Bubba...... You said that with perfect detail THANKS..

 

I still own all every HD's I have bought. 3 of em. Don't plan own selling them either. Bought them to ride. If you are buying HD's as an investment or worrying about resale value, you might be better off with something else.

 

Not always true. '78 FLH bought for $3945 new. 200,000 miles later, torn completely down & sold for $3000; still together, market price here was about $6,500.

But times change, and I ride 'em 'til they're worn to a nub, so it doesn't much matter.

 

Skip's right here! Historicly if you buy a new Harley for MSRP and don't ride it,(less that 1K Miles @ year), it will be worth that same MSRP in 5 to 10 years. The rub is you can't ride it so what's the point! Also you have to wait. The 1- 2 year turnaround is gone, also if you pay over MSRP you just gave the dealer a gift, it's gone you aren't getting that back.
Now you can't really blame the dealers for taking the extra money for the bikes, there was no gun involved, people stood in line, sometimes literaly, to give an extra $1-$5K or even more in some cases. But it was voluntary.
I'm glad to see the prices back to MSRP, I never got the 0 depriceation rate as I tend to ride my bikes. And if you want to see real depreciation buy a Buell, it's like getting married but more perminent!

DC.

 

I didn't consider resale value when I bought my RKC (picked it up Monday). I plan on riding it for a long time, not selling it.

By the way, the more I ride it the better I like it. But, it sure does shake alot sitting still.

 

Thanks everyone! I've learned a few things. Alot of good responses, must have hit a nerve. LOL!

I would never dream of making any kind of vehicle (under $200,000.00 and/or older than dirt itself) an investment but like the thought of keeping "most" of it's monetary value whether I ride rims off it or not.

I still feel I need the good resale value since I am one that will probably have different riding needs in the future and, evidentally unlike a few people here, I cannot afford more than one $20,000.00 motorcycle (wish I could, you lucky bastards LOL!).

Thanks again, for the education and for those who will resell someday cheap, PLEASE KEEP ME IN YOUR GOOD GRACES!

 

Maybe you can get lucky.

Get involved in the MDA Live Ride in your area.

 

Just for the record, I have never missed an MDA Ride in six years. Always highlighted on my calendar!

 

Just thought I'd chime back in with this: I've had a slew of bikes, all HD except one Norton. But out of all of 'em, I've only had 3 that'd fall into the category of my daily ride. The rest were fill-ins while I customized, chopped, bobbed, rebuilt, and otherwise totally screwed up a Willie G dream-sickle. The 3 daily riders were a '72 CH that had over 100k on in when I sold it, a '78 FLH that had over 200k on it when I sold it, and the current '87 FLST that has somewhere around 110-120k on it. The CH was sold to a brother who needed a ride while he was redoin' his FLH. The FLH was sold to a guy I'd worked with after I'd been laid off and needed the jack for food, car, house, etc. The Sloptail ain't for sale.

The bikes are forever - all of 'em are still on the road. The fun, learnin', and downright foolishness are as forever as the bikes. They're more than a hobby-ride, and way more'n transportation; they are simply an extension of who I am. But "who I am" might change tomorrow. If'n it does I'll walk away with fond memories and not look back.

So it doesn't really matter how far into all this you are 'cause things can happen you have no control over. If and when somethin' like that happens, you recover, learn, and move on. Maybe it'll be down the same trail, but maybe it'll be down somethin' so different you'll be amazed! Doesn't matter - it's life & life is good!

 

I've been doing this for many years and the fact is that times have changed. Yes, you used to be able to buy a new H-D for only a few thousand$, and then when the popularity grew, you could still resell for about the same amount. This obviously is no longer true. I've owned half a dozen Panheads and paid less than a thousand for any of them, and profited from them all. Ah! the good old days! (wish I had 'em all back, but like I said " Times have changed")

Of course everyone would like to get their money back when selling, but those days are gone!!! It's nice to see high resale values, but everything depreciates. There are so many people that cant stand the fact of losing money (myself included).....'Ya gotta face the facts.

Buying a new H-D is only the tip of the iceberg, as you all know no-one leaves their bikes stock, and the sinking of thousands of more money to make yours special, makes things (resale) even worse. You may as well think of all those extras as $ spent with no return of your investment.

Those Dollars are purely spent for FUN. This is exactly why there are so many high priced used scoots out there. Everybody wants to recoup their money................Never Happen!!!!!!!

Sorry, but thats the truth! Enjoy your ride and forget about gettin' your money back!