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Harley Davidson is closing a plant and laying off 800 people


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Guest kernowjim
I wouldn't buy a Triumph now, they're all made in Thailand.
A couple of comments: 
No, they're not. Some Triumphs are still made in Hinckley: Speed Triple, Daytona, Rocket III, and a few others.
 
Second, so what? A lot of bikes are made in Thailand now. Some Hondas, all Ducati Scramblers, and soon some Harleys. Yamaha makes R3s and others in Indonesia.
 
Triumph's Thailand factories are unionized, their workers are paid well. We are in a globalized economy where a Ram 2500 pickup is by all definitions an import and the most American car in the US is a Toyota.
The bikes you mentioned are outgoing models which are due to be replaced - and they will all be made in Thailand.  I don't have a problem with goods being manufactured in the far east, what I do have a problem with is Triumph waving the Union Jack everywhere when the (majority) of their bikes are made in Thailand.  There is no reason to manufacture in Thailand other than to profit off of the back of cheap labour and yet Triumph are still charging a premium for their bikes, as if they are made in England.  Why is the Thai flag not on their logo?  
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I don't have a problem with goods being manufactured in the far east, what I do have a problem with is Triumph waving the Union Jack everywhere when the (majority) of their bikes are made in Thailand.  There is no reason to manufacture in Thailand other than to profit off of the back of cheap labour and yet Triumph are still charging a premium for their bikes, as if they are made in England.  Why is the Thai flag not on their logo?  
It's happening all over the industry. Triumph, Ducati, and Honda are all building bikes in Thailand. BMW, KTM, and Harley-Davidson build bikes in India. Yamaha has factories in Indonesia. And regardless of where your bike is finally assembled it's full of parts sourced from China and elsewhere.
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Guest kernowjim
Because it's a British company!
it's British owned, not British made.  There is a difference.  I want the bike to built in Britain by British workers - not sure why anyone would be against that idea.
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Guest kernowjim
I don't have a problem with goods being manufactured in the far east, what I do have a problem with is Triumph waving the Union Jack everywhere when the (majority) of their bikes are made in Thailand.  There is no reason to manufacture in Thailand other than to profit off of the back of cheap labour and yet Triumph are still charging a premium for their bikes, as if they are made in England.  Why is the Thai flag not on their logo?  
It's happening all over the industry. Triumph, Ducati, and Honda are all building bikes in Thailand. BMW, KTM, and Harley-Davidson build bikes in India. Yamaha has factories in Indonesia. And regardless of where your bike is finally assembled it's full of parts sourced from China and elsewhere.
Yes I understand it is happening but as a Brit, Triumph to me should remain a British company employing British workers in Britain.  As unpopular as that might be with the company's accountants, that's what I would want as a Triumph customer.  If I can't get that, then I exercise my right to choose another brand.  I'm not paying a premium for a product that is marketed as British but made in Thailand.  When I pay 30% more for a bike that is more than a Yamah a or a Honda, I'd like some of the profit go to employing British workers rather than straight it's owners.
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It's happening all over the industry. Triumph, Ducati, and Honda are all building bikes in Thailand. BMW, KTM, and Harley-Davidson build bikes in India. Yamaha has factories in Indonesia. And regardless of where your bike is finally assembled it's full of parts sourced from China and elsewhere.
Yes I understand it is happening but as a Brit, Triumph to me should remain a British company employing British workers in Britain.  As unpopular as that might be with the company's accountants, that's what I would want as a Triumph customer.  If I can't get that, then I exercise my right to choose another brand.  I'm not paying a premium for a product that is marketed as British but made in Thailand.  When I pay 30% more for a bike that is more than a Yamah a or a Honda, I'd like some of the profit go to employing British workers rather than straight it's owners.
Are (comparable) Triumphs really 30% more expensive in the UK than their Japanese counterparts - bike for bike?   And - though we'll never know the answer - I wonder how much more UK buyers would have to pay for a Triumph bike made entirely at Hinckley compared to a Thai product...   And FWIW, I've owned two Hinckley Triumphs - a Thunderbird Sport, very retro in styling: and a more recent Tiger Sport 1050 SE.   I found both to be competitively priced within each market segment, and both were satisfying machines, apart from the Tiger's seat, which rivalled that on the Tracer for a tortuous experience!

Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia.   

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If I were British, yes I suppose I might feel differently about it. I've lobbed similar criticisms at Dodge when they used patriotic imagery to advertise the Canadian-built Charger. Nothing against Canadians, I just hate misleading marketing.
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...but as a Brit, Triumph to me should remain a British company employing British workers in Britain.  As unpopular as that might be with the company's accountants, that's what I would want as a Triumph customer.  If I can't get that, then I exercise my right to choose another brand. 
I totally get that, @kernowjim , and respect the perspective.   Although I'm an Iowa-born American, my wife is from Berkhamsted, and she is fiercely loyal to her British roots.  I assume that Triumph corporate profits, and therefore substantial income tax revenue, are reported through the parent corporate location, so I still think there is credibility to the idea that you're buying to support the home team.   Engineering, marketing, et cetera, but alas not so much manufacturing these days.   
It's all over:  Swedish stawart Volvo barely survived a disastrous ownership by Ford, is currently owned by Chinese mammoth Geely, and now is thriving while assembling their flagship XC90 model (among others) in both Sweden and Malaysia.   My last two Dodge Ram trucks - about as American of a vehicle as you get - were assembled in Saltillo Mexico...    
 
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Having owned some British bikes back in the 70's, all I can say is that a bit of Asian engineering is the best thing that ever happened to Triumph.
As the former owner of a Jaguar XKE, I whole-heartedly endorse this statement!
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Harley is blaming it's slump on everything but themselves
 
2016 sold 250,000 bikes
2017 sold 240,000 bikes
 
How does selling 10k less bikes worldwide equal a loss of $40million USD??
 
 
2012 wr250f - C-class 30+ age group
2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition-80whp
2015 fj-09- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich tune by 2WDW @120whp
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Harley is blaming it's slump on everything but themselves 
2016 sold 250,000 bikes
2017 sold 240,000 bikes
 
How does selling 10k less bikes worldwide equal a loss of $40million USD??
 

Well, why would they blame themselves? It can't be our fault....... 
 
 
Honestly, these are large companies with many different groups, who have to work together to make everything work. Product design needs to create something that people want, engineering has to build a product that works well, designers need to craft something that is appealing and meets the needs of consumers, and marketing and sales have to price and sell it to be profitable. When you think about it, it's a wonder anyone makes any money.............
 
It really is a marvel when a company creates a bike that is both a commercial success for the company, and a great bike for us riders.
 
 
 
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