I was going through my hits… seeing what websites are linking to me (and which ones are hotlinking to my images), when I ran across this page.

They were making a comment about a post I had written where I asked the question “What percentage of the parts used to build a Harley are actually made in America by American companies?” The author of the other site feels that buying an import (or motorcycle built by an American plant owned by a foreign company) takes money out the pocket of Americans.

Not a chance.

I replied with this:

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 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”).

Of course, somehow it mangled what I wrote when I posted it (using single and double quotes kinda blew things up)… so I’m going to look like some sort of smacktard.

I think the real issue here is that many Harley riders are rather elitist. “It doesn’t matter what you ride… so long as you ride a Harley” seems to be the opinion. I can’t begin to go over the number of times that I’ve caught shit for riding an import from a Harley owner.

My usual tactic when this happens is to point under their bike and say “Is your bike leaking oil?”.

They look every time! 🙂