QUICK TIPS: General Guidelines For Riding A Motorcycle Safely

Be visible:
• Remember that motorists often have trouble seeing motorcycles and reacting in time.
• Make sure your headlight works and is on day and night.
• Use reflective strips or decals on your clothing and on your motorcycle.
• Be aware of the blind spots cars and trucks have.
• Flash your brake light when you are slowing down and before stopping.
• If a motorist doesn’t see you, don’t be afraid to use your horn.

Dress for safety:
• Wear a quality helmet and eye protection.
• Wear bright clothing and a light-colored helmet.
• Wear leather or other thick, protective clothing.
• Choose long sleeves and pants, over-the-ankle boots, and gloves.
• Remember – the only thing between you and the road is your protective gear.

Apply effective mental strategies:
• Constantly search the road for changing conditions. Use MSF’s Search, Evaluate, Execute strategy (SEESM) to increase time and space safety margins.
• Give yourself space and time to respond to other motorists’ actions.
• Give other motorists time and space to respond to you.
• Use lane positioning to be seen; ride in the part of a lane where you are most visible.
• Watch for turning vehicles.
• Signal your next move in advance.
• Avoid weaving between lanes.
• Pretend you’re invisible, and ride extra defensively.
• Don't ride when you are tired or under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
• Know and follow the rules of the road, and stick to the speed limit.

Know your bike and how to use it:
• Get formal training and take refresher courses.
• Call 800.446.9227 or visit www.msf-usa.org to locate the Motorcycle Safety Foundation hands-on

RiderCourseSM nearest you.
• Practice. Develop your riding techniques before going into heavy traffic. Know how to handle your bike in conditions such as wet or sandy roads, high winds, and uneven surfaces.
Remember: Give yourself space. People driving cars often just don’t see motorcycles. Even when drivers do see you, chances are they’ve never been on a motorcycle and can’t properly judge your speed.

(www.msf-usa.org 10/06)

Is Buying American Enough?

Today’s blog speaks about how to buy American made parts for your Harley Davidson motorcycle and the role that wholesalers, dealers/retailers, and All American Harley Parts plays in this process. This should shed some light on the best way to support American companies and keep our dollars in the USA.

The large motorcycle parts wholesalers, the big books you see at your local dealer, forces the manufacturer to sell their parts at substantial discounts so they can resell these parts to dealers for a profit who in turn takes another piece of the pie on the retail sales. If the Harley parts manufacturer is not willing to sell their parts to them for this huge discount, they will not be carried by their dealer network and their parts will not have the same reach without them.

This puts the manufacturer in a precarious position. Do they go it alone in an effort to retain profits and attempt to market their own parts or do they lay down for the wholesaler in an effort to sell more volume? If the manufacturer decides to go it alone they are forced to market their own parts which may or may not be within their field of expertise. The manufacturer may end up spending more in marketing than the difference the wholesaler requires as a discount and end up selling fewer parts. This makes the idea of selling their parts cheaper appealing to have access to the wholesaler’s large distribution network.

If the volume is substantial then it may be adequate, but we know that people want to personalize their bikes so they don’t look like every other bike parked in front of the biker bar.  Many buyers looking for personalization are between a rock and a hard place because the truly unique parts are not readily available to the average consumer. The parts that are available are mass produced and lose their appeal to the biker looking for something cool and custom.

The manufacturer that decides to work with a wholesaler is undercutting their profit margins by a large percentage and has less available funds to do research and development for NEW unique parts and to cover costly overhead. This is why many of the American Harley Davidson aftermarket part manufacturers are forced into finding cheaper labor and shipping manufacturing overseas in order to maintain profitable margins and continue operations. It is a vicious cycle that is perpetuated by the wholesaler.

Outsourcing to places like China are taking the manufacturing operations out of the hands of the original craftsman that has a passion for motorcycles and are passing it on to less qualified cheap labor that has probably never sat on a motorcycle let alone put a custom bike together. This can equate to poor quality control and parts that may not fit as advertised or other defects because of lack of experience manufacturing parts for Harley Davidson motorcycles.

Where do our dollars go? When you buy parts from the big book wholesalers you are inadvertently hurting the American manufacturer that has decided to keep their operations in the USA and you may be prompting them to consider the idea of outsourcing manufacturing overseas in order to get back an adequate profit. So you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t.   

