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RE: Would you buy a Harley from a foreign-owned MoCo?
Say for instance Honda bought HD outright. Would we still buy the bikes?
You could see Ford's influence on the Jaguar design. Daimler-Benz surely marked its territory while it owned Chrysler. I wonder what a Honda-designed Electra Glide would look like? I always say people will buy Hondas that look like Harleys but they won't buy Harleys that look like Hondas.:B
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10ecjazzman
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12/14/08 06:45pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: Confederate C120 Renaissance Fighter
Definitely made for the Grey Poupon folks. It lists for $110,00.00 in the Neiman Marcus catalog. :h
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10ecjazzman
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11/21/08 09:01pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: road glide windshield
I'm an E-Glide guy but I did see some taller Road Glide windshields on
http://www.ceebaileys.com/cycle/. I bought a custom engraved nine inch windshield from them. Great quality.
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10ecjazzman
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10/24/08 04:06pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: 09 Road Glide sissy bar problem
I have only had a couple of factory pieces fit without some 'tweaking'. Yours sounds a little more serious than a tweak. I don't know where most of the factory accessories are made but my front fender trim, nostalgic saddlebag rails. and saddlebag lid rails all had to be 'massaged' a bit to get them to fit. The template that came with my StreetGlide style mirrors caused me to mount the mirrors too low. I cant imagine the parts for the 2009 models are any better. Good Luck!:h
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10ecjazzman
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10/20/08 06:01pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: Quiet Bike????
I still have my stock pipes hanging on the wall of my garage. I was just curious if you were running a fuel pak or power commander. When I first started researching the fuel pak I never saw any setting that correlated to a stock engine/stock pipe setup but just a tad richer than stock. If I had found that I probably would have used it. I love the throttle response of the new setup and the Rush mufflers are not that loud but it would have been cheaper to add the fuel pak and just richen it up a bit.
Did you re-tune to go back to stock mufflers? :h
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10ecjazzman
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10/01/08 08:37am |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: Quiet Bike????
I know how you feel. I hate to disturb folks early in the a.m. My first set of mufflers were Wild Pigs from a company in Daytona Florida. A little loud with 1 3/4 inch baffles. I went back to the stock mufflers for awhile because I was having trouble with the baffles. I happened to be having a beer with my neighbor during this time. He asked why I wasn't riding my bike to work any more. I replied I had been riding everyday. He says "I don't hear you in mornings anymore." I guess the pigs were louder than I thought. I am now running Rush mufflers with 1 3/4 baffles. While I was running the stock mufflers my radio sure sounded better! I would switch to something quieter in a heartbeat if I could keep the performance the same.The fuel pak, mufflers and K&N were a noticeable change.
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10ecjazzman
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09/28/08 10:54am |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: Would you buy a Harley from a foreign-owned MoCo?
Daimler owns only 20% of Chrysler. An American company, of which Dan Quayle is an executive, owns the other 80%. Unfortunately, corporate greed is as American as apple pie. American companies obsessed with the bottom line are forgetting to protect their greatest asset; the American worker. Now even foreign companies are coming here to abuse the American workforce. For those of us trying to support our companies here, the businesses should produce quality goods and take care its people to show they deserve our support.
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10ecjazzman
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09/12/08 08:16pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: Would you buy a Harley from a foreign-owned MoCo?
I've had good luck with Japanese bikes as well. When I started this thread I was going to rant a little about how dollars made by a hypothetical foreign-owned Harley-Davidson might end up overseas. Maybe even used to buy more real estate and businesses here. A lot of the Harley faithful that have been supporting the Motor Company all through the tough years might be offended it were sold to a foreign group. I guess I thought some folks would think of Harleys as less American if the company was foreign-owned. Maybe that kind of thinking is too old school for today's 'global' economy.:?
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10ecjazzman
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09/08/08 09:19pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: Would you buy a Harley from a foreign-owned MoCo?
I just saw that 330 sold number in a business magazine somewhere online. You know how accurate things are on the internet.:R Maybe HD is doing the right thing. Maybe its another case of a good product being mishandled by the ownership. I have never seen a MV but I live in Nashville and the closest dealer is in Atlanta. Getting back on track..I was curious if MV Agusta had bought HD, would the HD faithful still buy the bikes.
