I had the GS up on the lift and while I was removing the tank I noticed this on the frame, not that it bothers me or anything.
(http://home.comcast.net/~stykers/spain.jpg)
Yeah....all the Fs and the last Es were built in Spain, they moved them over around 2002. I had a list of all the other models made in Spain and where they are sold but I cant find it now. The burgman, some of the DRs and a lot of the smaller capacity bikes and scooters are made there, its all to do with the European Union, taxes and import regulations. Notice Suzuki dont advertise they are built in Spain :laugh:
I Just checked, my '05 V-Strom 650 and '07 Burgman 400, both made in Japan.
My '05 GS500E is also labelled as Made in Spain.
Just checked my (Australian) '06 and it is made in Spain. Interesting, I had a Yamaha SR250 Classic for a few months before I got the GS and it was made in Spain too. The chrome on the Yamaha was poor quality, forks and wheels were rusting ('03 model with not much use). The GS has crap paintwork on the frame, in corners and hard to spray areas its starting to rust. This sort of sh1t won't do the manufacturers reputations any good.
Hence why i dont understand why you can for example say a BMW over there in america is great because it has german build quality...because it doesnt. It was built in America...by americans just designed by a...well prolly not even a german, however at least it was made from parts from....well no they dont come from germany either, so really all you have got is an American car, with a design and materials and build quality that is pre approved by a german company standard. Once thats happened tho you can just go ahead and build as many American cars as you like and ever 1000th one has to be good cos it will be checked by...well an american representative with hopefully a good idea of german build quality.
So really you havn't got a Jap bike there, you've got a spanish one lol
And that's exactly what I'm saying. I don't mind where its made, as long as its well made. Presumably established bike companies care something for their reputation, my two experiences with non-japanese japanese bikes have lowered their reputation in my eyes. Why can't (or won't) they insist on good quality control in foreign factories?
Still love riding the GS though!
There is a difference between an assembly and manufacturing plant. The BWM facility here in SC is an assembly plant, nothing is manufactured there and only assembles manufactured parts. A manufacturing facility use raw materials to make the parts to be assembled, at the same facility or shipped to another.
The one thing I can say about the BMW plant here in SC, is that the Germans have their hands in every little detail of those cars and don't hesitate to reject any little part that doesn't meet their standards. My wife works for one of the company's that make the seats for them and i can tell you the Germans are up their ass constantly about the design and build quality of those seats. In fact some vehicles(ie. Z4 Roadster, and soon the X3) are only made in USA and are exported to Germany and the rest of the world.
I actually like acura and infiniti and lexus over bmw for quality in cars. However BMW's are cars that cater to people that want a feel for the driving experience. Lexus especially and to a lesser extent the other 2 are very non drivers cars. I believe that makes for future SUV drivers who mow down large sections of the local population ...
Anyway, loving my Nissan POS ... especially when the rain changes it color 3-4 shades.
I gonna get my mechanic to paint it or something ... prolly be a good 10-12 shades lighter by then though.
Cool.
Buddha.
Hey Buddha, do you have any vehicles that are not POS? :laugh: