Real American Motorcycles

[unclepsycho]

Hi there.

When I was looking at getting back on a bike after a few years away, I looked at Honda. I found that the Honda I was looking at was assembled in Ohio by good ole american folks. so I got it. There is a difference between a bike that was assembled in america and an "American" motorcycle. I have a stronger feeling of supporting america by owning a Harley and a BMC. Both are american bikes. Even tho Honda may be assembled in america, the bottom line is that it still is a metric bike. There is nothing wrong with Honda, it served me well, and I dont give anyone grief for owning one. I am happy to see they are riding a bike. I just have found more satisfaction with real american iron.
Any thoughts out there?

[Jack Hester]

I like to build and maintain the machines that represent my heritage. So, typically that would be American machines that are pre-70's. But, I do build and maintain the 74 cu-in Shovelhead cone models. But really, they are the beginnings of the metric influx into the American bike culture. So, I seek out the older models with pretty much all U.S.-made components. My '76 is slowing being rebuilt (by that, I'm collecting the replacement components to restore it from the wreck), with some retrofits back. I will be running a DC-12 Linkert carburetor, which is fully adjustable. The forks are of Japanese origin, but I won't go so far as to put something older on, as I like the disc brakes.

Jack

[MONTY]

Originally Posted by unclepsycho

Even tho Honda may be assembled in america, the bottom line is that it still is a metric bike.

And guess where the profits go from the sales of all those "American assembled" Hondas ...

Growing up in the '70s in Britain i was on Jap bikes just like most other people. The first thing that put me off them was the parts prices when something went wrong, compared to our home-grown stuff (Triumphs, BSA, etc). Shortly after that i also had a bit of a "road to Damascus" moment when it occured to me that 100 mph in a 40 mph zone was probably a really bad idea, and that i needed to ride bikes that i could enjoy without riding like the total hooligan that i am (), so i switched to Triumphs. Then when i had enough spare cash - from a redundancy cheque - i bought my first HD and have stuck with them since, though i'm not so keen on the newer stuff.

Times have changed now, and i guess the Japs make some nice bikes that you can enjoy riding slowly, although they always feel a bit sterile to me. Besides, although the Japs make some very proficient (though not always efficient) bikes, they cost a lot more to own in real terms because of their parts prices combined with the cost of maintenance - they're generally far more complicated and not designed for the competant owner to do his own work, so you end up paying a stealership far more often. Depreciation is also a factor if you're not keeping a bike for life.

It also used to worry me that buying Japanese products strengthened an economy which was effectively trying to kill off the economy of my own country, but these days they seem to be in the same boat as we are, and i think the big worry now is China.