Iconic American Harley Davidson Motorcycles to be Made in Thailand

[phibla69]

What's new, they already make the Street 750 in India- which is why it's crap. You get what you pay for theses days!

[phuketkenny]

2 minutes ago, jvs said:

Harleys do not leak,they mark their territory!

 

Just now, phuketkenny said:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So is sound. Think about it.

If you think Harley's leak your still riding a machine that oils the chain. Just how old are you? If you're still riding be proud you can mount it.

[jeffconnors]

Over priced and under engineered in any country! 

[sanukjim]

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

There's another icon that has gone to the dogs and  cheap labor,

gone is the pride, heritage and good al American made hogs...

what happened to Trump promises to keep US  manufacturing in the

US? gone to dogs as well I guess...

Trump or anybody else can not stop this from happening ,and anyone that is stupid enough to believe any campaign promises that any politician state then he or she deserves what they get.The difference here would be the quality control during the manufacturing.What about the cost here ? in the US a bare new 2017 street rod starts at 245,000 baht and the roadster starts at 396,000 baht.

[Grumpy Duck]

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

There's another icon that has gone to the dogs and  cheap labor,

gone is the pride, heritage and good al American made hogs...

what happened to Trump promises to keep US  manufacturing in the

US? gone to dogs as well I guess...

Did you honestly expect anything different from the con-artist-in-chief. During the debates I could tell he was lying, his lips were moving. 55

[Ulic]

Assembled in Thailand does not mean made in Thailand. Not exactly a precision bike with

high quality specifications so I am sure they will be assembled in an adequate manner.

[The Deerhunter]

3 hours ago, bheard said:

Sales declining in the US.
The company should take a good look at their product range therefore.
Maybe Americans are wising up to the fact that there are much better bikes out there. .

Yes but they look good and sound great eh??  That's what is important, surely.    Most people seem to buy them for firstly the name, the sound and people looking at them.

[madmitch]

Maybe they will have to comply with Thailand's theoretical noise emission laws. I for one hope so! 

[impulse]

49 minutes ago, Happyman58 said:

Only reason Harley will make bikes here WAGES workers on assembly line paid 300 baht  No super No holiday pay No sickness benefits NO NOTHING Goodbye american workers Ride off into the the sun soon you will have no job Sad part of life 

 

You're thinking of Korean and Japanese employers in Thailand.  

 

American employers will treat them okay- at least within the Thai employment laws regarding holidays, vacation, sick leave, social benefits, etc.  We're softies that way...

 

Edit:  I should add that it's more about good business than benevolence.  The cost of treating (and paying) your people right is much cheaper than the cost of continuously training the newbies when your seasoned people quit for 50 baht more -or a more humane boss- down the street.  And that doesn't begin to address the cost of the mistakes that all noobs make while they're learning a new job.

 

 

Edited May 25, 2017 by impulse

[Lemonltr]

16 minutes ago, GAZZPA said:

It's not the case, HD are simply doing what they need to as the US consumer gets poorer and luxury cruiser bike sales fall in the local market. The reality is that the West will become poorer and the East will continue to get richer, this is the future for our kids. The West needs to wise up and realise the simple fact that manufacturing means prosperity and middle incomes. This is why China is the new powerhouse economy and the US is sliding. 

 

Asian countries are frankly smarter, punish foreign imports with horrible duty rates, incentivise local investment for foreign factories. Whereas the West have still got their heads up their asses where they implement GSP for "assisting" poorer countries with reduced import duties into the West. All under the guise that it is their "duty" to support them growing out of poverty. It all sounds wonderful except there is no reciprocation from the poorer countries, no incentives for Western companies to import their products taking advantage of the growing markets.

 

The results are already clear for all to see. A huge decline in manufacturing in the West, a huge increase in manufacturing in the East. loss of Western jobs, loss of middle incomes with nothing to replace them. Trump talks about bringing Western manufacturing jobs back but how?

 

Are consumers going to accept increases in prices as Western manufacturers start to manufacture again? Absolutely not. The consumers are also responsible, we all want goods to be cheaper which means manufacturing in cheaper countries. Basically the West wants it all, cheaper products and healthy economy, well it just doesn't add up.