All American Harley Parts offers a solution with a business model that makes it desirable for manufacturers and consumers alike. The manufacturer benefits because the wholesaler has been taken out of the picture; they are able to keep larger profit margins that can be reinvested in R&D or whatever the manufacturer deems necessary. The customer benefits by being able to purchase quality CUSTOM American made parts for their Harley Davidson motorcycle that have been made by the original designers and they are not indirectly perpetuating the cycle and desire of outsourcing for cheaper labor.

All American Harley Parts is committed to fostering positive relationships with manufacturers and customers. Our focus is keeping our dollars in the USA and maintaining a mutually beneficial business relationship with all of our stakeholders. You can be assured that your purchase from All American Harley Parts will result in excellent custom American made parts for your Harley with adequate profits returning back to the manufacturer to continue operations.

Doing business with All American Harley Parts is a win/win opportunity.

Orange County Choppers will Fail in the Coming Years: Innovation & Grooming a Successor

Orange County Choppers, the business starring in the hit show American Chopper, announced that they will be vacating their huge building that was built during the peak of the economy due to foreclosure. Why would a business that has had tremendous growth over the last ten years be facing foreclosure and have to vacate their manufacturing facility?

The faithful fans of the series know that Paul Jr. has had difficulties with his father in the past; so much so that it forced Paul Jr. into starting his own business and telling his father to take a long walk off a short pier. What did this mean for OCC? It meant that they pushed out their visionary chopper builder Paul Jr. because Paul Sr. believed that he made the business successful and Jr. was just a slacker, but what Sr. didn’t realize was that Jr. was the one that was able to create new and exciting designs that Sr. could only dream of.

According to Dictionary.com (2011), innovation is defined as something newly introduced, such as a new method or device. Jr. was the individual that brought innovation to OCC and brought exciting new designs to fruition. In the absence of Jr., the OCC team has been designing lackluster designs due to the inability to truly innovate. It proves that even if a company has a huge manufacturing facility, CNC machines, water jet, and all of the tools required to create cool innovative parts, it won’t amount to anything without a leader with vision.

Ego can cloud anyone’s vision for reality. When you are on top, it seems as if it will last forever and you can simply coast through the rest of life with no real need to push and drive yourself to new innovative ideas. The companies that succeed are constantly reinventing themselves to create something bigger, faster, and better. OCC will need to search for some new talent that is hungry for success, and can bring some new ideas to the table. It seems like everything that can be done in the motorcycle industry has already been done and it will require some inspiration to make it happen.

Say what you will about Jr.’s work ethic, yes he may be a slacker; he may come up missing in the middle of the day; he may give the impression that he doesn’t care; but at the end of the day he is the one that brings the killer ideas to the table. Does it matter? No, not when the bikes are coming out awesome and they get done on time, everybody’s creative process is different.

How do you groom a successor when you are an ego maniac and you think you know everything and your kin knows nothing? Everyone wants to retire someday right? Would it make sense to pass along the business to the 2^nd generation that knows how the business functions?

Here is my question to you…

Do you personally know of any businesses initially ran by ego maniacs that has had a successful transition to the 2^nd generation?

Thanks for visiting my blog! Your comments are encouraged! When you get a chance, stop by my website and check out the innovative parts created by American companies in the USA for your Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Thanks,

Larry

All American HarleyParts.com

2012 Harley Davidson Switchback: Bad Ass or Bust?

Harley Davidson added a new model to the Dyna family for 2012, the Switchback. We will take a look at the key features of this bike including the motor, fenders, forks, bags, and will rate them either “Bad Ass” or “Bust” and calculate the findings and offer our recommendation of the newest addition to the Harley brand we all know and love.

Motor

The Switchback sports the 103 cubic inch motor off the showroom floor. Does it crank out gobs of power straight out of the box? No… After riding one of these bikes I expected a slightly higher pucker factor than the Twin Cam 88 on my 03’ Fatboy but I felt let down when I came to realize that this motor is nothing impressive without opening your wallet for some much needed upgrades. Does it have potential? Yes… but it’ll cost you.

Rating: Almost Bad Ass

Rear Fender

Who stole the rear fender off my Fatboy and made it fit on that Dyna??? Oh… It was the Harley Davidson design team!

Rating: Bust

Front Fender

Who stole the front fender off the Street Glide??? Oh it was the Harley crew again! Lame

Rating: Bust

Gas Tank

Do you ever look at a Suzuki Boulevard and just wish you could take the tank off and modify it to fit on your Harley? Yeah… Me either. Even the badge on the side of the tank screams BOULEVARD from a distance. Sorry Harley, you really “tanked” this one.

