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Made In China

It would seem that everything that can be, will be outsourced to China, Vietnam, India, Thailand as a matter of course. This is to save money and return better profits.

I don't agree with it, but it simply is a fact of life.

Assuming that your wheels are still Brembo/Marchesini?
 
SullZ said:
My 2012 Norge. Wheels , made in China. Anybody know what else?

Just a Sign of the Times:

nj-ahhso.jpg
 
Oz1200Guzzi said:
It would seem that everything that can be, will be outsourced to China, Vietnam, India, Thailand as a matter of course. This is to save money and return better profits.

I don't agree with it, but it simply is a fact of life.

Assuming that your wheels are still Brembo/Marchesini?

Better products? Not by a long shot. I can't tell you how many boxes of Chinese made junk both my car and bike mechanics have in their shops, which they can not nor will not put on their clients' bikes/cars. My FIAT mechanic has shown me parts dileberetly mislabled as "Made in Italy" when they are clearly Chinese made crap. Fuel and brake lines are a typical (and dangerous) example.
 
I've had some fantastic electrical products that have been made in China, also at a very good price. My latest acquisition is a Baofeng vhf/uhf radio and there isn't anything out there that comes near it on build quality, functionality and price.
 
iainw said:
I've had some fantastic electrical products that have been made in China, also at a very good price. My latest acquisition is a Baofeng vhf/uhf radio and there isn't anything out there that comes near it on build quality, functionality and price.

I don't doubt there are a handful of products that meet international standards. It's just that, IMO, the majority of everyday consumable itmes I see from there are more foten than not cheaply made crap. Personally I wouldn't trust any safety related products from them. I refuse to even buy Chinese tires.
 
JoeFaz said:
iainw said:
I've had some fantastic electrical products that have been made in China, also at a very good price. My latest acquisition is a Baofeng vhf/uhf radio and there isn't anything out there that comes near it on build quality, functionality and price.

I don't doubt there are a handful of products that meet international standards. It's just that, IMO, the majority of everyday consumable itmes I see from there are more foten than not cheaply made crap. Personally I wouldn't trust any safety related products from them. I refuse to even buy Chinese tires.

They used to say all that about Japanese products in the 60s and 70s. China is the new Japan. ;)

I bet you don't know how much of a new Guzzi is made in China.
 
I think the answer would shock people. I wonder how much of a Harley is made in China..?
 
Brian UK said:
There is only one reason why companies outsource production to China, and it's not for better quality.

Correct Brian, but it always amazes me how people choose not to believe how much of their life and possessions are owed to the Chinese. Almost everything we buy and use has a connection of some sort to China. Even high end stuff uses Chinese components these days.
 
When manufacturing is done in China, the requestor has the choice of quality levels. Unfortunately, there is the same number of quality levels as there are characters in the Chinese alphabet - you simply get what you pay for.

I have sourced manufacturing from China (Printed Circuit Boards) and have been more than happy with the result - but I am not penny pinching, just getting a decent bang for my buck (or actually, the Australian taxpayer is).

At the end of the day manufacturing will be carried out where it makes business sense to. We are all affected by it on a daily basis, so let's not get hung up on bashing Chinese manufacturing - they can and do a very good job - if they are asked to and get paid to. They are no different to anyone else, there's just more of them!
 
I bet there are a plethora of good news stories out there too! Still, the buyer should be aware at all times.
 
Brian UK said:
There is only one reason why companies outsource production to China, and it's not for better quality.
This is not the only reason, we use Chinese suppliers as the response time is much faster than the local supplier and they are generally cheaper.
As has been suggested there are good, bad and indifferent suppliers in China and going to the cheapest one you can find (a common mistake) will generally give you a substandard result.
Steve
 
I'm stuck with the fact that most of the machine products I buy end up coming from China. i guess that means I am counting on BMW (F650), Powermatic, DeWalt, Delta, and others to police the quality of what they are supplying. Just saying that China = crap does not make sense when you see so many high quality manufacturers going to China for product.
 
When reading an article in a woodworking rag several years back about the two factories that turned out most of the planers we buy in USA it was stated that the factories had to be watched and monitored to keep the quality desired. I'm left wondering if some are getting the point of the article, that is, there is a cultural bias toward cutting corners beyond what any reputable person would. Some more recent examples are the food poisonings in baby formula, pet foods and other foods. These were not accidents. And the jigs and fixtures I bought from Grizzly and Delta broke under normal and light use. The sealed rear hub bearings that BMW sourced from China with no grease, the tons of hardware for US military contractors that were nowhere near required strength, and more.
I worked in a small manufacturing company that beat out China vendors on quality. And we were several thousand miles closer to the machine tool companies that needed out product. Even if China could beat us on quality we could respond overnight and have an order on the doorstep before a container could be floated or even flown to the US. The reason companies go to China are cost and only cost. They have no labor rights, huge numbers of products are made in prisons at zero labor cost, no environmental protection with large areas near total environmental collapse (my background is biology/environmental so I read a lot about this).

If the more advanced industrial countries had formed a trading block that required all imports to be produced under a standard of the same regulations and laws in order to sell here and in Europe, everyone, including the people in China, would be better off. But corporations control governments and increasingly, thought. I find it astounding how people will quote with conviction the same tired slogans put forth by companies and their bought politicians that have no sense of responsibility to anyone. And then wonder how their standard of living dived. We all got what we deserve.
 
Hi all, yes Tony I noticed the same thing on my 2012 Sport also. They are using a Chinese Brembo wheel knock off obviously to keep the cost down. However the Japs did the same thing years after WW2 and it wasn't all that long before their copies were slowly beginning to equal and better the US and UK originals. Now Japanese gear is generally considered top quality. I'm sure the same cycle will continue with China in our era as their R&D and production technique improves. Only thing I've noticed on my wheels is I don't think their power coated like the original Brembo's were on my previous Ducati, I think these wheel are painted instead? Having said that, the are holding up OK with no obvious stone chips so I'm not complaining.
Regards, Paul.
 
I think it is more of a moral issue with me. China punt out an awful lot of replacement plastics for bikes and cars. I bought a double bubble screen for my CBR600 for £13 which is less than 30% of one I can get in the UK. Likewise a full fairing kit can be had for less than £400 delivered to my door, and the quality is far superior to the kits they were selling just two years ago. I can't even get my fairings painted for anywhere near that.

But I am aware of the lack of human rights in China, the low pay, the lack of H&S in the work place, and how waste products including toxins are not disposed of properly. Of course there are many, many factories there that try to copy western working conditions. Who would have guessed, 20 years ago, that China would be the industrial force they are now. Or, for that matter, the Indian sub-continent?

In the 60's the UK dismissed Japan's efforts at manufacturing as laughable-and who is laughing now? The customer knows what they want to pay, and if it is too expensive won't buy. Keeping costs low means you can sell low and more. China will eventually have to trade at a realistic price, but another country will come along with a dent infrastructure but cheaper labour rates and raw material prices and undercut China. it's the way it has always been, and always will be.
 
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