Here in Marina del Rey we have a giant Harley dealer w/ a huge showroom. But they did not have even one FF helmet to fit me; same with the HD insulated gauntlet gloves.

You can't sell that which you don't have.

 

Why on gawd's green earth would you go to the HD stealer to buy a helmet? There are so many other places that sell helmets I'm quite sure you can find one that fits. If you want to say HD on it buy a sticker or have it painted.
Especially here in Cali.

Haven't had any problem finding parts at either of the 2 dealers I go frequent. Hell's bells I have at least 6 different ones within a 50 mile radius. Only part I would have to wait on is handle bars and that was only 2 - 3 days not weeks.

 

I was wondering what costs more to stock, a $175 part or a $18,000 motorcycle that won't sell for almost a year?.,,

 

Checked my dealer for front and rear motor mounts. Had one in stock and one had to be ordered. Asked how long will it take for the part to come in. Six to seven days. It used to take Three days, some times over night if they ordered it before 11 AM.

I heard they are closing or it's already closed, the distribution center in Wisconsin.

 

I don't believe that there is any thing really to worry about, UNTILL the T-shirts are all on backorder. When that happens, it will be PANIC time.

 

Instead of thinking up insulting remarks, if you had taken the time to read all of my very short post you might have noticed that I had pointed out that "we have a giant HD dealer here in Marina del Rey" where my post also shows that I live. Why would I drive 50 miles--to find one which doesn't say "Harley Davidson" on it? Get real.

 

Unless they run it different than car dealerships, Harley Dealers don't buy their inventory of bikes, They just pay interest on them (Called "Flooring") However they DO buy the parts they sell. Any unused parts can SOMETIMES be returned for a parts credit back to Harley. A trick the manufacturers like to do (especially in the Auto industry) is change the part number frequently, maybe change a part from say a 77-AB45C to a 77-AB45D. You would think it's because they upgraded the part but that's not true, It's so they can deem the older part Obsolete and refuse to give the dealer a refund for it because it sat in inventory too long. The manufacturers set rules so they never lose.

 

Was at the largest dealership in the area a while back, and asked for exhaust gaskets. I gave the parts guy the correct part number for the gaskets.

He looks it up in the book and then disappears. I see him 10 minutes later with the parts manager going over to where they have the oil filters and oil?

The manager comes back with the parts guy and said they don't have them in stock but could order the parts....??!! I go, what?! You don't carry
exhaust gaskets in house?! The parts managers looks at me and goes...you want exhaust gaskets? Yes...that's what I want and here is the part number. He came back 1 minute later with the gaskets. The parts guy looked up the wrong number...one just never knows...

 

Sorry you took what I said out of context. Wasn't being insulting at all or at least thought I wasn't. What I meant about 6 dealers was I have at least 6 HD Dealers around within 50 miles. Laidlaws, Pomona Valley, Fullerton/Anaheim, Glendale, Quaid (2 of them), Hollywood, Harbor City. Plenty of HD dealers around us.

With respect to the helmet itself what I meant was why pay more for a helmet just because it says HD on it somewhere. JMHO but you can find better with more choices for less than what you find at a HD dealer.

Kinda like their boots you go to the dealer and they are $150 +, got the ones they sell just down the road from my dealer for $75. 50% savings now days makes ya wanna shop around more.

Sorry you if took it as an insult.

 

Floor planning is one of the ways a dealer can put bikes on the floor with out having to buy them out right from the MOCO. The dealer pays interest on the bike usually per month. At a designated time like one year the dealer has to buy the bike. Parts in stock are literally money setting and I said 'setting' on the shelf. With so many models and years of Harley's no dealer can stock every thing. To go mail order before giving the dealer a chance just shoots yourself in the foot. Keep in mind the price and shipping and handling and will you get it quickly or not? Also some dealers will wait for a full week to pass by to order parts. He does this to save on shipping as Harley will ship free for a minimum amount. I hate this as if the dealer orders on a Monday and I order the part on Tuesday. My order sets for a whole week before being ordered. Some thing we have to live with.