No, its a 30cc engine and puts out about 3hp. The 180 is the name of the engine.
American made 2 stroke
- Thread starter chainmaker
- Start date
No, its a 30cc engine and puts out about 3hp. The 180 is the name of the engine.
I have 2 points to add to what all of you have said. I too would love to buy an American made little engine provided the price is somewhat reasonable. It would be very much worthwhile to support Jim and the local (North American) economy. The guy has to make a decent profit for his troubles.
However, at the same time, we shouldn't take away anything from the HT engines. They are what they are. Sure, they aren't perfect and not of the highest quality but for the price that we pay for them I think we do get a reasonable amount of bang for the buck. Also, personally I think the work they require to keep going is somewhat endearing. I think it is necessary to have a spectrum/variety of products. I never learned anything from mechanical products that were bullet-proof because I never had a reason to take them apart. It is through the more unreliable cars and other doo-dads that I've owned, although annoying and frustrating at the time, taught me the most. I for one love to tinker. Most of us on this forum have that tinkering bug as well I believe or otherwise at least half of us would have gone the more 'sane' route and purchased a Honda or some other more reliable moped type of conveyance to satisfy the 2 wheeled motorized itch.
Also, these HT engines aren't 'crappy' just because they're Made in China. Here in America we don't exactly make everything that's 100% either. The Japanese at Honda, Yamaha, etc. could very well say the same thing about Harley Davidson that we say about the HT engines. Anyhow, the Chinese are perfectly capable of making high quality products as well which they do for all sorts of industrial sectors. It just so happens that they also make a lot of cheap(er) consumer products which unfortunately take the spotlight. There's probably a few subassemblies on the space shuttle that were made in China. We shouldn't blame the Chinese because they see a need and they want to fill it and make it affordable for those on a budget. It's just the nature of business. They didn't take American jobs by force. Blame the big business honchos right here in America who sent manufacturing jobs overseas screwing the American worker to fill their own pockets. Those are also the same people who put pressure on overseas manufacturers to make products at least cost. Quality just ends up being the unfortunate casualty.
We're now so accustomed and spoiled getting things for cheap that when a manufacturer comes up with a quality product a lot of people don't want to pay the price which again encourages mediocrity, vicious circle.
However, at the same time, we shouldn't take away anything from the HT engines. They are what they are. Sure, they aren't perfect and not of the highest quality but for the price that we pay for them I think we do get a reasonable amount of bang for the buck. Also, personally I think the work they require to keep going is somewhat endearing. I think it is necessary to have a spectrum/variety of products. I never learned anything from mechanical products that were bullet-proof because I never had a reason to take them apart. It is through the more unreliable cars and other doo-dads that I've owned, although annoying and frustrating at the time, taught me the most. I for one love to tinker. Most of us on this forum have that tinkering bug as well I believe or otherwise at least half of us would have gone the more 'sane' route and purchased a Honda or some other more reliable moped type of conveyance to satisfy the 2 wheeled motorized itch.
Also, these HT engines aren't 'crappy' just because they're Made in China. Here in America we don't exactly make everything that's 100% either. The Japanese at Honda, Yamaha, etc. could very well say the same thing about Harley Davidson that we say about the HT engines. Anyhow, the Chinese are perfectly capable of making high quality products as well which they do for all sorts of industrial sectors. It just so happens that they also make a lot of cheap(er) consumer products which unfortunately take the spotlight. There's probably a few subassemblies on the space shuttle that were made in China. We shouldn't blame the Chinese because they see a need and they want to fill it and make it affordable for those on a budget. It's just the nature of business. They didn't take American jobs by force. Blame the big business honchos right here in America who sent manufacturing jobs overseas screwing the American worker to fill their own pockets. Those are also the same people who put pressure on overseas manufacturers to make products at least cost. Quality just ends up being the unfortunate casualty.
We're now so accustomed and spoiled getting things for cheap that when a manufacturer comes up with a quality product a lot of people don't want to pay the price which again encourages mediocrity, vicious circle.
good vibrations
New Member
Well said sir. I have tried to make the very same point on both forums. My biggest deal is the whole "American" bla-dee-bla. I love my country but we live in a world market these days. That's how we've progressed as a people, like it or not. It's rare to find a 100% American made product these days anyway. Look inside yer stuff. There's bits in there from here, from China,Taiwan, And so on and so on. QC isn't defined by the country, nor the plant your machine came from. That's up to the people makin' the stuff and that can veary from day to day. I don't feel 100%, 100% of the time. Do you. And again, I'll bring up the fact that I grew up around bikers and I promise you, those guys were workin' on their AMERICAN made Harley's as much if not more than I work on my HT. And gladly. Cause the ride is extra bichin' when you're the one that got that kitty to purr=) And those Harley's come from a time when people in this country actually took pride in their workmanship. O.K. I'm done=)
good vibrations
New Member
Oh, and go Jim! I'll buy one!
