[Yusef]

If releasing the Harley Davidson Street in India was a risk, it seems that it is a risk that has paid off. The first Harley to be manufactured outside of America sold 126 units in March and 210 units in April so far this year. When you consider that last year Harley-Davidson sold about 2,000 motorcycles in 2013, those numbers are a big deal.

I imagine that once the HD 500 comes out sales will only continue to rise.

Street 750 accounts for 58% Harley Davidson India sales | RushLane Indian Cars Bikes News Reviews & Photos

 

[Desert Tortoise]

No, not the first Harley manufactured outside of the US. Harley has had a Brazilian assembly plant since the 1990s, established to get around Brazils ridiculous import tariffs on vehicles. Before that there was a whole series of Italian manufactured Harleys from Aermacchi, including a couple of dedicated motocrossers. Harley has a number of 250 cc and 350 cc GP championships earned on those Italian manufactured machines. Before Aermacchi, Harley owned the old DKW plant in Germany (taken as reparations for WWII) and sold some bikes made there as Harley Davidsons.

 

[Desert Tortoise]

More Italian Harleys:

 

[Desert Tortoise]

 

[Yusef]

Didn't know about those bikes. Pretty sure I've read that the Street is the first manufactured outside of America. It must be some type of other type of first then, or there are some motorcycle publications that are publishing falsehoods (gasp).

I like this Scrambler.

 

[Desert Tortoise]

Most of the idiots who write for the motorcycle mags weren't even born when Harley was making motorcycles in Italy. Their whole world revolves around Japanese sport bikes, motocrossers and Ducatis. They are mostly ignorant of bikes that don't slavishly follow Japanese conventions, meaning Harley and BMW. If someone wrote that the Street is the first Harley manufactured outside the US then that writer is an idiot who needs to find a new line of work.

 

[fkystreet]

[email protected]

what other models do they sell in india?

 

[Desert Tortoise]

[email protected]

what other models do they sell in india?

Look at the Harley Davidson website for India. I know Harley assembles V-Rods, some Sportster and Superglide models in India from kits supplied from the US. This is the only way Harley can get around the over 100% tariffs India imposes on imported cars and motorcycles. Harley does the same in Brazil for the same reason. That plant dates to the 1990s.

 

[Livin On]

WANT

WANT

WANT

It is interesting though how Harley is one of the only manufacturers who is nailed to the cross for their factory locations. The Japanese make bikes in all kinds of far flung places and never a peep, well minor, but nothing compared to the hubub harley gets. Fuq Suzuki is even selling the made in China GW to the world.

A note on ahm 'journalism' the moto/auto industry has become a circle jerking negative feedback loop of self reference, aggrandizement and rote indoctrination of their readership (if you qualify it as reading nowdays) The latest presser is out, quick charlie reach for the Thesaurus we gots an article to write...

 

[Puneet]

I think there are certain attributes associated to every brand. Just like Swiss Watches, French Wines, Scotch are associated to particular countries so is Harley Davidson associated with USA and any deviation from same is taken as an aberration.

As far as I can see from pictures above these are no True-Blue Harley Davidson! These are co-branded Armecchi thus being very clear about their roots.

On other hand Street 750/500 are labelled as 'True-Blue' Harley Davidson Cruiser Bikes. And Harley is still assembling these in USA with parts sourced from India thus projecting them as USA made Harleys to people who are finicky about country of manufacture.

Even I consider them to be 'Banglored Harley Davidson' lacking any Blue Blood.

 

[Livin On]

I think there are certain attributes associated to every brand. Just like Swiss Watches, French Wines, Scotch are associated to particular countries so is Harley Davidson associated with USA and any deviation from same is taken as an aberration.

As far as I can see from pictures above these are no True-Blue Harley Davidson! These are co-branded Armecchi thus being very clear about their roots.

On other hand Street 750/500 are labelled as 'True-Blue' Harley Davidson Cruiser Bikes. And Harley is still assembling these in USA with parts sourced from India thus projecting them as USA made Harleys to people who are finicky about country of manufacture.

