that's what I would be riding if I were: single/younger, wealthier(to afford tickets) and had more time to ride.Those GS are fantastic bikes, built for function, go anywhere in comfort, speed, balance...uh, but in my current situation, my Bob is what I want - it's a lot more fun to ride a slow bike fast, than a fast bike slow.

 

what he said

 

Long but interesting 2006 L.A. cop bike evaluation.

http://www.lasd.org/sites/motorcycle-test/2006.pdf

 

Are you an American?

Do you love your country?

If so, here's you opportunity to spend your money where you make it.

H/D is an American company. Although the H/D isn't 100% American content anymore, the people who work at the 3 factory's are...and they need our support.

BMW lacks a HEART. Like marrying a girl that is always quiet, and never has an opinion of her own. Most of us want a girl that compliments us, and is fun to just be with, not a darn "statue".[&:] H/D isn't a rational purchase, it's an EMOTIONAL purchase......you buy one to try to capture what was best about the USA, and just maybe, could be that way again someday.[&:]

BMW riders are like liberals. They just don't get it, the patriotism, love America, etc., etc. They are "intellectually superior" to the rest of us. They also tend to drive Volvos and Subaru's with bike racks on them, join poetry clubs, join wine tasting clubs, wear wool sweaters and knit hats, birkenstocks,and ride BMW's.....sorry, but it's true![&:]

Buy the d@mn Harley, dress how you want, ride with who you want, and just be yourself. I do! I ride with ANYONE, I like all motorcycles...but I love the fact that my Susie isn't perfect....

Joe
[&:]

 

Yes!

Absolutely!

Great. It is a global economy nowadays. Almost all of us can thank China, India, and other developing countries for keeping our economy growing. Our economy would be in the tank and it would be Layoff City if it weren't for these countries buying our products.

Love the H-D product. Buy it too often. Glad it helps.

HOGWASH. When I'm blasting a Colorado canyon there's nothing giving me the grins like the K1200S. The growl from the Akrapovic exhaust combined with the race intake sends shivers down the spine. Totally an emotional and exciting purchase.

Ahh, the stereotype. Doesn't describe me at all. It would be like saying all H-D ridersdress like pirates and ride from bar to bar only. That is, when they rarely get out. Does this fit you?

Excellent. The BMW isn't perfect either and I'm totally smitten with it...


[/quote]

 

OK, I'll bite.....which of our products ( besides perhaps food ) are the Chinese, Indians, and other developing countries buying at such a rate that it's kept our economy out of the tank ?

The "Global Economy" to me is a myth that the large corporations in the US are forcing on us to increase their profit margins.

 

Now what if somebodyon a BMW board posted that all Harley riders are hillbillies that never finished the third grade. They tend to drive broken down pickup trucks, dress up like pirates, sit around getting drunk on moonshine and marry their first cousins.

Hope you can see how this stuff might beoffensive.

 

WTF?!?! Yeah, maybe if you are buying Dell PCs or Nike shoes [:@]

I challenge you to come here to Michigan and show me how those former 3rd World Countries are helping our economy. Highest unemployement, home foreclosures and fastest declining property values and population.

By the way I do live in "Layoff City". Lost my job November 7th (my 9th wedding anniversary too) and there is no light at the end of the tunnel thus far to find another that will even allow me to pay my bills, which are extremely low with no car payments or plastic debt and a tiny housepurchased 9 years ago.

And I WAS NOT a Union Autoworker, nor did I work at any of the Domestic car companies. Just a result of this glorious Global Economy whereworkers in Michigan have to compete for manufactuering & now research jobs (my line of work) with countries that pay people pennnies a day. [sm=rant.gif]

With the trade imbalance we as a country are at a huge disadvantage. We can't export things into China, stuff has to be made there. So exactly what do they buy from us? Even with our food export they play a game leaving it sit on the docks until it is rotten and then not accepting it.

I am not THANKING those countries for ANYTHING! They have done me no favors, and IMO that is the most off the wall thing I think I have ever read in the WWW.

This is not the Politcal forum, so I better stop.

But I guess the economy is booming for someone that can afford to go to Europe and rent a BMW motorcycle for a video tour. I just hope to not have to sell anything else I own [&o]

 

Well let me educate you.

Take a look at the financial reports of most of the Fortune 100 companies, if not Fortune 500, and note the growth breakout by regions of the world. Everyone on Wall Street knows when Japan or Europe sneezes economically we catch a nasty economic cold... so much of the Fortune 500's business is overseas now. And let me tell you, this is a Wall Street country. If the business isn't moving, if quarterly financial reports don't please the investment community orthe big money or the big institutional investors, the ratings drop, the money goes elsewhere, stock falls, and companies start to stagnate, fade, lay off, close facilities, etc... and this trickles down to small companies who have customers with less $$$

But let's just focus on one country for the moment and keep it simple. China. It is the future of the world economic scene. Have been there three times the past year or so. Just go to Google and search on Shanghai. While the U.S. has 20 cities over 1,000,000 people, China has over 200!!! Have seen the construction for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Their population is increasingly having more disposable income and they are hungry for quality goods. The growth rates are staggering. Fortunately, American executives had the foresight to see this 10-20 years ago and we are in place to grow with the country and meet the hungry demand. With construction and development going on everywhere, and greater financial resources in the hands of many, with no end in sight soon, here are just some of the industries finding China driving much of their growth, keeping employees in the U.S. employed, and then indirectly benefitting all in the U.S...

- Consumer products... diapers, laundry, breakfast cereals, cosmetics, hair care, cleaners, and so forth
- Steel, metal products
- Internet products, routers, switches, cabling
- Software
- Heavy equipment... Caterpillar, John Deere, etc.
- Petroleum and numerous oil based products
- Engineering
- Aircraft, avionics, supporting industries
- Service, services, services
- Concrete, materials
- Medical know-how, facilities, training
- Computers, systems, cooling facilities, storage, etc.
- Food products, grains, fertilizers, etc.
- Clothing
- Consulting
- Media, movies, DVD's, music
- Etc and etc. and etc.

The list goes on and on. Go into a China store (BTW, Wal*Mart just bought China's largest retailer) and one sees U.S. products throughout the store. And the growth rate is phenomenal as people there increasingly have more to spend. And the surface has barely been scratched.. so much of China is untapped. It is happening elsewhere as well. Can name other countries driving our business growth here. The U.S. has plateau'd in many industries.The big moneyis going where there is growth.

You may not like to hear this, you may not like to read this, you can stick your head in a hole and wish it would go away and weren't true. Then our global competitors would be winning contracts in the developing world and we'd be seeing their economies shine while ours fades. Fortunately we have competitive bu

 

Sorry for your situation but you are in a place where stagnating industries dominate. It would be far worse in Michigan (Where I used to live) and elsewhere if there weren't a global marketplace for our products. What you are observing is akin to when trains died out, automobiles came, and countless other industries faded and grew as progress and technologies changed the marketplace. But don't blame developing countries elsewhere.

You are mistaken about China. We export stuff made in the U.S. and elsewhere there all the time. Do you think we're going to build the Boeing airliners China just bought from us in a huge order over there in China? Overwhelmingly the products aren't manufactured there, and don't forget services. Egads, this is a service based world and economynow. Also, how does one manufacture intellectual capital? It comes from our brains here and we take it elsewhere, paid mightily for it and the money comes back here. Countless, countless other examples.