Good point Good Vibrations. What lacks today is pride in workmanship. But again how can you expect anyone (be it Americans or the Chinese that knock out the HT engines) to have pride in their workmanship when their job future may be in jeopardy or when you're being paid just enough to survive. It's modern day economic slavery. That's why Ford pioneered the $5 daily wage way back when and workers took pride in what they built.
The time when a British motorcycle was all British or an American motorcycle all American are sadly over. I doubt that even a Harley is still all American despite those nice shiny Made In USA stickers with the stars and stripes that they use to play on your heartstrings. It's more like Processed in the U.S.A. The bearings or steel and aluminum that it's made of may come from China, Indonesia or India or wherever. I doubt that the steel for your new Harley all came from American ore mines. Is it then still an American product? So we've resorted to watering down the definitions of Made In USA to use as another selling point. Now if more than 50% of the components of a product were made or even assembled here the manufacturers proudly stick the Made in USA stickers on the thing and the poor saps like me or you gobble it up.
Now when me and the old lady find ourselves in MN or NV or any of the other 50 states, hop into the back seat for a little hanky panky and 9 months later I have a newborn that's about the only thing these days made 100% in the U.S.A.
I'll get off my soap box now.
The time when a British motorcycle was all British or an American motorcycle all American are sadly over. I doubt that even a Harley is still all American despite those nice shiny Made In USA stickers with the stars and stripes that they use to play on your heartstrings. It's more like Processed in the U.S.A. The bearings or steel and aluminum that it's made of may come from China, Indonesia or India or wherever. I doubt that the steel for your new Harley all came from American ore mines. Is it then still an American product? So we've resorted to watering down the definitions of Made In USA to use as another selling point. Now if more than 50% of the components of a product were made or even assembled here the manufacturers proudly stick the Made in USA stickers on the thing and the poor saps like me or you gobble it up.
Now when me and the old lady find ourselves in MN or NV or any of the other 50 states, hop into the back seat for a little hanky panky and 9 months later I have a newborn that's about the only thing these days made 100% in the U.S.A.
I'll get off my soap box now.
rockhopper
New Member
Good point Good Vibrations. What lacks today is pride in workmanship. But again how can you expect anyone (be it Americans or the Chinese that knock out the HT engines) to have pride in their workmanship when their job future may be in jeopardy or when you're being paid just enough to survive. It's modern day economic slavery. That's why Ford pioneered the $5 daily wage way back when and workers took pride in what they built.
The time when a British motorcycle was all British or an American motorcycle all American are sadly over. I doubt that even a Harley is still all American despite those nice shiny Made In USA stickers with the stars and stripes that they use to play on your heartstrings. It's more like Processed in the U.S.A. The bearings or steel and aluminum that it's made of may come from China, Indonesia or India or wherever. I doubt that the steel for your new Harley all came from American ore mines. Is it then still an American product? So we've resorted to watering down the definitions of Made In USA to use as another selling point. Now if more than 50% of the components of a product were made or even assembled here the manufacturers proudly stick the Made in USA stickers on the thing and the poor saps like me or you gobble it up.
Now when me and the old lady find ourselves in MN or NV or any of the other 50 states, hop into the back seat for a little hanky panky and 9 months later I have a newborn that's about the only thing these days made 100% in the U.S.A.
I'll get off my soap box now.
While Harley's are assembled in the US, they are largely Chinese made. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone.
rockhopper
New Member
What year? And good on you.
rockhopper
New Member
Very nice. Pics?
rockhopper
New Member
I replaced the power steering pump on my Chevy Silverado a few months ago. I was surprised that the truck used a mix of SAE and metric nuts and bolts. What's that about if not cost savings?
rockhopper
New Member
And furthermore, I ran across several bolts that were easily twice as long as they needed to be. The waste seemed excessive.
Agreed. Plus I bet the quality of the darn thing was not as good as it should be or not as good as most would expect. That's the real problem regardless of where the thing was made. It's just darn impossible to find high quality products. All because of the bottom line of the manufacturer. Heck it costs you $2000-3000 or more to replace a bumper assembly on today's cars and all it is is some cheap painted plastic with a styrofoam core. It's just ridiculous. I mean if it's cold out and your kid runs into the bumper with his bicycle the thing just crumbles like egg-shells.
Bikeguy Joe
Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
If I told you, I'd have to kill you, and if you kill it you gotta eat it, so I'll pass on that info...
Bikeguy Joe
Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Sorry, that was a typo...they were 68 each, and no, there was no minimum.
I'm fairly hairy and mostly gristle so I'm afraid I wouldn't be all that tasty.
$68....Oh I see...well even that is a great price especially if there's no min order requirement.