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10ecjazzman
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09/07/08 04:30pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: Would you buy a Harley from a foreign-owned MoCo?
I know I am not supposed to understand high finance business deals but I can't figure out HD buying MV Agusta. MV was in bankruptcy in 2004 and bought out of it by a Malaysian investment group. It was then sold to an Italian group in 2006 because of huge losses and mounting debt. In rides HD to buy MV and assume all its debt in a year when HD cut back shipments of bikes and reduced its workforce. HD wants to increase its European presence. Quote from HD exec:"This gives us a better way to get into that and understand that customer base at a different level than we're currently playing at." Guess HD has us all figured out..better work on gettin some euros! And don't think we will be getting a great sportbike out of this deal. MV only sold 330 bikes in the US last year.
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10ecjazzman
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09/06/08 10:35pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: Would you buy a Harley from a foreign-owned MoCo?
This article was printed last October. It refers to carmakers but you get the point.
'When Honda Motor Co. announced last year that it was building a new plant amid the farms of southeastern Indiana, Hoosiers cheered. Then Honda announced in August that only people living in 20 of the state's 92 counties could apply for jobs -- a move that excluded most of the state's thousands of unionized laid-off auto workers.
Honda's unusual hiring restriction highlights an often overlooked aspect of the United Auto Workers union's declining power. While Detroit's big auto makers and their unionized suppliers have been slashing jobs, wages and benefits, foreign car companies have added U.S. plants and created thousands of new automotive jobs. Yet they have effectively kept auto workers with UAW membership cards out of their factories, hampering the union from gaining any foothold where the jobs are.
Of the 33 auto, engine and transmission plants in the U.S. that are wholly owned by foreign companies, none have been organized by the UAW, despite repeated attempts. Mainly, foreign auto makers have located plants in Southern states where the UAW has little presence and where right-to-work laws limit union power. When they have ventured into Northern states such as Indiana and Ohio, they have mostly chosen rural locations far from any unionized plants and UAW halls. The moves now are helping the foreign-owned plants begin to lower wage scales.
In the case of Honda's latest plant, in Greensburg, Ind., the company received $140 million in tax breaks and other incentives, at least $50 million of it in statewide funds. But the company wasn't required to consider all state residents for jobs.':h
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10ecjazzman
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09/06/08 08:51am |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: Would you buy a Harley from a foreign-owned MoCo?
I hear you loud and clear. The thing is the bike could still be made here with a few selected top positions filled by existing MoCo people. The line workers wouldn't change. Milwaukee would still be Harley central with the plants in K.C. and York PA running as usual. The problem is that the overall direction of HD would be determined by a group loyal to interests outside the U.S.A. That is why I don't buy gas at Citgo stations. I don't want to contribute to the Hugo Chavez slush fund. I guess I am just hyper-sensitive since so much of our country is owned by foreign speculators already.:M
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10ecjazzman
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09/05/08 05:45pm |
American V-Twin Board
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Would you buy a Harley from a foreign-owned MoCo?
