While I prefer to support a site sponsor here, I also could not afford well over $1000 per wheel, plus tires, to upgrade my wheels. By the time one is done, especially if you add the matching rotors, you are at around 3 grand to put 2 wheels on a Harley. To me that is outrageous. There are many here who would find this acceptable and consider that pocket change (judging by the houses and neighborhoods you see in the background of some of the photos) but not for a working stiff such as myself. I went a different route and so far it has worked good. I also wonder why Harley wheels are so damn high priced.

 

yes I agree, I will not spend a 1000 dollars a wheel myself. looks like I will have to find another way. Thanks for all the help

 

Prices are driven by actual cost of manufacturing the wheels. These are not cast aluminum made in China wheels. Every rim is cnc machined out of t 6061 billet aluminum by American workers whom actually need to get paid a fair wage in order to be able to support themselves. Think about it.

Now if were are talking car or truck wheels that are made overseas out of cast aluminum by foreign workers whom get paid $3 a day then maybe they could sold for less as manufacturing costs would be drastically lower. However, since we are dealing with made in the USA motorcycles (mostly) the least we can do is manufacture our wheels here in the USA and support our own work force.

You make the choice. You can buy wheels made overseas. There are plenty out there. This is why manufacturing products overseas is a problem. People come to expect the lower prices of imported goods on stuff that is made here in the USA when it is not feasible in any way.

So, the choice is yours. The next time you complain that that t shirt, your jeans, tv, cellphone, tv etc is made overseas realize it is our own thinking that has gotten us to where we are. I want a less expensive item equates to a lot more than just saving a few bucks. Think of all the empty factories and unemployed individuals.

Yes, some of this is beyond our control, however not all of it is.

 

There are no choices. It is get bent over (I could buy a newer used dirt bike & a trailer for 2k) or try and slam a newer model wheel on your bike.

Look I know you guys have to make a buck but wheel prices are just stupid high, I guess you sell them left & right though.

Just depressing. My wheels are so fugly. I guess I just need to buy them and stfu.

 

I realize this is a dated thread. But given that we are in an election cycle, and this issue comes up in discussion a lot, I wanted to weigh in.

These are valid points. The desire for lower prices by consumers has driven manufacturers to relocate to lower priced labor regions. For manufacturing processes that are highly labor intensive, they have to be elsewhere in order to be competitive. The occasional consumer who desires to Buy American won't change that. What will be interesting to see is if increased automation will reduce the manual content and allow some manufacturing to stay/return to North America. If so, costs should also come down. Computer processes like CNC'ing are highly automated, requiring minimal manual involvement after machine programming. And since customers and manufacturing are both domestic, shipping costs and import duty should be lower or non existent on domestic manufactured products like these.

It's a tough question. But the reality is, the marketplace is global. You can embrace that fact, or rebel against it. What you choose for your company will ultimately determine whether you grow, die off, or just manintain the status quo. Not all product from overseas are crap. Not all US made products are top shelf. Metals are tricky (there's a reason the defense Dept restricts the countries from which it can buy metal and metal made products). But again, just because it's from overseas, doesn't mean it's junk.

I think the issue the guy above brought up is the DISPARITY in price. Not that these domestic products are more expensive. But that they are WAY more expensive. For automated processes like CNC machined products, the costs may be more than cast items, sure. But it's not driven by manual labor costs. And again, we can fly the flag all we want, bUt manufacturing is not returning to America in any appreciable amount. Accept it and adjust, or plod along and ultimately die off. Welcome to the reality of a flat world.

 

Well said and I agree, the sooner we sit back on our hard earned $$ and stop having to have ALL the pretty things that TV dorks say are cool and say are better in the "good ole USA" we may just ride and have better days...I love and fought for this country but get tired of the BS attitudes of those that sell these machines and parts some days and feel for guys that bust the backs trying to afford parts while metric guys get their crap right off the showroom floor....

 

Here's some basic info http://wanaryd.com/harley-road-king.html