Even I consider them to be 'Banglored Harley Davidson' lacking any Blue Blood.

fair points friend, but couldn't the same be said for Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki? Honda's pumping bikes out of Thailand, Yamaha in Indonesia, Suzuki in China and these are all world market bikes...

Not to mention Ducati, they've got bikes coming out of Thailand, so does the british as tea and biscuits Triumph. Enfield with now exclusively indian production...

 

[Puneet]

Fair enough but Japanese lack any legacy. I remember reading first Honda bike was derived out of an American/British Bike, so this is expected of Japanese Manufacturers.

I guess Ducati has more of an assembly plant in Thailand. Last they were selling Monster 795 in India assembled in Thailand, only part made in India in that bike was the handlebar and no other critical parts sourced locally but frame, engine, gearbox and other critical parts were imported from Italy.
Triumph was sold to a new owner and they are manufacturing Bonneville in Thailand along with 1 more model. But personally I won't pay a premium price for outsourced stuff.

As far as Royal Enfield being manufactured in India that is a co incidence since British manufacturing Stopped.

But when it's Harley Davidson it is always USA and it is their Legacy. Harley is no normal bike it's a culture. I think all American brands can be manufactured in other countries with the Exception of Dodge and Harley.

 

[birdmove]

I remember the Aeramachi (spelling?) motorcycles. The Sprint was the 250cc thumper, and later became a 350cc. A few riders collect them. They made a nice little 100cc two stroke desert racer too, and a 65cc two stroke street bike etc.

AS an old rider of many years, I have enjoyed riding thumpers. Mine were all dual sports. I test rode a Buell Blast when the Buell test fleet came to the old Downtown HD/Buell near Seattle, Wa. The Blast was, in my opinion, a much better bike than many believed. I can tell you that a Blast would thump along at 80 mph. I'd like to see HD make a thumper again. Maybe a cafe type bike with low bars and a cafe seat. Something like the new (to the USA) Yamaha SR400 street thumper.

I applaud HD for the new Street models. Next up, how about a sporty 500 Street. Not a cruiser.

 

[fkystreet]

Fair enough but Japanese lack any legacy. I remember reading first Honda bike was derived out of an American/British Bike, so this is expected of Japanese Manufacturers.

I guess Ducati has more of an assembly plant in Thailand. Last they were selling Monster 795 in India assembled in Thailand, only part made in India in that bike was the handlebar and no other critical parts sourced locally but frame, engine, gearbox and other critical parts were imported from Italy.
Triumph was sold to a new owner and they are manufacturing Bonneville in Thailand along with 1 more model. But personally I won't pay a premium price for outsourced stuff.

As far as Royal Enfield being manufactured in India that is a co incidence since British manufacturing Stopped.

But when it's Harley Davidson it is always USA and it is their Legacy. Harley is no normal bike it's a culture. I think all American brands can be manufactured in other countries with the Exception of Dodge and Harley.

well I guess the Street changes that doesnt it

 

[Desert Tortoise]

You might want to investigate the history of Rikuo Motorcycles. Harley Davidson was producing motorcycles in Japan to get around British Empire tariffs on US manufactured motorcycles sold in the UK, Australia, India, New Zealand, etc. To get around this tariff scheme, Harley established manufacturing in Japan with US sourced tooling producing Harleys initially under the Harley name. This was the late 1920's. Japan became a major market for Harley Davidson when sales in the US were suffering due to the Great Depression. Japanese motorcycle manufacturing at that time was accomplished in small workshops making small volumes of small displacement motorcycles. Harley Davidson was the first firm to establish a modern production line for motorcycles in Japan, something that made the Japanese government and the Japanese motorcycle industry of the day nervous.

When Japan militarized in the late 1930's the Japanese government threw the US management of Harley's factory out of the country, took the plant over and renamed the bikes Rikuo. Ironically they were used by the Japanese military in WWII and the bikes continued in production into the early 1950's when Rikuo was sold to Showa, the very same Showa from which Harley buys most of it's suspension components today.

Ford also had production facilities in Japan prior to WWII that were identical to those in the US.

 

[fkystreet]

desert tortoise you are a harley davidson history bank!