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I might be interested in one of these ugly buggers

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I used to have a Miroku,Japanese .22 rifle.The same gun from the same factory was sold in the USA called Browning
Consumer sentiment is a strange thing.
My Harley[AMF]Had many Japanese parts.
My Triumph was half made in Thailand.

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Should buy a real American Henry rifle their motto is "Made In America or not made at all" every part of their rifle is made in USA from American sourced steel and wood. The quality is outstanding from their most expensive $3,400 original engraved series 44-40 to their basic little $360 22 lever action rifles.

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I'm big on buying stuff Made in USA, and that includes my Henry rifle and a number of Ruger firearms.

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If I bought another .22 it'd be an Anschutz.I doubt I will but I'd buy a .22 Mag or .17HMR in preference now.
Harley make a decent bike THESE days.A mate bought a new 1974 XLCH and I bought a new 1974 XLH in Australia.Japanese indicators,starter motor,electrics
The starter motor and the indicators and electrics never failed.Much of the rest did.
The guy with the XLCH took his seat off after delivery and found an empty Winston cigarette packet stuffed in the down tube.Mine dropped a valve into the piston within the first 500 miles.I wont bore you with the other sordid details of what went wrong with both those bikes.British workmanship was just as bad if not worse back then.
One thing the Japanese did, is make reliability a must for any brand these days.

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If I bought another .22 it'd be an Anschutz.I doubt I will but I'd buy a .22 Mag or .17HMR in preference now.
Harley make a decent bike THESE days.A mate bought a new 1974 XLCH and I bought a new 1974 XLH in Australia.Japanese indicators,starter motor,electrics
The starter motor and the indicators and electrics never failed.Much of the rest did.
The guy with the XLCH took his seat off after delivery and found an empty Winston cigarette packet stuffed in the down tube.Mine dropped a valve into the piston within the first 500 miles.I wont bore you with the other sordid details of what went wrong with both those bikes.British workmanship was just as bad if not worse back then.
One thing the Japanese did, is make reliability a must for any brand these days.

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42 years ago Harley Davidson was owned by AMF who bought the company in 1969 and cut the work force and compromised the quality of the bikes which resulted in labor strikes. So the mid 1970s were the worst years in Harley Davidson history, comparing today's products with those 42 years ago is like comparing a new Toyota to the Toyotas shipped here to the U.S. in the 1960's that were incapable of maintaining 70 MPH speed limit and when Toyota executives tried to prove they were reliable by driving across America they broke down and had to abandon the attempt. Driving coast to coast was something American cars had been doing since the Model-T Ford. Very disgusting how people always give a pass to the quality failings of foreign products but people still bring up the Pinto and Vega as an example of low quality American cars decades later.

By they way it was an American who taught Japanese companies how to build quality products, his name was W. Edwards Deming.

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Don't get your red, white, and blue undies in a twistWhos comparing then to now?Not me. I'm just telling you how it was for me..I'm just as patriotic about Australia as you are about the US.I know the AMF, and BSA, Norton Villiers Triumph, sagas thanks.I lived through them.I was broken hearted when the Brit.bike industry when down the pan,very nearly followed by Harley.
In the 1970s the Japs had quality down to a fine art.I bought a 1973 Yamaha 650 cause I needed an electric starter after having my leg broken while riding a Triumph,and the fit and finish and reliability of that Yamaha was very good, whereas Harley and the British bike manufacturers had let theirs slip.I don't know if you were there in those days or not, but the Brit.and Yank reliability was bad.
I still sold the Yamaha and bought a 1974 Harley at the first opportunity but it was to my regret.

Today Harley and Triumph have picked up the quality and are making great bikes.No comparison.Seems like you want to pick a fight about nothing .Go ahead,knock yourself out.I'll refrain from further comment

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Times have sure changed, there is not a Jap bike made that can match the fit and finish of a Harley or Indian motorcycle. All new bikes run great and have more than enough power but if you want Beauty and style you pretty much need to buy American or European premium machines.

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You mean like maybe a Triumph?

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If I bought another .22 it'd be an Anschutz.I doubt I will but I'd buy a .22 Mag or .17HMR in preference now.
Harley make a decent bike THESE days.A mate bought a new 1974 XLCH and I bought a new 1974 XLH in Australia.Japanese indicators,starter motor,electrics
The starter motor and the indicators and electrics never failed.Much of the rest did.
The guy with the XLCH took his seat off after delivery and found an empty Winston cigarette packet stuffed in the down tube.Mine dropped a valve into the piston within the first 500 miles.I wont bore you with the other sordid details of what went wrong with both those bikes.British workmanship was just as bad if not worse back then.
One thing the Japanese did, is make reliability a must for any brand these days.

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42 years ago Harley Davidson was owned by AMF who bought the company in 1969 and cut the work force and compromised the quality of the bikes which resulted in labor strikes. So the mid 1970s were the worst years in Harley Davidson history, comparing today's products with those 42 years ago is like comparing a new Toyota to the Toyotas shipped here to the U.S. in the 1960's that were incapable of maintaining 70 MPH speed limit and when Toyota executives tried to prove they were reliable by driving across America they broke down and had to abandon the attempt. Driving coast to coast was something American cars had been doing since the Model-T Ford. Very disgusting how people always give a pass to the quality failings of foreign products but people still bring up the Pinto and Vega as an example of low quality American cars decades later.

By they way it was an American who taught Japanese companies how to build quality products, his name was W. Edwards Deming.

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Don't get your red, white, and blue undies in a twistWhos comparing then to now?Not me. I'm just telling you how it was for me..I'm just as patriotic about Australia as you are about the US.I know the AMF, and BSA, Norton Villiers Triumph, sagas thanks.I lived through them.I was broken hearted when the Brit.bike industry when down the pan,very nearly followed by Harley.
In the 1970s the Japs had quality down to a fine art.I bought a 1973 Yamaha 650 cause I needed an electric starter after having my leg broken while riding a Triumph,and the fit and finish and reliability of that Yamaha was very good, whereas Harley and the British bike manufacturers had let theirs slip.I don't know if you were there in those days or not, but the Brit.and Yank reliability was bad.
I still sold the Yamaha and bought a 1974 Harley at the first opportunity but it was to my regret.

Today Harley and Triumph have picked up the quality and are making great bikes.No comparison.Seems like you want to pick a fight about nothing .Go ahead,knock yourself out.I'll refrain from further comment

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I do consider a Triumph a premium brand, and a very nice bike.

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I've only seen 1 on the road so far.
Are they selling better across the pond?
Al

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I've only seen 1 on the road so far.
Are they selling better across the pond?
Al

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Talked to a local HD dealer just up the road last spring, he had a 500 and a 750 for a year. Never sold a single one of them. I've never seen one on the road. I think this experiment is a bust for HD in the U.S.

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