Eliminating more of the smaller dealers with lower profits trying to survive? I don't understand why they would want to cut sales of any type. There is more to this story.

 

Here in the UK there's supposed to be a law against restrictive trade practise, the idea being to allow free competition. In action I'm sure various manufacturers have 'unwritten rules' that are vigorously applied (unseen) to their retail networks; they certainly wouldn't own up to such though!

 

F**Kem I don't need to buy there ****. I gotta drive 45 miles pay full pop for china Crap. I'll buy less. Most of my on line buying was impulse any ways. HD wan'ts to dicktate were and to what dealer I spend my money. I think not.

 

Can't remember the last time I bought an OEM HD part. Got tired of the HD dealers when they made shirts and pants their priority instead of hard parts.

 

If you were one of the dealerships strong armed by H-D corporate to relocate closer to the freeway, build a new multi-million dollar building and dedicate 75% of floor space to something other than motorcycles you would probably NOT want to sell anything at a discount. Unfortunately, the aftermarket parts dealers seem to generally raise their prices to match Harley. Several of the aftermarket companies won't even sell retail to the public. I can't think of another company that does a better job of trying to match supply with demand and eliminate discounting in the process than Harley.

 

Apple.

 

Build a better moustrap, and the mouse gets smarter. I suspect that the "restraint of trade" folks will have their way in the courts and may actually stop HD.

I remeber HD trying to stop HD Dealers from selling Hondas. Didn't work either.

Regardless, you can be certain that a whole bunch of little companies will appear, selling HD product, bought from an HD dealer, but sold by these little new "independent" companies.

 

Not to go off topic but that Steven Earl Gaines was one hell of a guitar player and singer..

 

This ruling is also going world wide. No USA dealer will be able to ship overseas. My Australian friend will now pay up to 50% more. Here's the email he posted:

** INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS **

Effective August 1, 2011, Harley-Davidson® has implemented a new policy where
all U.S. dealers no longer can ship orders to an address outside of the United
States. (APO/FPO addresses are excluded.) Please make plans now to place
new orders before this date. We welcome you to visit our dealership in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, home of Harley-Davidson® and the Harley-Davidson Museum. As a
reminder, your international shipment cost does not include your government's
Customs duty fees and taxes. These are collected by your Country on delivery
of your order. It is not a payment to us, in any way. We are not able to
declare a lower value or a "gift" for your order to avoid these taxes.

 

Meaningless. Very easy to sell on EBay without identifying that it is a dealership. Very hard if not impossible to enforce. It is easy to get around any rule made. This country is full of rule benders.