By Rob Rich/
Harley-Davidson is well known for being an American-based motorcycle company that builds some of the best engines and bikes. It’s even made some of the biggest motorcycle engines out there. Sometimes those engines can run upwards of the cost of a whole motorcycle.
Where exactly are those engines made, though? The company’s original Milwaukee, WI-based shed from the early 1900s is long gone, having since become the location of the company’s corporate headquarters. Its factories are instead spread out a bit around the United States, with a location in Pennsylvania and two in Wisconsin.
It doesn’t stop there, however. Harley-Davidson also has a factory in Manaus, Brazil and one in Rayong, Thailand. Having a couple of manufacturing locations that are decidedly not in the U.S. muddies the waters a bit, but Harley-Davidson still says that its engines are assembled right here in America. With the word “assembled” doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Harley-Davidson engine construction
The manufacturing of Harley-Davidson motorcycles is split between a few different factories according to Harley-Davidson, with the York, PA location used for the majority of assembly for CVO, LiveWire (electric), Softail, Sportster, and Touring motorcycles. The Tomahawk, WI factory focuses on sidecars, windshields, and other components. But Menomonee Falls, WI is where the engines are put together.
What makes things tricky to pin down is the fact that not all of the individual parts used in a Harley-Davidson engine are actually manufactured in-house. Wilkins Harley-Davidson explains that many of the components used in Harley-Davidson motorcycles are made in the York factory, however it doesn’t say the same for the Menomonee Falls location. The implication being that while the engines are assembled in the United States, not all of the pieces that make up the engine are.
Harley-Davidson itself doesn’t say much about where the parts that are brought in from outside its factories originate from, but CBS News has previously reported that they’re often sourced from all over the world — something that The Rock Harley-Davidson confirms. In one example in particular, it’s stated that Harley’s engine pistons are actually made in Austria. So, while it’s technically true that Harley-Davidson motorcycles are “made in America,” not all of the individual parts on a given bike can really make that claim.
