Why aren't there more American motorcycle manufacturers?

The U.S. has Harley Davidson and Victory who basically make expensive cruisers and a bunch of custom chopper makers. Buell is the only attempt that the U.S. makes a sportbike which doesn't come close to the amount of Japanese and European competition.


There isn't even an American dirtbike company. There is really no beginner 250cc American motorcycle. The HD Sportster 883 is as close to a beginner bike as it gets.


So why can't America be more competitive with making motorcycles of all kinds like they do with cars?


Is it that there is little business interest here in the U.S. or are they just not that smart to engineer their own bikes here other than heavy cruisers? Are they too afraid to copy Japanese models of motorcycles and sell them at a similar price? Even if they did, at least they would be American made and America would have more American motorcycles for buyers to choose from.|||The U.S. is a huge country with a lot of open road. Big countries with wide open spaces call for big bikes. If we were the size of Japan we would make Jap size bikes. Somebody has to be top dog and we (like it or not) are it. We make big, fast, long lasting bikes. It fits our country. Kinda like why do Eskimos drive sled dogs. You wanna cover some ground get a Harley. Same reason we build big cars. Big trucks. Big buildings. Big jock straps. Big Space shuttles. Big H - bombs. We are big compared to them. Top Dog. The reason Japan even has an industrial base is because after WWII we gave them our expertise, free loans etc. and we built their factories for them so they would become what they are today. We wanted them to be what we have now made them. That was our right and it's what we did. You gotta remember, they surrendered unconditionally. We could have put them all on a reservation in the Sahara desert and homesteaded Japan if we wanted to. We paid for that right with blood. You have the right to ride a Harley - paid with blood|||If it wasn't for unions most of the jobs in America wouldn't be worth having.They were responsible for people getting a good wage and health benefits in most jobs that offer them.Most of the people where i work are union members and our company still makes record profits so we can't be dragging them down too bad.So you just keep buying your Chinese and Japanese stuff and i'll keep going to my union job and hauling it across country for you to buy.|||American unions and infastructure costs are too high.


Rules and regulations to start are stiff.


One recession and you are done.|||We can't compete with the prices offered overseas. Automobiles compete because they have a stronger lobby and congress made laws that in effect protected them from overseas competition.|||instead of complaining,why arent YOU out there doing something about it ?


not so easy is it ?|||To begin with, Americans (generally) are more into form than function. We'd rather buy a clumsy non-handling dead-last Sportster than a modern motorcycle.


The UAF is another monkey wrench.


Then, there's the EPA whose sole job seems to be to sink American business.


America has been so thoroughly sold out by our legislators that you'll never see a true production performer made here.





BTW, Honda moved mc production back to Japan because their new plant can build several times more units per year than the Ohio plants. The Ohio plants are building cars, now.|||If unions were the problem there wouldnt be so many Toyotas made that way! I would buy an USA made Toyota before a Mexican Avalanche,PT Cruiser or Equinox with the Chinese motor thats not worth scrap metal. Look to see where the so called Domestics are actually made. My Malibu is great and actually made here HURRAY LOL.


Alot of EPA regulations closed plants here so the go were they wont be bothered at all. Why cant find leathers that easy made here.Regulations are good to a point . I want clean air and water too. And neeed to add same tax burdens on imports as the companies trying to make it here would help (THANKS BILL CLINTON!! ) NAFTA and GAT killed .that .Now our dollar no longer worth a crap .Gas wouldnt be as big a deal if our wages went up w/ inflation instead of going to China and India.|||It's easy to say the Unions are at fault but the answer really lies in the consumer. We need to buy American even if it cost more. Do you know how much food in the grocery store is from other countries? I was surprised to see that some of our canned corn comes from Thailand. Americans put your money where your mouth is and support American jobs. Honda just closed their plant in Marysville Ohio to go back to Japan and build. If we were buying the American made bikes they would have no problem staying here.