Do you care where your motorcycle is made?

Fortunately, I didn’t get five minutes into the episode before Joe made my point for me: I don’t care where my motorcycle is made, as long as it’s made well. I’ve owned bikes from Japan, Italy, Taiwan, and China, ridden bikes from just about everywhere else, and the only conclusion I’ve come to is this: There are no substitutes for test rides and research. You'll be fine. 

Later in the episode, Lemmy gets into a little discussion of perspective that I also feel is important. It’s easy for us to come at these conversations with only our home countries in mind. What we call “made overseas” here is “made in our home country” somewhere else. Riders in India, for example, seem very proud of Royal Enfields. Reminds me of how some American riders feel about their Harleys, and Brits their Triumphs, and so on.

Back to Joe’s point, country of origin isn’t going to be a determining factor in my purchase of a motorcycle. It’s not the first thing I look for, the third, or the last. For me, country of origin is just something to know about my motorcycle, like its VIN or what kind of oil it takes. All the deciding was based on things that are more important to me. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

How to listen to Highside/Lowside

As usual, the podcast version of Lemmy, Spurgeon, and Joe's discussion offers an uncut listening experience for an even deeper dive into the topic.

Highside/Lowside is available via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, LibSyn, and Google Play Music for those with accounts. The latest episode also includes the full version of Spurgeon's interview with KTM's Chris Fillmore, which you won't want to miss.

Highside/Lowside's second season continues with longer podcasts, so you'll have plenty of moto entertainment with from Lemmy, Joe, and Spurg, as well as a special guest invited for the podcast version.