Iconic American Harley Davidson Motorcycles to be Made in Thailand

[waders123]

16 hours ago, fruitman said:

And that's why i'm not happy with this. More harleys in Thailand means much more noise along the roads.....no fun.

I so agree!  There is enough noise pollution now. More of these monstrosities on the road is a terrible idea.  Tourist come here to relax not be plagued with hearing impairment.

[tazly]

15 minutes ago, waders123 said:

I so agree!  There is enough noise pollution now. More of these monstrosities on the road is a terrible idea.  Tourist come here to relax not be plagued with hearing impairment.

Could become a new hobby...buy a new hog just to rev up the engine and piss off others...this is what Japanese motorbike gangs do.

[finnomick]

18 hours ago, RigPig said:

I thought they were originally looking at India where they could manufacture their 500cc range of bikes, but India who owns Royal Enfield and is now manufacturing in England was probably a contributing factor.  They may manufacture the 500's here for export and assemble the "real" bikes, this would give them tax breaks into ASEAN.

The assembly plant in India has been running for a few years now. They also have an assembly plant in Brazil

[Lokie]

Not read all the posts in this thread but if not already mentioned, Triumph have been assembling Bonnies in Thailand since around 2012, I own a 2013 UK Bonneville T100, paid £7200 brand new at the time from a Manchester Triumph dealer, bike was assembled in LOS and shipped back to UK, all the T100s are and other models in the Triumph range. So is not surprising HD are doing same

[RigPig]

1 hour ago, waders123 said:

I so agree!  There is enough noise pollution now. More of these monstrosities on the road is a terrible idea.  Tourist come here to relax not be plagued with hearing impairment.

Who gives a rats about Russian and Chinese tourists, most of them want a pic of themselves next to my bike anyway, more than once I have had to tell them not to sit on the bike!!

 

The Thai "Monkey Bikes" with the muffler baffles removed are a bigger problem!

[Kerryd]

18 hours ago, hobobo said:

A new (2017) Heritage Softail in the US retails for around 615,000 baht ($16,500 US)

 

Are you working on the exchange rate US$1 = 10 baht? I know that the buck ain't what it used to be, but hey? BTW, do you have any dollars I can buy off you?

 

Uhh - the exchange rate I used was 35 baht to the dollar. Just checked this morning and the rate is 34(.153) to the dollar so $16,500 (from the Harley website) equals about 563,000 baht now.

[CLUBBER]

19 hours ago, RigPig said:

NIDE bike!!

Thanks I miss the bike and Dad very much ! By the way that's a 1994 not 2004 I must have been out in the sun too long

[thehelmsman]

I've always told myself my next bike will be a Harley. Undoubtedly a used one, but the looks and price of the new Triumph Bobber may change that.

 

To some the roar of a Harley is irritating, to others it's poetry.

[RigPig]

10 minutes ago, CLUBBER said:

Thanks I miss the bike and Dad very much ! By the way that's a 1994 not 2004 I must have been out in the sun too long

Still a NICE bike, my Heritage is 1994, EVO motor with "Pan Head Covers", Peanut tank, Brembo brakes etc.....

I prefer old school / retro stuff. it just seems classier haha

[Kerryd]

1 hour ago, Kerryd said:

 

Uhh - the exchange rate I used was 35 baht to the dollar. Just checked this morning and the rate is 34(.153) to the dollar so $16,500 (from the Harley website) equals about 563,000 baht now.

 

Make that 37 to one (the rate I used initially). (Was never great at "touch typing")

[fruitman]

6 hours ago, waders123 said:

I so agree!  There is enough noise pollution now. More of these monstrosities on the road is a terrible idea.  Tourist come here to relax not be plagued with hearing impairment.

Not only tourists.

Imagine students sitting in their room with open windows, trying to study something complicated and getting annoyed by loud harleys passing their homes (harleys always drive slow). They can't study like that.

