Yup - resale value won't be the same until there are very few low mile bikes in peoples garages who thought it'd be cool to own a Harley and be a biker.

--Zz

 

LOL ... those days are over my friend.

Back in the day if you wanted a Harley, you waited for a Harley. Some small companies ( like West Coast Choppers at the time) saw a market and as a result of the waiting list ... took off. Now if you don't want to wait, you just go to some custom chop shop and get what you want. For many, lack money wasn't the problem, it was lack of supply. Fast forward 10 years later and things are now over-saturated with both Harleys AND customs.

Yep ... the days of the high dollar Harley areGONE !!

 

Indeed a buyers market, moreso than the past.. so naturally used bike pricing is in the crapper... Hanging on to mine.. Eventually something will happen, or I'll just keep on riding the old girl anyway. With all of 7k miles on the silly thing.. You'd think it was a relic. hehe PSB with kids.. no time!

 

Excellent point. A similar thought.... the resale value only seems low when its your bike.

I think carb'd bikes will be worth more in a few years. EPA regs that are coming are going to make people shy away from the newer EFI models. There are ever-growing restrictions that prevent you from making modifications, and its getting pretty expensive just to do a Stage I anymore. I think people want to tweak and turn a wrench for not a lot of money. Not being able to do that on a new bike is going to hurt new bike sales in the long run, regardless of production output.

The marketing spin for the 96 was well-played by Harley but the reality is the bike had to have a larger displacement in order to comply with regulations AND put out comparable power to previous 88's. In the short term that means our late model carb'd bikes are not bringing in good resale dollars. In the long term I think we will see values rise for those same bikes.

 

Vehiches have never been an investment, and neither are motorcycles.
If you keep it bone stock, you won't get hurt as bad as guys like me.
Personally, who really cares.. Go out and ride it and enjoy life!

 

If your in the market for a bike, Harley still holds it's valuebetter than the competitors. I know a guy who has ben trying to sell a Victory fo 8 months. Look in the N.A.D.A. bike book, the NewJap bikes loose 30% when the go out the door.

 

Wish the market over here in Sweden would take notice, Prices here are extremely high, Its cheaper to buy a bike from the US and ship it here after all the taxes we must pay.
As always its good when you are a Buyer and have cash.

 

I have a feeling that it might not be "trendy" anymore for yuppies to buy Harleys to decorate their lives. One Hollywood personality had a new Softail sitting in their living room as a "conversation piece". I can just see the conversations, "WTF are you doing with a bike that you don't ride?"

 

Where I live, from about 1994-1998, there was a 1-2 year wait. I was on "the list" at more than one dealer and never got a bike. I finally was able to order a new bike in 1999 and get it in about 4 months.

 

30% ? You may be too kind. Buying a Japanese bike new is for suckers. Its value tanks when you ride it off the lot. A couple years later.... the model is completely changed or cancelled and the value sinks again....No matter what you paid for it, now its worth $2K or $3K (if in excellent condition)and its getting hard to find parts and accessories for it. I learned all this from experience...a couple of times...slow learner!!

The days of riding a new Harley for a couple years and selling it for MSRP are over but the used bike price floor will never drop to Japanese bike levels. I don't think you'll ever be able to get a Softail in excellent condition for $7000 or less.