03-22-2016, 07:11 AM
I rode a china bike about 8 years ago. Build quality was sub par, at best. I've heard the quality has improved. I have no desire to find out. Same with the Korean bikes.
As for Hondas built in Thailand, I bought a new CRF250L when they came out. The quality of the ancillary components, such as switch controls, brackets and whatnot, weren't up the spec of the genuine 'Made in Japan' pieces. It wasn't a bad bike overall, just not what we've come to expect from Honda. That's how they got the price down on those bikes.
Now, my SR400, those are 'Made in Japan' and the quality of the components show it. And the price of that bike reflects that. But really, why go through the cost of moving production when they have always been made in Japan. (The SR's have been in continuous production from the start, back in '78).
As for Harley's, last I checked, they were 60/40 bikes. Sixty percent still American (albeit, with foreign sourced raw materials), forty percent outsourced components. Heck, Harley started outsourcing parts back in the early '70's, so, it's been awhile.
As for Hondas built in Thailand, I bought a new CRF250L when they came out. The quality of the ancillary components, such as switch controls, brackets and whatnot, weren't up the spec of the genuine 'Made in Japan' pieces. It wasn't a bad bike overall, just not what we've come to expect from Honda. That's how they got the price down on those bikes.
Now, my SR400, those are 'Made in Japan' and the quality of the components show it. And the price of that bike reflects that. But really, why go through the cost of moving production when they have always been made in Japan. (The SR's have been in continuous production from the start, back in '78).
As for Harley's, last I checked, they were 60/40 bikes. Sixty percent still American (albeit, with foreign sourced raw materials), forty percent outsourced components. Heck, Harley started outsourcing parts back in the early '70's, so, it's been awhile.