 

And what can policemen do against harleys who make loads of noise original new from factory?? How can they fine other motobikes with open pipes if harleys are allowed to have that??

[Si Thea01]

Do those submitting that the price will be reduced owing to these being built in Thailand,  will have to forgive my cynicism but when I can buy, in Australia, a top of the range Honda CRV, with far more extras then those sold here, for A$15,000 less, then I truly doubt, given the tax structure here, will that ever happen. I could be wrong but I doubt it.

 

Same applies to many other makes and models built here a nd sold overseas at a far reduced price.  So much for these so called free trade agreements, nothing benefits the likes of America and Australia, just look at the cost of their goods that are imported here.  Almost taxed out of existence.

 

Who needs tariffs when a tax in excess of 200 percent is applied to many items. As for the gobbly gook put forward by the Harley Davidson spokesman then if you believe in that you also believe that you will find fairies at the bottom of the garden.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Si Thea01

[RigPig]

37 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Not only tourists.

Imagine students sitting in their room with open windows, trying to study something complicated and getting annoyed by loud harleys passing their homes (harleys always drive slow). They can't study like that.

 

And what can policemen do against harleys who make loads of noise original new from factory?? How can they fine other motobikes with open pipes if harleys are allowed to have that??

Well they pass the emmissions laws for sound and pollution when they are new, I have to take mine in for a test EVERY year, and it passes.  Try critisising the Thais with their "Monkey Bikes"  and the baffles removed!

 

You must live in a VERY HiSo area to have so many Harley's riding by annoying you, certainly not in major Isaan that's for sure!!

 

I live in Kata, Phuket and don't hear many, and I know what they sound like, I have 2!!!

 

The Harley rider is MORE likely to cop a fine because he can afford it.... (and is probably (50/50) Farng)

[Nowisee]

Just what this country doesn't need, loud harleys with middle aged bad drivers wearing black cluttering up the mountain roads.

[Keesters]

I hope the exhausts will be made to conform with Thailand's noise laws.

 

Have yet to hear an imported one that does.

[RigPig]

17 minutes ago, Keesters said:

I hope the exhausts will be made to conform with Thailand's noise laws.

 

Have yet to hear an imported one that does.

RUBBISH they ALL do!!  Do you have a DB meter attached to your ear... no I didn't think so, just because you THINK it doesn't comply doesn't mean it doesn't!!

[Keesters]

7 minutes ago, RigPig said:

RUBBISH they ALL do!!  Do you have a DB meter attached to your ear... no I didn't think so, just because you THINK it doesn't comply doesn't mean it doesn't!!

 

RUBBISH they don't comply. At my local testing station the guys there make good money from passing HDs that don't conform to noise laws. Just because you THINK they comply doesn't mean they do.

 

 

[transam]

Many Harley's have open pipes because that is what the owners want but from factory l believe all have mufflers. They are just a twin cylinder ride the same as many other manufacturers rides, they do not create more noise than other manufacturers rides uncorked..

 

Wish I could have used my Pontiac uncorked on the street, but l did have the next best setup...

[transam]

3 minutes ago, Keesters said:

 

RUBBISH they don't comply. At my local testing station the guys there make good money from passing HDs that don't conform to noise laws. Just because you THINK they comply doesn't mean they do.

 

 

Did they have after market systems....?

[Keesters]

1 minute ago, transam said:

Did they have after market systems....?

I have no idea. I only know what the testing guys told me. I have also witnessed HDs being pulled over by police for noise.

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Keesters said:

I have no idea. I only know what the testing guys told me. I have also witnessed HDs being pulled over by police for noise.

My chum in LOS has two Harley's, both have after market open pipes systems that are loud, Factory mufflers were not. Back in the old day's BSA, Triumph, Norton bikes were loud from factory, am sure many here will remember the famous "Goldy" silencer that really didn't do much to silence but had a great sound....

[captspectre]

The only thing that this Putt Putt will have with harley is the name! can you for a minute imagine a  bunch of TRUE harleys being ridden in Thailand? you think the death toll is huge now!

