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! 🙂

My youngest son finally hit’s the teen years on Sunday (fathers day).

He doesn’t know it yet, but I’ve ordered a few parts for his PC.

1. Asus P5P800S Motherboard
2. Intel Pentium 4 2.66GHz processor with 1MB cache
3. Crucial DDR400 RAM (1GB)
4. Samsung 120GB 7200 SATA Hard drive

He’s also getting my old video card:

1. Rosewill Geforce FX 5500 256MB DDR

If you’re looking to get him something go go along with the PC candy, he would like the following:

1. Mech Assault 2 for XBOX
2. Microsoft Explorer Mouse 4.0 (optical, usb)

He did ask for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (XBOX ), but I will personally kick the ass of anyone who buys that for him 🙂

We’re having the party on Sunday… I’ll cook steaks. Be there!

In the spirit of Michael Jackson’s acquittal, we at WWBD present you with the following commemorative sportswear:

It’s not quite a multi-million dollar settlement, but then again… I’m not a con-artist looking to cash in.

Shirts are available in the wwbd house of style (though they don’t look quite like the image above… which was made as a joke earlier today). All prices are my cost… I don’t make a dime.

Buy two… they’re cheap! 🙂

Things you don’t think about leaving the rental world and entering the land of the home owner:

The short list:

1. Who’s going to mow the lawn
2. How are you going to deal with that plumbing issue that’s bound to happen
3. Major appliances will fail… at the worst possible time
4. The house won’t paint itself

We’ve dealt with the first 3 issues (some of them repeatedly) and are now on issue #4. I’ve spent the last two weekends on a ladder, painting trim, staining the deck, painting the front door (purple), replacing facia board, hanging new gutters (the old ones leaked horribly), etc.

I nearly died once… ladders aren’t for the timid.

Of course, we’re just a fraction of the way done… after all the work we’ve put into it… it’s like we have barely scratched the surface. The more we do, the more things we find have to be done.

Perhaps we should stop now.

Unfortunately, the house is looking kinda sad. The past 3 years of my high on painkillers and lying flat on my back have taken it’s toll on Casa WWBD, and it’s time to get busy. Besides… after being sedentary that long, I’m actually, in a sick and twisted way, enjoying this.

*Edit 06-06-05 08:26am*
I had to correct the post to say what I actually meant to say. Yeah… I was tired when I wrote this.

After an email conversation with someone at Cobra, I was able to get the gaskets off my pipes and the new pipes on. I did a polish on the chrome after the install (fingerprints everywhere…. don’t wanna bake those in!) and went for a quick spin up and down the street.

It sounds beefier than before, but no where as annoying as Eddie’s bike, so at least the neighbors won’t bitch too much when I fire it up.

I do, however, have a bit of hesitation with the throttle now, so it looks like I’m off for a rejet on the carbs.