Secret Service buys Harley Davidson motorcycles despite Trump quarrel

This week, the Federal Business Opportunities website released Secret Service plans to acquire a new Harley that can be paired with a sidecar. The website is a place where federal agencies publish solicitations and requests for proposals from government contractors and private companies.

In his speech to buy a Harley-Davidson, rather than another motorcycle brand, the Secret Service stated that he already had mechanics familiar with Harley, spare parts and sidecars adapted to motorcycles.

"Any other motorcycle would require additional training of staff," said the agency.

Trump's quarrel with Harley-Davidson was triggered this summer when the company announced the transfer of production of motorcycles destined for the European Union to an international factory. Harley said that in response to the EU's adoption of a 31% tariff on motorcycles manufactured in the US, it was in response to Trump's tariffs on imports of steel and steel. aluminum.

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Trump said Harley was using rates as an excuse to move production overseas. "Many @harleydavidson homeowners plan to boycott the business if the manufacturing company moves to another country. Great! Tweeted the president in August.

The Harley-Davidson is already built in other countries. The company has factories in India and Brazil, where bicycles are assembled for foreign markets. It is also opening a plant in Thailand, closing one in Kansas City, Missouri, and expanding its plant in York, Pennsylvania.

But Harley says his motorcycles sold in the United States will continue to be made here.

And it's a sticking point for the secret services and other federal agencies that are often linked by made-in-America purchasing requirements.

The US Parks Department, for example, also uses Harleys.

"It would be a little out of place," said Victor Beecher, a former Milwaukee police officer and now deputy director of police training at the Northwestern University Public Safety Center.

"It's obvious to buy a Harley," Beecher said.

Harley has competitors for sales of police motorcycles, including Honda, BMW and Kawasaki. The New York City Police Department uses BMWs and the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha has recently entered the field.

Still, BMW is still a "distant second" compared to Harley when it comes to patrolling the police, Beecher said, though the Harleys are more expensive to maintain and do not run as well in hot weather.

Harley-Davidson builds police bikes specifically manufactured in its factory, while other brands are modified for use by the police. Thousands of law enforcement agencies have Harley and the company has been selling bikes to police since 1908.

"The reason why Harley is so dominant (in police motorcycles) is the length of their presence in this market," said Robert Pandya, a veteran of the motorcycle industry who worked for Polaris Industries, the maker of Indian Motorcycles. .

"As a taxpayer, I'm happy to hear that the secret services do not want to reorganize everything, just for a dispute between the president and Harley-Davison," said Pandya.

Indian was founded in 1901, two years before Harley. Over the next 50 years, brands fought to conquer the heart of American motorcyclists – until 1954, when the Indians retreated.

Many attempts to revive Indian production have failed, but the brand has returned to Polaris Industries, a $ 5.4 billion snowmobile and off-road vehicle manufacturer based in Medina, Minnesota.

According to Pandya, the Indian has not shown any interest in making a police bike, and that may be because the Indian has far fewer dealers than Harley.

"A medium-sized municipality would have trouble justifying the purchase of an Indian motorcycle if there is no dealer in town to fix it," he said.

You can not use any motorcycle for police work because bikes have to meet special requirements.

"If a police bike breaks down, you do not want a gun to fly out of the saddlebag," Pandya said.

This is not the first time Harley-Davidson is caught up in politics.

In 2008, the Illinois senator, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, launched a radio ad in Milwaukee, accusing his opponent, Arizona Senator John McCain, of turning his back on Harley.

Obama's announcement says, "When it comes to his record, American-made motorcycles like Harleys do not matter to John McCain."

McCain criticized the provisions that force the US government to buy US goods, saying it was sometimes costly to taxpayers and was against open trade.

"I strongly oppose all Buy American restrictions because they are blatant examples of protectionist trade policy," McCain told the Senate.

In his rationale for buying a Harley, the secret service stated that his goal was to replace older bikes "of the same make and model that have excessive mileage and are outside of a standard replacement cycle." ".

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