Insane throttle article

[dwd58]

From the saddle of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, you not only get a view of the open road but a glimpse into a manufacturing world where parts of the American-made bikes could be from Asia, Europe or South America.

Harley, the world’s largest manufacturer of heavyweight motorcycles, doesn’t disclose where most of the parts are sourced, but industry sources say the company gets them from the U.S., Japan, Italy, Mexico, China, Australia and other countries.

For years, Harley has used Showa-brand suspension components from Japan. Brake and clutch parts have come from Italy, wheels from Australia and electronics from across Asia.

Increasingly, this is the world of manufacturing for everything from airplanes to home appliances. Global companies seek the best deals they can find on parts shipped to their factories; in some cases, it can be a way to sidestep import tariffs that add to their costs.

Harley says it uses U.S. suppliers when it can, but that for some components there isn’t an American source that makes what the company wants in the amounts it needs.

“Sourcing decisions are based on quality, component availability, supplier reliability and cost,” Harley said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

[dwd58]

looks like a lot of Harley owners bikes are more foreign than they thought !