Buy American....

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inkjunkie

inkjunkie

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Starting to look into some of the parts I will need when I rebuild my bike. Overseas inverted forks with triple clamps.....$750. American made inverted forks with triple clamps, with a brake caliper included.....$2400.....:wack:
 
That's what happens when people start thinking that flipping burgers is worth $15 an hour. Either that or the brake caliper is worth $1650...
 
It's what happens when everybody wants something for nothing. Things get outsourced for cheaper labor, cheaper parts, cheaper operating costs and less regulation. We did it to ourselves.
 
When i had my sporty , I was amazed at how much of it wasn't 'murcan. Battery was Yuasa forks n brakes were nissin electronics were tyco/china if i remember correctly. I think the belt n cases were all American still. Hell, the headlight was Hella , denmark?
I work on Volvo construction equipment, so I see parts with origin tags from all over so I'm kinda desensitized to it. But I see it.
 
You can start with our tax system. It is doing nothing but forcing business to leave or go under.
 
greed plays a part too. Gotta make those stockholder return margins. Labor is the biggest expense most companies have.
 
FredS said:
greed plays a part too. Gotta make those stockholder return margins. Labor is the biggest expense most companies have.
Click to expand...

Check your facts

Labor is 10% at ford. The damn lawyers make more than the people building them

The government lets everyone import their crap here with no tariffs but they tax the hell out of our stuff

Guy running for president as independent but Clinton beat said if the nafta gets signed into law a giant sucking sound would be heard from the USA

He was right, Clinton signed it and away the jobs went

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot

This guy might have done the country some good

We let them come here and give them tax abatements, they import their stuff, build it here and send their profits home

Have been a union member since 1976

The country is THE UNITED STATES, unions built this country, gave the American people a better way of life and everyone wants to ***** about them.

Guess when everyone is either rich or poor things will be better. But the will be more of us poor than rich

The middle class was built by unions and eroded buy politicians, who by rights are a union that vote themselves raises, benefits and perks that only crooks get at the cost of the people

I know, don't talk about politics, religion or money, well 2 out of 3 ain't bad

But don't blame the union for the mess we are in.

Over 12 years since I've had a raise cost of vehicles up 20-25% in the same time.
 
Over 12 years since I've had a raise cost of vehicles up 20-25% in the same time.[/QUOTE]

Boy... That Union is really knocking em dead for ya huh.
 
inkjunkie said:
Starting to look into some of the parts I will need when I rebuild my bike. Overseas inverted forks with triple clamps.....$750. American made inverted forks with triple clamps, with a brake caliper included.....$2400.....:wack:
Click to expand...

Back to the O.P....I don't know overseas quality of H/D parts,all that well. In
the long running: Can you get replacement parts for the overseas built products, consistent & long term? I have bought one off brand equipment,that parts were not available 3-4 years later. That can become a P.I.T.A.. More waiting & judgment sucks,plan for the long haul (J.M.O).
Edit: If you decided on overseas, buy all rebuilding kits needed in extra
 
just make your own! here's a video that might give you some inspiration. not forks, but motorcycle related.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu66NBC7p0o"]How It's Made - Custom Motorcycle Gas Tank - YouTube[/ame]
 
RustyRatRod said:
It's what happens when everybody wants something for nothing. Things get outsourced for cheaper labor, cheaper parts, cheaper operating costs and less regulation. We did it to ourselves.
Click to expand...

^^^^^ This is exactly what happened to the Professional Independent Auto Parts Stores in the 90's. Every once in awhile I'll run into some installer customer from my parts business past. They're always begging for some good parts store to serve them. I tell them, just what RRR said. You did it to yourselves, had to have best price. Now you got **** for service and parts and 17yr olds for help behind the counter. Didn't think very far ahead did ya ??
 
i blame corporate taxes. a company has to match the employees taxes to the feds, then gets taxed beyond that in several different ways as well.

so if an employee makes 40k and pays 10k in taxes the company pays 10k. then on top of that they pay sales taxes, corporate income taxes, propery taxes, taxes on inventory stock, unemployment taxes,etc etc.

it's no wonder they prefer employees in another country.

but we need all that tax money to fund social programs.
yeah right

cant even count how many times i've seen people lose a job, collect unemployment or disability, and then still work under the table at the same time.
 
exactly part of my point. Labor is a big chunk of costs, and hence why companies move it overseas. if it wasn't but 10%, why would they even consider it. This isn't just tied to parts, but high end jobs go to the cheapest resource the companies can find. I work for a company that prides itself on finding cheaper labor outside of the US, and call it their global strategy, to become a global company. Roadmaps we're brainwashed with.
 
abodyjoe said:
fixed...:)
Click to expand...