Rating: Bust

Front Forks

Ok, this is starting to get old but… Who stole the forks off my Fatboy??? You get the point.

Rating: Yep, you guessed it! Buuuust!

“Convertible” Hard Bags

Hey, I’m all for having a place to store my beer for those long rides and I am a fan of having buddies with touring bikes with bags in order to accomplish that but the “convertible” bags look like Street Glide hard bags with down syndrome. The best part about them is that they are quick detach and can be removed easily.

Rating: Bust

Innovation

What happened to the Dyna line having an identity of its own? Remember the Wide Glide front forks and the sporty persona that used to represent the Dyna line? I imagine the Harley design team sitting around a desk and talking about creating this new model like this…

“Hey, our sales suck and we need to find a new model that will appeal to everyone! Let’s just take different pieces off of all the other models and slap em’ together to make a NEW model! Do you think anyone will notice? Nooooo… Our customer base is too busy partyin’ and havin fun to notice.”

It just shows that if you try to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one! It is ok to keep your identity for certain models. It is critical to innovate cool 'NEW' models and make something truly bad ass and unique and not just recycle the same old shit.  

This bike is a bust! Enough said!

If you agree or disagree then SPEAK UP!!! Comment on this blog and when you have a chance stop by our website and check out some great innovative American made parts for your Hog at All American Harley Parts!

Custom Hand Forged Horn Covers for Harley Davidson Motorcycles

 All American Harley Parts is proud to carry the finest horn covers for Harley Davidson motorcycles!

Each one of our horn covers begins life as a solid block of marine grade billet aluminum; each piece is transformed into true motorcycle art by melting down the billet into a mold and hand finished into some amazing parts!

What does this mean to you??

• Each Harley horn cover is slightly different than all of the others!
• You can ditch the original "cowbell" style cover that comes on almost every single Harley out there!
• We use the BEST aluminum available that will result in no rusting or corroding ever!

Stop by All American Harley Parts and check out our huge selection of these amazing covers for your bike!

Harley Davidson, an American Legend????

It is easy for us to get caught up in the bad economy talk and embrace the importance of buying American products, but how many of us actually buy American on a regular basis? I am in the motorcycle industry (www.allamericanharleyparts.com) and the amount of patriotism seems to be overwhelming as many bikers are ex military and want to be represented as patriotic Americans, but how many of these “patriots” have imported parts on their “American” bikes?

It sickens me to see the amount of imported parts on the market for Harleys these days. It seems that every time I turn around I find more and more crap from China out there! Walk into any Harley dealership and start looking at tags on jackets that have the Harley brand smeared all over them. I looked at a $500 FXRG jacket that states “An American Legend” on the tag in prominent letters and then I looked a little closer to find a small tag that said, “Made in Indonesia”.

The Encarta dictionary defines the word legend as a story that has been passed down for generations, especially one that is presented as history but is unlikely to be true. Well if that doesn’t sum up the truth than I don’t know what does. The “legend” verbiage on the tag must refer to the fact that it seems like these products are American but in actuality the whole representation is bullshit!

I am not trying to bash the Harley organization but jeez… WAKE UP HARLEY!!! WHAT THE HELL??? Harley owners are some of the most “patriotic” consumers out there and they are being slapped in the face by the company that they embrace with every fiber of their beings.

I am a self proclaimed Harley Davidson supporter. Hell, I even have the Harley bar and shield tattooed over my elbow. Maybe I should add some small text to my tattoo that says, made in China?? Or maybe… An American Legend???

I walked into my local dealer the other day in need of some parts for my ride and I attempted to find out the country of origin for these parts. The parts guy said he wasn’t sure and there was no made in the USA sticker or any info on them at all. Is Harley intentionally hiding the country that manufactures their parts?? I guess it is up to us to figure it out. Good luck with that!  

Ok… I feel a little better now. Yes my ranting and raving and feelings of disgust actually motivated me to make a difference in the motorcycle aftermarket parts industry. I decided it was time to put up or shut up and created www.AllAmericanHarleyParts.com where every single part is made in the USA by Americans. Every purchase you make will support American companies and you can be assured that your parts are made with care by actual bikers that have a REAL passion for what they do and not a ten year old Chinese kid.

The choice is yours… buy American, be American; or be a poser wannabe!!!