Can anyone fill me in on the strike at the Harley plant? What kind of affect will it have on the bikes manufactured during the strike,how long did it last and when were they on strike etc?

 

I know they have been back to work for a while now, and I think they got a pretty good pay raise.

The dealer where I bought my Nightster thinks that he will not get all of the bikes he has on orderfrom HD, but like he said "we will see." For all I know he might just be blowing smoke up my a** to get me to buy.

Brian

 

I don't know this but it is my opinion only. I would not buy a bike, car or a pack of chewing gum that was manufactured anytime in the window of time near the beginning or end of a strike. Too many bad attitudes among the workers. I don't mind taking my chances with the occasional mistake being made inthe manufacturingbut I would be worried about leaving myself open to intentional sabotage.

 

From what I have heard through my dealer is that production fromt he Kansas City Final Assembly Plant (Dynas, XLs and V-Rods) was unaffected while produciton form York, PA F/A Plant has reduced his allocaiton of Softtails and Touring models.

The dealers are none too happy about this as, at least in this market area, the Softtails and the Touring models are their best sellers. Go fugure.

 

Whaap, I agree with you on this. I was worried as I have an Ultra POSE in order. It originally was to be delivered 1-2nd week of March. That could have put its production around the time of the strike. If all goes well, it will be delivered within the next 2 weeks, meaning it was produced AFTER the strike. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I would hate to have a bike that was just started or half built when the strike started. I'd be wondering if it was completed with all its nuts, bolts and parts.

 

My bike was supposed to be here on Feb 9th, 2007. The union voted to walk out on Wed night 1/31/07'. The walk out was scheduled for 2/2/07'. The admin at the York plant became aware of this vote that Wed night. So they told the employees not to come to work Thursday 2/1/07', and locked them out that day.

Harley let them carry their health benefits and insurance through Monday 2/12/07', when they cancled their benefits. They felt they were at an impass in the agreement with this thing.

On either 2/15 or 2/16 they came to an agreement. However, they had to wait (allegedly until they had a place to hold 2800 people) until Thursday 2/22/07 to vote on it. It did pass, and I believe they went back to work the next day on 2/23/07' (Friday).

My delivery date was changed to 3/26/07', and yesterday I was told it should be here tomorrow.

I had concerns about getting a bike around this time also. However, I had already traded in my bike in January and was locked in with the dealer I made the trade.

I wrote Harely during the strike, because I was concerned about this whole mess. Someone from Milwaukee actually called me back and talked to me for about 45 minutes.

Their plan was to have many extra non union people and administration guys along the line, for QA. They planned on more than the standard testing etc. He made me feel comfortable things would be fine.

On the other end, there were quite a few union people on a topix forum, during this time. They insisted not to worry, and they would make a good bike once it was all over.

In the end the union won out, and pretty much got everything.

Hopefully all will be well.


Ricky

 

my dealer here in wisconsin told me they are estimating 18,000 fewer bikes spread over 600 plus dealers this year. that number seems ridiculously high, but that is what the dude said...just before he sold me my SG....hmmmmmm?

 

oh yeah, one more thing. I have relatives who work at the MOCO, I gaurantee you have nothing to worry about with quality of bikes before or after the strike. There is such a thing as quality control, and Harley takes that extremely seriously these days....its all good. Those people take pride in the work they do.

its why the give youa two year warranty remember.

 

Quality?warranty?Why has some of these site topics gone as high as 30 pages with no fix in sight?What has HDs C/S done to help these owners?Why cant a dealer give these owners a honest answer?Why the big cover up?The aftermarket has stepped in when HD wont.When does owner appreciation kick in?Oh I see,once the warranty runs out,or the bike is passed to another because the original owner gave up.Quality means all bikes not just the lucky!

 

Rick, thanks for the update, thats good to know. I will check in with my dealer on Saturday. They can check it from their computer. the ship date that is. Hopefully it is in the works. They build the POSE, FFSE and Patriot bikes in batches, if you miss a build you can wait 6 months or longer.