Hello Community,

This is my first post so be gentle and Hello to all out there.

I am in the market for my first bike/Harley. I rode motorcycles in the past on vacations or here and there on friends bikes. I have never rode a Harley before and swore to myself that I would not buy my own bike until I could afford a Harley. Well now is the time and I am actually very inclined to say that the motorcycle with the most factory items included that I am interested in is a 2008 1200R Roadster. If two wheeling isn't for me then, I am only out ten grand vs. twenty for the BT I wanted (Softail).

Is this a good first bike? My stats are 6'1" @ 280lbs (and slimming down) and my inseam is 32".
I sat on one of the only two available roadsters on Long Island yesterday for like an hour.
That was my fifth time to my local dealer. He wants me to stop drooling and start signing on the dotted line.

Two deals were offered to me today:

Local dealer (24 miles away)- 2008 Roadster in vivid black, bone stock for $10,874 out the door, with a slap on the **** on the way out. His manager said NO freebees or haggling of any sort aloud PERIOD. This is the person who has educated me on the history and future of Harley over the past couple months.

or

Furthest dealer (65 miles away)- 2008 Roadster in Crimson Red, bone stock for $11,079 out the door, with a "free tires for life deal". He said the small print includes me getting all service work done in house to be eligible for the "free tires".

I did not want the crimson paint, the black is what my heart is set on. But is the NO freebees thing a little harsh.....oh yeah, I am "grandfathered in" to the above offer from my local dealer, my salesperson said the MSRPs are all going way upa grand or so starting today because of the "shortage" of bikes on Long Island and that is why I can't get them to budge on freebees.

Not even a service manual????...lol.

I was also told by the far away guys that the Roadster is discontinued after 08? Is this true?
They JUST put the bigger tank as standard and they are getting rid of the model, he said it was from poor sales and it was the cheapest 1200 in the lineup. Uum yeah, I know, all that crazy stuff for half of what its big cousins cost.

Sorry for the rant like first post,

Be safe,

-Danny

 

The black sounds like a better deal.
The "free tires" sounds like a gimmick to me. I bet those don't include mounting, balancing, etc.
If your heart is set on the black, buy the black.

and......there is no such thing as a free service manual [8D]

 

buy the black one the free tires is a gimmmick,they will charge you out the *** to mount and balance them,plus thers probably some clause saying you must get all scheduled maintaince done there.Ive heard the roadster is d/cd as well and it is a great bike,Ive actually looked at the 08s myself and I love them.Try to get a couple free shirts at least,Good luck

 

I'd buy the black at the local dealer, it's the color you like and you will get better service if you bought it there, try to get the first service thrown in, if not buy it anyway and enjoy, the Roadster is a great bike you will love it. Happy motoring.

 

price seems high to me...mine was like $9600 out the door including tax ,i guess prices vary...i didnt get any extra stuff included. they did offer 10 percent off any mods but only if i let them install it...so i told them to screw and left with the bike. no regrets..im 5 11 and about 245with a 32 inch inseam . im pretty sure ocean state harley in rhode island is still selling them at that price...might be worth a call. afew hours to drive could save you over a grand

 

+1 shop around, a couple hundred miles could save you some money and get a few freebies thrown in

 

Out of those two choices -- take the black one. It is the color you want and the dealer that is close to you and has been putting up with your drooling!

The price is around $2K more than MSRP. So, know that you can always keep looking around at other dealers and maybe find something lower. Or bite the bullet, pay a bit more and enjoy the ride.

BTW -- the Roadster is the best XL in the line. Good choice.

 

Dude, you are 6'1", 280 lbs, you should really get a softail. Look for a Softail Standard that is a few years old and youcan get it for a good price. You are really going to make a sporty look small.

For example: http://www.chopperexchange.com/2002-...andard-63467-5

 

That is not necessarly true. Out the door price varies from STATE TO STATE EVEN IF THE msrp IS THE SAME. An example is CA. Here when you buy a vehicle you pay the vehicle price, DMV fees, 7.25% sales tax (some counties have additional sales tax on top of that) and a tire disposal fee for each tire on the vehicle, ie $7.50x2 for a Harley. Add an extra $100 or so for CA smog and you have a CA vehicle out the door price that is more if sold at dealer cost that MSRP in other states. CA should change its motto from the golden state to the rape me state.

 

What I wrote is ENTIRELY true. The price is $2K more than MSRP.

MSRP is MSRP is MSRP no matter WHAT state you are in. It is listed on the HD website and IS THE MSRP.

The $2K difference is what differs by dealer.

So nothing I wrote is not true. And I recommended he find other dealers if he wished to knock off that $2K.

I do not dispute anything else you said in your post, except your comment stating what I said was not true. All the other dealer price-add-ons certainly exist and very by state but the base MSRP (which I commented on) does NOT change per state.