[transam]

15 minutes ago, captspectre said:

The only thing that this Putt Putt will have with harley is the name! can you for a minute imagine a  bunch of TRUE harleys being ridden in Thailand? you think the death toll is huge now!

Many car or bikes and other stuff now are not "true", they are just names.....

[RigPig]

13 minutes ago, Keesters said:

I have no idea. I only know what the testing guys told me. I have also witnessed HDs being pulled over by police for noise.

The police only pull them over for noise if they have messed with athe standard exhaust (as Thai's do) or if it's an easy tea money collection.  An approved testing station will not fiddle it because the test is video'd from Bangkok, or at least the one I use is.  The sound levels are shown on the cctv, so I don't know what is going on in your instance, but TIT!  But a Harley off the show room floor will comply easily!  The BIGGEST by far noise polluters are (as I have said several times previously) Thais on their "Monkey Bikes", the first thing they do is mess with the baffles.  Where I live the main road is not far, basically at the end of my soi and I will hear 50 of those bikes a day minimum, I hear 3 Harleys a week... maybe and they are tame compared to my Heritage!  But even that has aftermarket compliant exhausts on it (Vance and Hinze short shots) from the States...

[RigPig]

2 hours ago, captspectre said:

The only thing that this Putt Putt will have with harley is the name! can you for a minute imagine a  bunch of TRUE harleys being ridden in Thailand? you think the death toll is huge now!

The death toll would be less!!  A set of handle grips for a Harley is $80 US plus tax and duty, I sure as heck don't want to pay for the repairs on either of my bikes due to a stupid accident!!

[ben2talk]

1 hour ago, RigPig said:

 A set of handle grips for a Harley is THB 2,748 ($80)

They do 'nostalgia' plain rubber grips (like my PCX) for only 70 USD (2400 THB).

I'm sure that they're so much better quality rubber than Honda (THB 412 (12 USD) ~ 410 THB).

[Kickstand]

9

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[halloween]

3 hours ago, RigPig said:

The death toll would be less!!  A set of handle grips for a Harley is $80 US plus tax and duty, I sure as heck don't want to pay for the repairs on either of my bikes due to a stupid accident!!

Let me guess, they are visibly HD branded. which seems to be a licence to charge outrageously for often inferior products, much like their motorcycles. a friend had a Sportster, and agreed that on almost every measure (power, weight, handling, braking, vibration, lighting, instrumentation quality, price, fuel consumption, noise) his bike didn't match the Italian, Japanese and English bikes the rest of us were riding, but insisted that it sounded great. If he ever went deaf.............

BTW we gave him a pass on comfort because it is a personal decision.

BTW2 the lack of performance meant he was always last, because NOBODY  wanted to sit behind the noisy bloody thing - would make your ears ache after a few miles.

[transam]

7 minutes ago, halloween said:

Let me guess, they are visibly HD branded. which seems to be a licence to charge outrageously for often inferior products, much like their motorcycles. a friend had a Sportster, and agreed that on almost every measure (power, weight, handling, braking, vibration, lighting, instrumentation quality, price, fuel consumption, noise) his bike didn't match the Italian, Japanese and English bikes the rest of us were riding, but insisted that it sounded great. If he ever went deaf.............

BTW we gave him a pass on comfort because it is a personal decision.

BTW2 the lack of performance meant he was always last, because NOBODY  wanted to sit behind the noisy bloody thing - would make your ears ache after a few miles.

You sound like you have no idea about an individuals choice of fun....

[halloween]

4 minutes ago, transam said:

You sound like you have no idea about an individuals choice of fun....

I have every idea about an individuals choice of fun, and riding behind a Harley is nobody's idea of fun.

I forgot to add there was another reason Jacko was always last. Combined with lousy fuel consumption, his bike came with a ridiculously small fuel tank, which meant he stopped twice as often for fuel, 3 times more often than the Moto Guzzi which had very similar engine specs.