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Nobody is "expecting complex products with many parts to have a single origin." And normally I'd agree that Made In the USA is diet xenophobia, but Harley speci

Nobody is "expecting complex products with many parts to have a single origin." And normally I'd agree that Made In the USA is diet xenophobia, but Harley specifically, and heavily, lean into being "made in the USA" - as do their owners, and certain politicians who introduced tariffs (and caused retaliatory tariffs in the EU. Which Harley sidestepped by, drumroll please...opening assembly plants in southeast Asia!) Some engine components, some drivetrain components, all the electricals, all the suspension, and wheels are all made outside the US. That leaves the frame/body panels and some engine/drivetrain components as the only stuff sourced in the US - and yes, the engine/bike assembled in the US.

kbenson 3y ago
> And normally I'd agree that Made In the USA is diet xenophobia, but Harley specifically, and heavily, lean into being "made in the USA" - as do their owners And so do Toyota and Honda for the vehicles that are made here, but even those are only a certain percentage, which allows them to say so. It's the same playing field, so I don't really think it matters. And honestly, I think most people if pressed care that it's assembled here by people here and that at least most the parts are from here, especially major parts. Beyond that it's just corporate branding and PR, and as long as they're all playing by the same rules and people generally understand and agree with it (which I think they do, and if they don't I think if they were pressed to think about it they would come to understand fairly quickly and think it's mostly okay if presented all the facts), so I have a hard time getting thinking it's all that big of a deal, as long as the majority of U.S. sold bikes are made in the U.S. and bikes sold elsewhere are made wherever. I do think it's all a bit stupid and a big PITA, but they all do it so they're all stupid and weird in the same way. Note: I'm not really sure why people decided to downvote you instead of engage, it's not like I think your POV on HD is invalid, just different than how I see it, so I gave you an upvote to counteract it a little. Maybe someone else can do the same. Seemed a shame to have a valid position not given any discussion.

kbenson 3y ago

> And normally I'd agree that Made In the USA is diet xenophobia, but Harley specifically, and heavily, lean into being "made in the USA" - as do their owners And so do Toyota and Honda for the vehicles that are made here, but even those are only a certain percentage, which allows them to say so. It's the same playing field, so I don't really think it matters. And honestly, I think most people if pressed care that it's assembled here by people here and that at least most the parts are from here, especially major parts. Beyond that it's just corporate branding and PR, and as long as they're all playing by the same rules and people generally understand and agree with it (which I think they do, and if they don't I think if they were pressed to think about it they would come to understand fairly quickly and think it's mostly okay if presented all the facts), so I have a hard time getting thinking it's all that big of a deal, as long as the majority of U.S. sold bikes are made in the U.S. and bikes sold elsewhere are made wherever. I do think it's all a bit stupid and a big PITA, but they all do it so they're all stupid and weird in the same way. Note: I'm not really sure why people decided to downvote you instead of engage, it's not like I think your POV on HD is invalid, just different than how I see it, so I gave you an upvote to counteract it a little. Maybe someone else can do the same. Seemed a shame to have a valid position not given any discussion.