I would still have bought mine in 2002 if it were built in Thailand (I probably wouldn't have known then anyway). The Triumph heritage was just a bonus to me. The product spoke for itself. I don't have the bias against Asian countries that always seems to go hand-in-hand with Mom, apple pie, Generic Motors, Harley Davidson and unions. It was WWII. Let it go. Not all far east countries are Vietnam and Japan. It's a global economy. Yeah, some sh!tty things happen in the "third world," but the things that go on in this country everyday don't exactly put us on a high moral ground. I would probably not buy a Thai-brand bike made in Thailand because there are none with any kind of track record or history that I am aware of. But I'd have no problem buying an 1800 VTX. If Triumph was a huge conglomerate with a board of directors and shareholders I would trust them less, but I think John Bloor has shown great business sense and instincts. Time may not confirm that - the Thailand bikes may indeed experience problems, but a good business man is going to make dammed sure that doesn't happen if at all possible because of the PR nightmare.
Whew. Take a breath.
Right now the only other bike I'm considering for purchase in the next 5 years is a Rocket III. Yeah, I'll look at the mid-size cruiser, but it's going to have to kick some serious a$$ to beat the RIII. And even if it does, IT WILL BE THAI BUILT. I'll probably buy a pre-Thai RIII just because I'll want to buy used to get the best deal. That's the major consideration for me. But with all the people who refuse to consider the Thai-built bikes, the prices for new ones should be pretty low.
Now back to your regularly scheduled FUD (look it up), jingoism and other drivel. Everyone's entitled to their opinion. Now you have mine.
Now let's see who I've pi$$ed off. Maybe I'm losing my touch.