 

The reality of the World today is it is out of balance. The West needs to start looking after itself and let the East do the same. If American manufacturing jobs are to return then US companies either need to pay lower salaries to compete (which is not going to happen) or restrict cheap imports, there is no other logical way.

 

For now China is quite simply the Worlds factory and the Asean is growing. Don't see any change in the tide in the near future. I look forward to seeing the Harley Davidson "LOS" special edition.

 

 

Absolutely spot on. Taking cars and the EU as an example, can the EU justify the disparate import/export tariffs for Spain  ( a car manufacturer) with 18% unemployment against Thailand (under 1%) They need to take a leaf out of Asia's book and start looking after their own people.

[Sooo Upto Me]

Oh Dear, more crazy motorcyclists on Thailands roads. Thinking they can handle these big bikes. ???

[Jimbo in Thailand]

I've lived here many years now and I confess I've never understood Thailand's excessive "draconian" import duties on non-competitive goods that have always fueled the huge black market here.  I believe Harleys are still taxed at 100% import duties.  Pres. Trump should indeed honor his campaign promise and level the playing field to force Thailand, along with China and all other trade nations, to go tit-for-tat on import fees.  And a commenter said Harleys are taxed to protect Thailand's big bike market.  Thailand has no domestic brand(s) of big bikes that I've ever seen, only foreign companies manufacturing and/or assembling some models here, such as the Jap bike makers and Ducati and Triumph (and maybe more), so that "dawg don't hunt" as we American rednecks say.  Hopefully we'll see some positive change after Trump gets serious about Thailand.

[RigPig]

1 hour ago, CLUBBER said:

Not sure about when you worked at Harley but I have owned three evo Harley's an 89 sportster 883 then a 92 lowrider and finally a 04 heritage Softail classic not one of these bikes leaked a drop of oil nor gave me any problems ever , love the evos even driving miles in a heavy rain once my FLSTN performed fg flawlessly just that beautiful V twin humming while my friend Yamaha sputtered several times ! Older Harley's leaked oil like many older bikes not the evos . Photo is of my FLSTN back in Brooklyn NY and my , at that time 76 year old Dad taking her out for a ride :))) No helmet of course he said that day I survived the Japanese in the Philippines I can survive a ride around the neighborhood !

NIDE bike!!

[JAG]

1 hour ago, worgeordie said:

Made in Thailand,drop in price,I dont think so,its like when Kellogs

began to manufacture here instead of importing everything,which

was why the prices were so high here, made in Thailand,the prices

stayed at the same obscene levels as before. 

regards worgeordie

Do Kellogs make motorcycles?

 

[RigPig]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

They're a niche product with a narrow target demographic.  Even made locally, they're still going to be an order of magnitude more expensive than a Scoopy, so I wouldn't expect to see the market explode.  

 

The benefit would be cheaper manufacturing labor and reduced import fees, resulting in more profit per unit.  Unless they develop a new low end product for the Asian market.

 

Like the 500cc version?

[worgeordie]

1 minute ago, JAG said:

Do Kellogs make motorcycles?

 

No but you might get a plastic one inside the box !

I am sure everyone else understood what i was trying to say. Just because they will be made here does not mean

they will be cheaper.

 

regards worgeordie

[impulse]

Just now, RigPig said:

Like the 500cc version?

 

Maybe.

 

But, being a thread about scooters, I'm getting a lot of pop-up ads for Scoopies and the like for less than 60,000 baht.  I just can't see them playing in that mass market.

 

[ben2talk]

2 hours ago, me313 said:

Say goodbye to quiet Thailand.

I guess you're not living in Bangkok area.

 

More fitting - for anyone coming here - say "Goodbye to quiet London" or "Goodbye to quiet downtown New York".

 

We have scooters, and then we have the monkey bikes... Great little bikes that make more noise than a Harley and get ridden at full volume by schoolboys.

 

But yes, the main purpose of Harley here, IMO, is to join a club of rich boyz and go out on Sunday morning, meet up at Srinakarin at 10am and go thundering around just to annoy folks.

