Right now you have to give your Harley away if you want to sell it. Is this the end for the "Harley holds it's value" era? And why are the prices in cellar? Over production?

 

Supply and demand. Harley over producing has hurt the value. Used to be a two year wait with money down to hold a spot. Now you walk in and order one or buy one off the floor. I highly doubt Harley will ever cut back production. But they still hold there value compared to the other makers.

 

I think a lot has to do with simple economics. You can take a look at the Harley website and see all their annual reports. Production numbers have been increasing every year so there are more and more Harleys available. Also, the prices for the new bikes fluctuate. The 2007 models, for instance, were a few hundred dollars cheaper than the 2006 models. This could play a role in how quickly used bikes sell. If you can get a new bike for not much more than a used bike, why not get the new one? I think for the value of used bikes to go back up or maintain their value better, the production numbers need to go back down. However, I don't see Harley doing that because they are making a killing on selling new bikes. The money in the used bike market isn't as good for them. It would help the private seller more. I guess the bottome line is it comes down to money for the MoCo. It's a business and that's how they're running it. You should take a look at the financial reports on their website.

 

Nope...that day is gone. With new"franchises" going up on every block and production going through the roof, its now time to buy and hold. Intend to keep my 2007 fatman for years.

 

Without a doubt the 96ci six speed hurt the value of all bikes before it unfortunately. It may not be necessarily a superior bike but on paper it reads that way.

If anything it's a buyers market at the moment as you can buy a great used 88ci bike with all the bells and whistles at a very fair price, in the Australian market anyway.

Cheers Rich

 

I hope the market continues to fall. I'd love to see them worth pennies on the dollar.

 

Here in Canada, the resale value is still fairly high. When deciding to purchase my first HD, I kept tabs on the used available in the local rag as well as the stealerships web site. When the time arrived for mypurchase, I said to myself "Self", and I knew who it was because I recognized the voice, "Self do I want to spend 18G for an '04 or 21G for a brand new with the 96in." Not much thought was involved. I get a waranty, bigger motor, fatter rear tire as well as the all the mods that were made to the FB after the '06's. I'm talking FB here. So my '08 FB will be here in Aug. Oh and by the way,with the high value of the Canadian dollarnow compared to the American dollar, HD's are some what cheaper than they were when the Canadian dollar was low. Ever little bit helps.

 

Well, my FatBoy was everything that I wanted it to be when I made the choice to trade up. I bought one because I had always wanted to ride, and I wanted to ride a Fatty. Could there ever be a time that I MAY ever have to sell my ride? Sure... nothing is set into stone. But I will say that it will be an extremely cold day in the center of hell before I ever come close to deciding that I need to get ride of my bike!

As far as trying to get a good deal goes, Ill buy new for bikes. I know that there are great deals to be had for used bikes out there, but the new bikes generally have new features/styling that make it slightly more attractive (but the fact that EFI went from option to standard was a HUGE reason for me). When it comes to cars... I will ALWAYS buy used. A bike, especially an HD... is a more personal affair! A man/woman and bike when merged for the first time is a beautiful thing.

I bought my bike to ride. Knock on wood, hopefully Ill never have to worry about her value other than how much I value riding her!

 

Two year wait...when was that?
I remember back in the late 80's and early 90's when you had to put a large chunk down to order one but it was a 6 month wait at best. You can thank all the yuppies trying to rebelfor that little maneuver. Caught HD with their pants down and had to up the production.

 

The value depends if you are buying or selling.[:@] I have an 05 ultra with so many accessories on it that I could have bought 2 ultra's. I looked at trading it for a '07 SE. The stealer would only give me 18K trade! [:@] I'm still riding my '05, and loving it. I have been getting a hard on for a RK with a carb ( for a custom conversion). Seems like an inexpensive used bike doesn't exist when you are looking for one.[:@][:@]