| Author | Message | ||
     Speedfreaks101 |
I stopped in my local Kawasaki dealer today just to kill some time and I noticed the tag on their 250 motard said made in Thailand!? WTF? So I looked at a few more. The KLR 650, ER6N & Ninja 650 were also made in Thailand. The other Ninja's were made in Japan. Is this something new or have I just been missing out? One other thing that seemed strange was that the Verseys (I love this bike) was made in Japan. With the Ninja 650 & the ER6N being made in Thailand it looks like the Versys would be made in the same plant, since these bikes share an engine. | ||
| Wheelybueller |
The new Honda NT700 is made in Spain,Can-Am mini ATV's are made in Vietnam....on it goes in a WORLD economy. | ||
| Trevd |
Triumph makes some bikes in Thailand too... | ||
| 4cammer |
News article a few months back said all of their production was going to be offshore by 2010 IIRC. My 2005 Ninja 250 was made in Thailand. Loved that little scooter. | ||
| Speedfreaks101 |
Spain does not seem like it would be a source for cheap labor. | ||
| Wheelybueller |
The Honda NT700 is made by Montesa,never said cheap labor,just sourcing,Ski-Doo uses some imports from Finland as well,and one of the new Honda 150 scooters is Italian made. Im sure there are others as well. | ||
| 4cammer |
Here we go: http://www.sportrider.com/news/146_0908_kawasaki_m oves_large_motorcycle_production_to_thailand/index .html Kawasaki To Move Large-displacement Motorcycle Production To Thailand Kawasaki to move 650cc-and-larger motorcycle production to Thailand to help cut costs—other manufacturers probably will follow August, 2009 According to a report in Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, Kawasaki plans to begin moving production of its large-displacement motorcycles from the company’s main Akashi Works factory in Japan to its existing facilities in Thailand next year in order to cut production costs. The motorcycle manufacturers have been suffering heavy losses due to sluggish sales in the current sagging economy, forcing them to look for various methods to cut costs, and moving production facilities to countries with lower labor and operating costs is a common step. Kawasaki—like most of the other Japanese manufacturers—already operates a production plant for small and midsize motorcycles in Thailand that are made for the Southeast Asian markets. According to the report, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) produced about 150,000 motorcycles at the Akashi Works factory, and approximately 110,000 motorcycles at its current Thailand plant during the fiscal year 2008; in the current fiscal year, KHI plans to reduce output of the Akashi factory to about 100,000 units as demand in the main markets for larger motorcycles—Japan, Europe, and the U.S.—are unlikely to rebound in the near future (the production at the Thailand facility will remain the same). In fiscal 2010, KHI plans to begin producing motorcycles larger than 650cc and increase output of mid-size bikes in Thailand. The Akashi factory in Japan will continue to manufacture some high-end large-displacement models (presumably sportbikes and some other large street models that require more difficult assembly techniques due to their complexity), although production numbers overall will be sharply cut in the future. Sources for the report also state that the company aims to additionally slash production costs by using Thai-manufactured parts for some of its high-end models. | ||
| Ohio_xb12 |
I understand the world economy philosophy. It is undeniably progressing and there are many advantages of cheap labor for a company.There are some worries however. I work in the steel industry and there are times when foreign production from the developing nations just isn't up to snuff. Independent testing of material bought offshore has in the past shown that it doesn't meet advertised specifications. Add into this the recent lead content with Chinese made toys and I get more than a little nervous about stressed components of a high performance motorcycle being produced in places like Thailand. We aren't talking T shirts here. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Kawasaki KDX 200's went from Japanese manufacturer to offshore, I forget if it was Taiwan or Thailand. The biggest change anyone could notice is that the ones in Japan had virtually unlubed rear suspension linkages, and that the ones made outside of Japan were slightly less under-lubed. |
