Harley-Davidson is well known as an American-based motorcycle company that produces the best engines and bikes. The company also produces the largest motorcycle engines on the market. These engines can cost more than a single motorcycle.
But where exactly are these engines made? The company’s original factory in the early 1900s, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is now gone, but the company’s headquarters is now located there. Instead, the company’s factories are scattered across the United States, with one in Pennsylvania and two in Wisconsin.
But that’s not all. Harley-Davidson also has factories in Manaus, Brazil, and Rayong, Thailand. Things get a little confusing with some manufacturing locations that are obviously not in the U.S., but Harley-Davidson still insists that its engines are assembled here in the U.S. The word “assembly” implies a lot of hard work.
Harley Davidson engine structure
According to Harley-Davidson, manufacturing of Harley-Davidson motorcycles is split among several different plants, with the York, Pennsylvania, plant being used for the majority of assembly of CVO, LiveWire (electric), Softail, Sportster and Touring motorcycles, the Tomahawk, Wisconsin, plant focusing on sidecars, windshields and other parts, and the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, plant where engines are assembled.
What’s harder to pinpoint is the fact that not all of the individual parts used in Harley-Davidson engines are actually manufactured in-house. Wilkins Harley-Davidson explains that many of the parts used in Harley-Davidson bikes are manufactured in their York facility, but doesn’t say the same about their Menomonee Falls facility. In other words, while engines are assembled in the U.S., not all of the parts that make up the engines are manufactured in the U.S.
While Harley-Davidson itself doesn’t say much about the origins of parts that are brought in from outside the factory, CBS News has previously reported that those parts are often sourced from all over the world, and The Rock Harley-Davidson has confirmed this. In one instance in particular, it has been stated that Harley’s engine pistons are actually made in Austria. So while it’s technically true that Harley-Davidson bikes are “Made in the USA,” not all of the individual parts on a given bike can actually make that claim.