I may be speaking out of turn here because I don't know a lot about Harley-Davidson. But from what I have seen and experienced, Harley-Davidson openly display a very flagrant marketing strategy of pricing products outrageously high because people buy them. Some of it's a mixed bag of, what I would call, taking advantage of a unique buying public and greed. For instance. In the car manufacturing and sales world, we've notice over the years of technology advancements, cars and trucks now in a lot of cases, a 5 year and 70k mile plus bumper to bumper warranty. Part of that is marketing but for the most part it's confidence in the products being sold. Harley-Davidson on the other-hand, has more of a specialty group of buyers because of a unique buying public. If Harley-Davidson had the level of confidence in their motorcycles that general car manufacturers do, The Motor Company would have a better basic warranty, but they wouldn't make as much money selling extended warranties. This is only a guess but I would bet that Harley-Davidson sells a substantial amount of extended warranties mainly because of the lack of confidence level of the general Harley buying public. I say these things because of my time and experiences working in the Automobile manufacturing industry for 13 years. You might be surprised what manufacturers do to get your money. A big part of it is called, Planned Obsolelcence.

How many of you that's been buying Harley bikes for several years have bought extended warranties and never have had warranty work done? This would be an interesting POLL question.

 

I bought the warranty for my 07 streetglide, put 34k on it in 2 years and used the warranty a couple of times. I had no true motor work done (pipes, ac, etc.), never had a problem at several dealers. Bought it for my 2010 Ltd, peace of mind.

On the way to biketoberfest last fall, one of the ladies had the compensator go out on her bike. Extended warranty (financed when she bought the bike) saved her from a nice bill while on vacation. While in Sturgis a few years ago buddies Ultra engine went, had to have the top end rebuilt at a dealership in Wyoming. Saved him big vacation dollars.

I have seen a lot of examples of the warranty being beneficial, the group I ride with does put more than average miles on (for Ohio at least). I've never had to fight with a dealer or seen a claim denied for aftermarket parts. If the aftermarket didn't cause the failure, its a non issue. I suppose some dealers have and will pull that crap, maybe I've been lucky.

 

I bought the HD ESP just before my 2-yr. factory warranty expired. I'd already had one failure of my IPB, and knew about the "time-bomb" rotor problem (two '06 Dyna issues). I was getting ready for an 11-state roadtrip and wanted some peace of mind. I'd also looked at non-HD ESP's, but was scared off the lower $$$ by the exclusions and weasel-clauses big enough to drive a truck thru (wouldn't cover any failure caused by fasteners coming loose). Got the [extra] 4 year policy for about $1200 (no tire/wheel). Your quotes seem high, unless Tourer ESP's are just higher than Dynas. I don't think you're limited to your selling/nearest dealership...shop around. Talk to Emily @ Destination HD in Puyallup, WA.

 

Those prices seem a bit high. Here in Tennessee, I called about five Dealer's. They gave me a Price of 1644.00 for the 5 year extended plan. (no tire coverage) That's the best one to buy if you plan to keep the bike. It's like Insurance, if you need it and don't have it...tough! If you have it and don't need it...waste!

 

extended warranties are a ripoff.I wouldn't mind selling my factory 2 yr back for half what they want for extended.

 

I purchased a 3 year for under $800 when I bought the bike last December. I usually put 10-15k on my bikes a year so I figured that would have me around 50K miles on the bike after three years. At that mileage I'd be looking at a motor "refresh" anyways.

So I got in an accident 5 months after buying the bike and haven't put any miles on the bike (under 3k for the year) but I've already had $600 worth of work fixed under warranty while the bike was getting repaired. For me the original guess at mileage and wear hasn't worked out as planned but I have gotten some of my moneys worth out of the warranty.

It the same thing with having auto insurance, its legalized gambling, your paying for the "in case" and it all depends on if you can "afford" a loss or want the piece of mind even if you never use it. Some people may never use their warranty but knowing its there to catch them lets the ride care-free.

 

I bought the 7 year extended warranty (which is only an extra 5 years) when I bought my bike. Just got back from the 40,000 mile service. It had a small oil leak that was fixed under warranty.

Repair total 638.70

Cost to me. $50.00. I guess you could argue that it actually cost me the price of the extended warranty and I suppose you would be correct. I certainly hope that I don't have to use the warranty again. I look at it like insurance, you buy it and hope you never need it.

 

I bought the 7 year extended warranty when I bought my bike w/tire coverage.$1700

 

I purchased the ESP for my own sanity. This is my first HD. Better safe than sorry I always say.

 

I wouldn't buy it on a new bike unless I did not work on it myself. If you are going to have dealer do any work on your bike any way then it may be beneficial. We bought a used 03 Ultra that had a 95 inch motor in it a few years ago and bought a ESP with it, had to have a new starter put in last year and that paid about half the cost of the ESP. I bought my Classic used and it came with a 7 year ESP. I have used it some, biggest thing was a cam tensioner upgrade that saved me about 700 bucks. The one thing I will never be without is a HOG membership with the towing package. Have used that several times and it has paid for itself 10 times over already.