I stand by my statement. The UNIONS ruined the steel industry here in Pittsburgh years ago. Unions run up labor costs to the point that the company can not compete, and guess what? They close or move over-seas. I could cite more examples, but it sounds as though you're closed minded so I won't waste my time.
 
The cost of anything these days does not match the incomes of most working class people. The bike building business as well as the old car business is being perceived as a "rich man" hobby. When I was growing up and came of the age to drive, the Mopars that we now are restoring, were cheap. Nobody wanted them. They also needed work when they were 17 years old, maybe not restored but engine and trans rebuilds and repaints were common. Now years later, people have made a business out of the parts sales. It is getting better, and there seems to be a lot of things available that we used to have to buy and rebuild to use. I have rebuilt power steering pumps, steering boxes, 4 speeds, engines, just about everything on my Mopar simply because new or reman either wasn't available or it was way overpriced. I guess my point is, owning and driving an old car is more expensive than it should be. I think it is a conspiracy and yes you can blame the govt. unions, etc. I do believe the govt. doesn't want old cars on the road. At least no more than driven to summer cruise nights. The govt. is effectively trying to make the modern v-8 extinct with the 2016 MPG requirement.
 
[/QUOTE]but we need all that tax money to fund social programs.
yeah right

cant even count how many times i've seen people lose a job, collect unemployment or disability, and then still work under the table at the same time.[/QUOTE]

I always say this is the only country where a guy/gal that busts his/her rump working and a non working guy/gal that sleeps till 1 PM gets up and walks to the corner bar for a forty ouncer and a pack of smokes everyday can live by the same standard and in the same tax bracket LOL! wait that isn't funny is it?:banghead:
 
Abodybomber said:
Back to the O.P....I don't know overseas quality of H/D parts,all that well. In
the long running: Can you get replacement parts for the overseas built products, consistent & long term? I have bought one off brand equipment,that parts were not available 3-4 years later. That can become a P.I.T.A.. More waiting & judgment sucks,plan for the long haul (J.M.O).
Edit: If you decided on overseas, buy all rebuilding kits needed in extra
Click to expand...
My chopper has overseas forks, the parts are generic Harley parts. As to the quality I have been doing some reading, it appears that the import forks have some leaking issues.....just like mine do. Apparently Harley farms out some of the front ends to Marzocchi. Have been searching and not found much available in the way of buying a set as they are back ordered everywhere I have looked.
moparlover said:
just make your own! here's a video that might give you some inspiration. not forks, but motorcycle related.
How It's Made - Custom Motorcycle Gas Tank - YouTube
Click to expand...
Impossible for me to do....

Been "crunching numbers". If I were to keep my fork lowers.....send them to Leanna to coat them, replace the tubes, get a nice set of 3* triple clamps, replace the dampner rods/springs I am looking at about $1400....and the problem that causes the leak that I have will still be present. For $600 more I can buy a set of "American" inverted forks with some beautiful triple clamps. From what I have seen the ride they will provide will be a lot smoother/nicer than what the imports offer.....and with the valving/spring rates that are "tuned" to my needs the bike will handle better.

There is a company that offers a set of Ohlins forks, which I believe are from Sweden. They two are valved/sprung for my needs. Included in the $2k price are a set of 6 pot Brembo calipers....that dictate the use of a pair of 320mm rotors...best price I could find on the rotors was a touch over $800....I am not building a road racer, I do not need that much brake. While I do have a habit of riding a bit more aggressively than I should I do not ride at that level. Not to mention I am planning on keeping my thin front tire which will be easily overwhelmed by that much brake.

At this point I have no idea which way I am going to go. The forks from http://americansuspension.com/
are indeed very nice looking parts....and based upon what I have been able to find on them are very high quality parts. As are the ones from
http://www.motorcyclemetal.com/gpage5.html
but I just do not want to drop that kind of coin on a pair of rotors.....
 
If you make $35K a year you are in the top 1% of the world.

----- I need to remind myself of that from time to time-----
However I work for a fortune 500 (100?) company and they have just moved out to incorporate in the Netherlands. There's plenty of blame to go around, taxes, corporate greed, etc...

The fix in my opinion is for the .gov to get out of the way and let Americans compete in manufacturing....and stop throwing our tax money away. The waste is unbelievable.
 
Ford is owned by a british company, dodge,chrysler,jeep and ram is owned by Fiat which is Italian, chevy has Mexico building the corvettes and who knows who owns them now after the government sold the last stock they held after buy out lol the whole system is in critical condition! Sorry this turned political INJUNKIE but facts are facts and if nobody ever discusses it then it will continue to get worse especially for our kids and grandkids!
 
good parts do cost. Doesn't matter whether its a bike, car, diesel truck. Ink, good luck in your quest for a balance of reliability, comfort and reasonable cost.
 
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