Todd Silicato of Todd's Cycle in Huntington Beach, California is one of the maverick bike builders in the industry. His building style doesn't fit into any one kind of bin: Huge Sportsters, radical Buells, chopped Pans, stretched-out Evos-he does it all. He can go from retro to modern in seconds, pushing his own limits to create and mix what's inside his impish mind. He has an 'evolve or die' philosophy when it comes to success in the industry.
Check out toddscycle.com for a glimpse into Todd's world and his US-made parts line. Toph
I buy American-made products whenever possible; not just bike parts but other things that keep the money here at home. I'm not saying that everything you own should be manufactured in the US, but we should all support our American businesses. It's not our government that has screwed up our economy, it's greedy corporations and lazy Americans. It would help if our government, through our elected officials, gave more breaks and incentives to companies that manufacture in North America. Did you know that China has a 100 percent tax on products imported into their country? Hmm. We used to be an industrial nation, the world leader in innovation and production, and economically being one of the strongest countries in the world.
Now we are one of the laziest countries, with major economic problems that each of us contributes to and bears the brunt of. We want instant gratification, and we want it cheap. We hardly make anything here in the states anymore; we are a country that buys and consumes instead of a country that produces. It's cheaper to send it overseas so big companies can see greater profits with less effort. It hurts us all as well as our country by taking jobs and industrial strength away from the homeland. Due to big business continuing these practices, we have all become dependent upon these countries. In addition, these offshore-made products usually suffer in quality-there is a reason they are cheaper.
I'm not trying to say 'if its not made here, it sucks.' There are a lot of countries that are on top of their game. Take Germany, Italy, and Japan for example. They are proud countries that design, engineer, and produce many of their products (and they're kicking our ass). We should be molding our country in this fashion to make our economy stronger, our production and creativity greater, and our people wealthier for the long haul, not just for the quick buck. It's the companies that copy or cheaply manufacture products (or parts) in a foreign country just for greed. The parts are not better and it's costing us much more than we're saving. These countries and companies are not innovating and improving but stealing, and flooding our market with low-quality, disposable crap! Aside from the trickle-down effect of lost jobs here in the US, it's bringing down our dollar because we have nothing to back it up with.
Thank God (or whomever) that there are still some American companies like Harley-Davidson, Baker Drivetrain, S&S, Victory, Alloy Art, Ford, GM, Chrysler, and many others that work hard to keep most of their product manufactured here in the US, thus keeping the income here.
There is a place for cheap, disposable products, but not on your bike. Take some pride in that machine that's given so much back to you. Help support your mom-and-pop shops and American businesses. They need to survive for us all to survive. This is my point of view, and I am only speaking for myself, but next time you are out shopping, check and see where it's made. Hopefully your hard-earned cash is staying here at home, helping our collective future and our country. SC