Well I did trade once , but it was worth the loss ..

I have three Harleys that I have had for at least 30 years .. They wont be sold unless some bad mojo comes down ..

But the everyday riders , well I bought the '08 in July '08 , and the TG I sold after I bought the '08 was mine for almost 21 years ..

No reason to trade or buy a new bike every couple years ..

 

I don't get it, once I get a bike put together the way I like I keep it till it's dead.
I guess I'm not rich enough to do all that trading all the time.

 

Once the repairs start costing more than getting a new one, or until the wheels fall off!

 

Always have sold out right, never traded in, current bike is coming up on it's 10th B-day.

 

Kept my '02 Sporty XL 1200C with 240 rear wide tire kit cuz it was my first Harley to begin with.

Well, '06 RKC's another story...I'd love to keep it. However, I got very frustrated quite a few times when traveling and vacationing. Need more luggage room as the saddlebags itself weren't enough. Had to go out and buy, buy, buy, buy, buy...Never satisfied though until...

My '09 Ultra. Just one happy owner these days as I had to buy one big ticket item which was the T-Bag's Roller Drekker besides all the chrome bling. My real test is coming up over the Memorial Day weekend as we're going down to Pa., Md., Va. and W. Va. then another big test coming up in August.

Hope to keep my Ultra until my retirement 15 years from now then get myself another Ultra as a retirement gift and do zigzag traveling all over USA extensively.

 

I buy a new touring bike ever 1-3 years, but always sell my current ride privately. Trade offers are laughable. I think it's a WIN/WIN situation selling privately. You get a few more bucks, and a buyer is not getting ripped off at the dealer level. Everyone is happy, and then you are free to negotiate a BEST DEAL at the dealer of your choosing on the new bike, without sweating the trade issue. Last 5 years or so, with bikes and cars I've noticed that the words "I have a trade in" is like a CANCER at the dealer. I've had more than a few deals fall apart AFTER I mention my trade.

 

I guess it's all in what you want. I get a bike, doll it up and then get bored with it and move on to the next one and do the same. I've sold most of mine and come out OK on most. Started riding Harley's in December 1992 and have owned 13 since then. With the economy the way it is I'm probably going to keep my 08 Ultra for several years. It has started to grow on me !!!

 

Same here in OH, except our tax rate is 7.75%. I was able to get $16.5k for my '07 SG, with the kick from saving on sales tax it worked out to $17.8k that I would've had to get from a private sale. In today's economy I didn't feel that was likely, so I did the trade. I'm not unhappy with what I got either, I had some money in my SG for accessories, but it worked out to less than $1k a year to rider her for the two years.