This is one to ponder. The recent sale of Budweiser created a good water cooler conversation about what is truly American. A lot of folks think its a travesty for an American Icon like Budweiser to be sold to foreign investors. Its like Bud is a Belgian beer now? Anyway, I asked some of my fellow Harley owners...What if Harley-Davidson was bought by a Japanese company? Would you still buy one? How important is it to own one of the "American' bikes? Same question for Victory, Big Dog, etc. Even though there are many parts on my E-Glide from overseas, it is still 'American-made'. I have to admit that its a big deal to me; as everything genuinely American seems to fading away or diluted to the point of mediocrity. I wonder how many Cagiva riders feel about there bikes now that Harley owns MV Agusta? Would you guys buy a not-so- American Harley?:@
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10ecjazzman
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09/03/08 08:36pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: 2009 Victorys
Now hang on second here..I agree that from a business standpoint , HD is king! They got us from the word go for the add-on stuff because most of us have to add a little personality to our rides. HD never disguised itself as leading-edge anything. With their financial resources the MoCo could be more high tech for sure; but it is what it is. Going in upfront, knowing you are buying a bike based on older technology, you can only expect so much and you shouldn't complain. I bought my Harley because when I was six years old I used to put balloons on the forks of my bicycle to get that Harley sound. Now I have 96 cubic inch balloons, and I love'em. When I get the RPMs just right at about 55 mph..its sounds like those balloons. ..It makes me grin sometimes. Having said all that..The Victorys could probably do that for me too. I just wonder what the crotch-rocket riders of today will ride when they are 40. I've heard many of them say they may ride crusiers when they are too old for sport bikes. So maybe all the motorcycle companies will always have a new batch of cruiser/bagger riders coming up.:h
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10ecjazzman
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08/14/08 04:38pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: 2009 Victorys
Yes ...made in the USA does count and so does nostalgia. I always try to support American companies even though they are sometimes not as fond of me as a consumer. I was drawn to Harley by nostalgia and the sense that finally I could own one and actually not worry about reliability. I thought it would be cool be get as close as I could to how my dad must have felt cruising on his Duo-Glide. But lets be real. The old guys will tell you our Harleys today are nothing like they were. Ours don't leak, don't foul plugs, have fuel injection, and actually start up 99% of the time. That said , a lot of us will add fuel systems, air cleaners, pipes, synthetic oil, braided brake lines, new pads etc. to get the bike where it should have been when it rolled out the door. I applaud Victory for taking a risk and stepping outside the boundaries. I hope they have the sense to treat their customers right. If they don't nobody will stick around while they work the bugs out of their technology and design. Simply put, Harley does not have to innovate because we still buy the bikes anyway. And many of us will continue to... for nostalgia.:R
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10ecjazzman
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08/12/08 09:36pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: 2009 Victorys
One of the Harley dealerships I frequent is across the street from the Honda/Victory/Yamaha shop. I cant tell you how many people rode in on Harleys to test ride the Vision the last time the demo truck was there. Heck....I wanted to ride it but the waiting list was too long. Just this past Saturday I saw two guys on Goldwings pull in to the Harley house to look at Electra Glides..go figure! Everybody is looking for the perfect motorcycle thats different from everybody else. You can't really trust forums to tell how good a bike is because they are full of folks like us complaining about the buzz,rattle,leak,noise,clutch,smoke,smell,mpg,crappy dealer, and horrible service that otherwise ruined owning that particular bike. The one thing we all seem to have in common is that we wont admit we are not that different after all. In the midst of all this there are those of us who just ride. There are days I would like to blow down my favorite back road on a bike like Kgzb's but I'm a bagger guy all the way. I like the Vision's adjustable windshield and the handlebar position, I love the back of the bike but I'm lukewarm on the front. The bags are cool to look at but need more space. I am a little put off by one of riding buddy's Victory that sounds like a fork in a garbage disposal when you downshift it but maybe he got a bad one. There you go..an honest opinion of a Victory to get the thread back on track.;)
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10ecjazzman
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08/11/08 09:31pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: 2009 Victorys
:B Amen! Burninator!
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10ecjazzman
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08/09/08 11:56am |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: 2009 Victorys
I promise I saw a Honda Shadow Spirit today that looked and sounded like a Harley...So what? A lot of the cruisers today do owe a little of their styling to Harleys that have come before them. I have owned other brands before I bought my Electra Glide. I would buy other brands now if I saw something I liked. Lets face it; Its not brainwashing. Its marketing. Gazillions of dollars spent for 105 years makes sure when someone says v-twin you think Harley. A lot of people want to be a part of the legend, what ever that is. I used to own a BMW and experienced the same 'lifestyle' blitz. I wanted to believe that my $45,000 car was indeed something special, same as my $16,000 Harley. It makes writing the checks easier! As for the Victorys..I kinda like that Vision..Don't tell Willie G. He might revoke my extended warranty.
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10ecjazzman
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08/08/08 07:49pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: 2009 Victorys
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
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10ecjazzman
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08/08/08 07:18pm |
American V-Twin Board
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RE: 07 Ultra w/Oil Cooler Question
You could always ditch the show stand and get the center stand from http://www.eglidegoodies.com/id60.html
Does the show stand decrease your ground clearance a bit?:@
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10ecjazzman
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07/31/08 12:11pm |
American V-Twin Board
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