[JAG]

2 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

No but you might get a plastic one inside the box !

I am sure everyone else understood what i was trying to say. Just because they will be made here does not mean

they will be cheaper.

 

regards worgeordie

I know. I was just being silly. Sorry...

[impulse]

Just now, worgeordie said:

No but you might get a plastic one inside the box !

I am sure everyone else understood what i was trying to say. Just because they will be made here does not mean

they will be cheaper

 

Dead on.  And one of the things that attracts companies to invest $$$$ to manufacture in Thailand (with all the jobs and services that entails)  is that they can get an exorbitant price for their locally made product because the competition is paying out the nose on import fees.

[ballpoint]

7 minutes ago, JAG said:

Do Kellogs make motorcycles?

 

Snap, crackle and pop.  Sure sounds like a certain motorcycle brand...

[Lemonltr]

4 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

Makes good business sense to manufacture close to their target market.

Is that what booming exports country China does?

[anon4637435435]

I have to say i sort of agree with this. Been wanting to buy a harley non grey for over a decade but cant fathom the import duties and markups for what would be a commuter for myself as i have no shortage of weekenders. Blaming the foreign countries is obvious but the ties assosiated between countries as a result and putting a name out there isnt the end of the world. I have always been one o complain about such things but its probably not all bad.

[impulse]

2 minutes ago, ben2talk said:

But yes, the main purpose of Harley here, IMO, is to join a club of rich boyz and go out on Sunday morning, meet up at Srinakarin at 10am and go thundering around just to annoy folks.

 

They do it for the camaraderie.  Annoying folks is just a bonus.

[Chris Lawrence]

49 minutes ago, Happyman58 said:

No the image of a cartoon in america of a big fat boss smoking his cigar looking at money sticks in my mind Think back when the car industry went downhill The government stepped in to help The big bosses of these car companies like G/M Ford all flew to New York in their own private company jets just showing everyone how tough it was in the car industry Tough for the workers not for them

Did they pay back the money the Government gave them, plus interest?

[Grumpy Duck]

38 minutes ago, sanukjim said:

Trump or anybody else can not stop this from happening ,and anyone that is stupid enough to believe any campaign promises that any politician state then he or she deserves what they get.The difference here would be the quality control during the manufacturing.What about the cost here ? in the US a bare new 2017 street rod starts at 245,000 baht and the roadster starts at 396,000 baht.

I don't know where you're getting your numbers, but on the HD USA website the 2017 Street Rod Starts at $8,699 which is about ฿298,000. The Roadster starts at $11,299 or ฿398,000 Anyone that has shopped for any new vehicle in the US realizes you will not find one at the "Starting At" price. 

Even if QC remains high or low, I doubt it will change the factory retail price here. HD buyers are a bizarre lot, the high price seems to be a status symbol. 

Edited May 25, 2017 by Grumpy Duck
Correct typo

[RigPig]

23 minutes ago, Sooo Upto Me said:

Oh Dear, more crazy motorcyclists on Thailands roads. Thinking they can handle these big bikes. ???

They are safer than giving them a "crotch rocket" where they can pull 180Kmh down your local soi.....

[Stevemercer]

It's a sensible business decision.

 

Assemble bikes in Thailand to avoid prohibitive tariffs. The assembled bikes can be distributed and sold to other South East Asian countries under ASEAN free trade arrangements.

 

Harley manufacturing plants in the US can sell components at discount prices to the Thailand plant, thereby attracting tax write-offs under US tax laws. This will help boost profits in Thailand where the payable tax for start-up businesses is much less. 

 

Over the next 10 years the number of Thai middle class with increase 10-fold and Harley sales (along with other big bikes) will continue to rise accordingly.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Stevemercer

[wavemanwww]

This will piss off Trump. Not that I am a supporter of most of his policies.This news item is ttally in contradiction to his electoral promises. Harley better look over their shoulder. I am sure Trump will change trade laws to ensure other companies do not do the same or end up paying more tax/tarrifs..

[DLang]

Hardly Ableson about to become even more so.