only the clutch kit came from vesrah on ebay....

Im about to redo every brake pad, bearing and bushing in my extremely low serial number 1993 quad (hence my username) front end and every part is already located. honda, or some severe duty upgrades..will even replate the clutch, just becuz. once I toss in the rear axle bearings, I will still have under a $300 bill to get another 25 years.

The older ones were simpler but modern bikes not so much and if you have to pay someone else to do the work like most people it's a deal killer to rebuild any Japanese bike engine or trans because you can simply buy another one like it for less money.
Some people (few) can do the work themselves if they have the time and tools but for most an engine or trans problem means it's a boat anchor.
I don't know about quads ,I'm mainly speaking about the big cruiser motorcycles designed to take market share from H-D.
The salvage lots are full of them,very few ever see 100K miles or more for the aforementioned reasons.
By the way I had a CT 90 in 1969 but mine was a used 1966.

 

[y2keglide]

And about those Honda 6 cylinders?? They were preceeded by the Benelli Sei - a series of motorcycles produced by Italian manufacturer Benelli, and masterminded by automotive designer Alejandro de Tomaso, from 1973 to 1989. The 750 was the first production motorcycle with a six-cylinder engine. The later 900cc version had an original MSRP of $3,995.

Well yes and no, Honda built a six well before Benelli but Benelli built the first production street going six.
Honda had raced six cylinder bikes as far back as the mid 1960's.
http://www.classic-motorcycle-build.com/six-cylinder-motorcycles.html

 

[MannyE]

I wanted a Harley ever since I was 13-14. Back then there was no way I was going to be able to afford one. Now that I can there's no way in hell you're going to get me on the same road with all the morons out there. Use to be there were only two types of bikers; those that had fallen and those that were going to fall. I was fine with that. But now there are three types. The third is the one that's mangled by some moron in a car that doesn't signal, check mirrors or give a shit. I like my cage. It makes me feel safe.

I'll rent a bike when I'm in the middle of nowhere so I can ride in peace without worrying about the brainless.

 

[y2keglide]

I'll rent a bike when I'm in the middle of nowhere so I can ride in peace without worrying about the brainless.

Just one of the reasons I live in the middle of nowhere. lol
Trust me I know all about the brainless motoring public, I drive for a living so at the end of the day I can hardly wait to hit the back roads for home.

Do do do lookn' out my back door. (literally)

 

[quaddriver]

Just one of the reasons I live in the middle of nowhere. lol
Trust me I know all about the brainless motoring public, I drive for a living so at the end of the day I can hardly wait to hit the back roads for home.

Do do do lookn' out my back door. (literally)
View attachment 1222832

ok, so can you outrun pyroclastic flows?

the woods aint a sure bet either. where I live, whitetails are our version of rodents. 100lb small white tail vs cy rider = 100% fatal

the best tool for the job is an old squarebody suburban.


(boat optional)

 

[y2keglide]

ok, so can you outrun pyroclastic flows?

the woods aint a sure bet either. where I live, whitetails are our version of rodents. 100lb small white tail vs cy rider = 100% fatal

the best tool for the job is an old squarebody suburban.


(boat optional)

Ha Ha,we have lots of deer and elk here as well as bears cougars and many other critters.
And yes they are a hazard,I have hit deer twice on bikes and it's no fun.
I have owned a couple Subs and Blazers,my fave was the '69 1/2 4X4 3 door we had,last Sub was a '78 Silverado.
I have '78 GMC High Sierra 3/4 ton 4X4 pickup currently with a 454/T-400,love the old gas guzzling beast.

Oh and yes boats are optional,mine is a go fast soon to be a lot faster.

 

[quaddriver]

aha, a jet? last one I worked on was 'crash and splash' from canandaigua NY, 455 olds into a jacuzzi in only a 17ft hull. no jetovator so it ran faster than most cars to 50, then hit a wall at 54.

the sub I pictured was your neighbor from the other side of the hill (assuming that is rainier in the pic) ocean side, got it 4.5 years ago, factory original and drove it back from kalispell MT (it had been relocated there for sale) we were offered twice what we paid, in cash at a truck stop...

we park it nov 1-april 1 in heated storage so the fact that it is 2wd dont matter. it just yanked the pictured boat over the alleghenies tonight with the ac blasting to get to our hotel - doing a 3 day at raystown. 90 degrees. no rain. but if it makes everyone feel better, I will upgrade the stereo in the boat while we laze on the water.

 

[Poultrygeist]

Anyone need a job? Volvo is hiring 4,000 employees for their first US assembly plant outside Charleston, SC. Not trying to plug SC ( although I'm working partime for PRT ) but Charleston is our nation's no.1 tourist destination city.

 

[hjames]

And Volvo is a Chinese firm these days, right?

Anyone need a job? Volvo is hiring 4,000 employees for their first US assembly plant outside Charleston, SC. Not trying to plug SC ( although I'm working partime for PRT ) but Charleston is our nation's no.1 tourist destination city.

Wiki says:

Volvo Cars, stylized as VOLVO in the logo, is a Swedish vehicle manufacturer established in 1927. It is headquartered on Torslanda in Gothenburg and is a subsidiary of Chinese automotive company Geely.
Although often conflated with the Swedish-owned heavy truck and construction equipment conglomerate AB Volvo, also based in Gothenburg,
he two firms have been independent since AB Volvo sold Volvo Cars to the Ford Motor Company in 1999.
Volvo Cars has been majority owned since 2010 by the Geely Holding Group, a Chinese multinational automotive manufacturing company.[/QUOTE]