46u wrote...Honda brought to you by those that brought you Pearl Harbor! BMW brought to you by those that brought you the death camps.
If we are going to use history to help us decide which brand of bike to buy, and we eliminate all countries who have committed atrocities in the past, I think we will all be googling Liechtenstein to see is they produce motorcycles. But then again, they may have some skeletons in the closet too.
gmn109 wrote...One that comes to mind is Husqvarna which started building bikes about the same time in 1903 that Harley-Davidson did but they are now owned by BMW so there's no continuity.
So with that logic, the AMF period (69-81), would break up the continuity for HD.
BigD - 6/2/2010 6:26 AM
gmn109 wrote...One that comes to mind is Husqvarna which started building bikes about the same time in 1903 that Harley-Davidson did but they are now owned by BMW so there's no continuity.
So with that logic, the AMF period (69-81), would break up the continuity for HD.
I'm an attorney. I don't use logic.
Having said that. There was no time during which Harley-Davidson was not producing motorcycles and motorcycle parts at their plants at Milwaukee, Pontiac, Tomahawk and surrounds. There is a continuity there that is lacking in other companies.
I'm almost certain that Husqvarna was not producing much of anything at the time that BMW bought the name. It's not worth any of our time to look this up, however and I have to tell you, I simply don't care.
Another company that comes to mind that has a great name that foundered in the 1970's is Triumph. They were pretty much just a name in that era. They are quite healthy now thanks to an infusion of good management and lots of funding.
The whole problem with this thread is that it was mis-named by the original poster. Instead of calling the ad "Satire on Harley" or "Parody on Harley" it was "First Honest Harley Commercial".
I have never said that Harley-Davidson was the perfect motorcycle. They have represented an aspect of my life that has a great deal of meaning. Suffice it to say, you either one own or you don't.
Ask BMW who helped them design the belt systems on there smaller BMW bikes like the 800! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😉 Have a friend with a close to a million miles on motorcycles and he has owned 9 or 10 BMW and has one now this is why he is taking his old 88 Harley to Alaska! LOL I have a GOOD friend that bought a 2002 Goldwing about the same time I bought my 02 Harley. For the first year we did not ride much together as his 02 HONDA spent more time in the shop then it did at his house! LOL
Ask HD who helped them redesign the entire engine in the '80s...LOL
Two pages of whining about a parody and not one person claiming Jap bashing or BMW bashing over those comments.
I rest my case.
Folks, turn off your computer and go for a ride.
BigD - 6/2/2010 12:12 PM
Ask HD who helped them redesign the entire engine in the '80s...LOL
The Nova 4 never did make it to production and Porsche is the one working with Harley on it. LOL 😉
Wonder if true Americans bought more USA products what the economy would be like. LOL :O
I was refering to Porsche...as in German engineers.
I agree with your 'buy local' comment. I was planning on purchasing an american automobile next year (my first in over 25yrs) with the economy in mind.
By the way, I like Harleys.
cheers
BigD - 6/2/2010 4:10 PM
I was refering to Porsche...as in German engineers.
Yes but they had a lot less if any real input on the Evolution like with the Nova 4. The Evolution is at least 50% the same as the shovel head and even a big part of earlier Harley engines so you cannot say it is a totally redesigned engine. I have build many a Harley engine in the past 40 years down to doing most of the machine work. Have a small engine machine shop in my basement.
I like all brands my self. I have gotten into many a heated discussion with other Harley riders about this. Fact be know this thread was directed at degrading Harley and their riders! I would have never posted anything negative about other models if others would not have open the door. 😉
How many here know about the inline 4 Harley was working on 3 years before Honda came out with their 750 in 1969? 😮
Started on Harleys in '56 and have a Harley/TLE now - BUT, that was funny!
Nothing like some good sarcasm and creativeness. 🙂
Disclaimer: I have a very warped sense of humor - just ask my wife, kids, and grandkids.
the oldest company in the world continually making motorcycles, originally in england then england and india,and now only in india is royal enfield.
I guess the Indian Marque could say the same only with several different owners, manufacturers and venues.
Lonnie
chaddokid - 6/3/2010 6:28 AM
the oldest company in the world continually making motorcycles, originally in england then england and india,and now only in india is royal enfield.
Well, sort of. The company ceased operation in 1971 and the tooling and license were taken up by Royal Enfield India whcih did not have the rights to the name until 1995 although they began building machine in 1955. So, it's anyone's guess.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Enfield
indian has not been continously produced, there has been much stopping and starting, as the company went out of business, and court fights over the rights to the name indian and start ups and failures of the new indian companies. as i understand it when royal enfield opened a plant in india an indian law required that the majority of the company stock be held by the indians, at this point the word royal was dropped from the name of motorcycles produced at this plant to differentiate from bikes produced in england, both plants produced bikes until the parent company went belly up in 1971, the indian plant has constantly produced motorcycles,regaining at a later date the right to use the word royal as mentioned by gnm109 above. now let me throw a bomb, if the bikes produced in india were not royal enfields because they dropped the word royal,then what was the brand of bike in the earlier 1970s that had the letters amf on the gas tank
chaddokid - 6/3/2010 6:24 PM
indian has not been continously produced, there has been much stopping and starting, as the company went out of business, and court fights over the rights to the name indian and start ups and failures of the new indian companies. as i understand it when royal enfield opened a plant in india an indian law required that the majority of the company stock be held by the indians, at this point the word royal was dropped from the name of motorcycles produced at this plant to differentiate from bikes produced in england, both plants produced bikes until the parent company went belly up in 1971, the indian plant has constantly produced motorcycles,regaining at a later date the right to use the word royal as mentioned by gnm109 above. now let me throw a bomb, if the bikes produced in india were not royal enfields because they dropped the word royal,then what was the brand of bike in the earlier 1970s that had the letters amf on the gas tank
I presume that you do not mean "indian". Perhaps you are referring to the East Indian Enfield company that began producing copies of the 350cc and 500 cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle. The company started up under license in 1955 at the time that Royal Enfield was still operating in Britain. As shown in the link that I provided earlier, Royal Enfield went out of busines in 1971. That left the East Indian company still bulding them although they did not gain the rights to the name until 1995. Thus, 1955 and 1995 were not Royal Enfields.
You lost me when you referred to a motorcycle called "The AMF". There has never been a motorcycyle called "The AMF". In fact, AMF bought the company and made it a subsidiary from 1969 to 1981. It was still called Harley-Davidson, the bikes were still marked on the gas tanks and elsewhere as Harley-Davidson usually with an AMF logo somewher else.
My 1980 TLE Harley sidecar had an AMF logo sticker that was riveted on the tub at the extreme rear. I removed it and filled the two rivet holes when I repainted the sidecar to match my then 1982 (non-AMF) FXS (Shovelhead) bike.
Your hypothesis which states, insofar as I am able to understand it, that Harley-Davidson went completely out of business in 1969 and became the "AMF" and then went back into busines in 1981 and was then again called "Harley-Davidson" is just plain wrong. Companies often change ownership and continue producing the same product. There are hundreds of companies that have been bought out by other entities. GM is now owned by the U.S. government. Has GM gone out of business?
The problem with this thread is that it was mis-titled as being about an honest commercial. It's not an honest commercial. It's a satire or parody that attempts to point out non-existant faults with handling and quality of the Harley-Davidson motorcyccle. It's the commercial equivalent of a lawyer joke, which is also a stupid form of satire.
Anyway, your so-called "bomb" is just silly and just doesn't make any sense. The bottom line is that this whole thread gave the Harley-Haters on this site (you know who you are, LOL) a free rein to vent their spleens.
Enjoy.
