As what was said...........Supply and Demand!

Another factory to consider, is the resale value. I know many people who couldn't justify the selling price of a new/used Harley and went the Metric route.
When they sold the Metric, they took a considerable loss, where as the Harley's routinely hold their value. Ofcourse, you always run into deals where someone needs money and is willing to deal.

 

As long as people like us are willing to pay these prices the cost will be high. I have heard people talking smack here on the forum about folks who use e-bay or online purchases to save money on accssories instead of buying locally. The fact is shopping for a good deal is just part of being an American! If I can buy my rectifier cover for $27.00 online instead of for $39.00 at the dealer than I will. We all should. The lack of competition causes prices to escalate as well. Dealers always give riders with non HD accessories attitudes. I love my bike, but I am not going to throw my money away. I understand the value of a dollar and I will continue to shop for a good deal when it comes to purchasing a bike or parts for it. Oh, and go Seahawks!

 

A newbie question.

I've never heard the term "metric" like this, what's it mean???

 

metric is a yamaha, suzuki, or honda. anything produced over seas.
Same reason why a Quarter pounder is a "royale with cheese" in switzerland or france. They go by the metric system and would not know what kind of burger it is

 

it seems the other manufacturers--metric and other US--are now inflating their bikes' prices to more closely match new HD. The price increase would attempt to inflate the value to create the perception that their bike is the same quality as HD because it costs the same.
HD really hasn't increased their prices much in the last decade, or so it appears to me. I think a new FLHS (now discontinued) was 12k or so in 1991, now you can get a similar bike for 16k, which is a 4k difference in 15 years. That's only $267/year. That's also only a 2% average annual increase.
[The math isn't annualized (I'm not that smart), but it's an average.]