not sure what dealers your looking at but heres what i did. I walked into the dealer i wanted to buy from, i already knew they had what i wanted in stock from online recon and an anonymous phone call to confirm the day before. I went in and told the first salesman that looked my way what i was looking to buy, I actually said "I want to buy the XXXX bike you have sitting there, what is your best price?????" he stammered around a bit about msrp and setup fee's and i said " ive been to xxxhd dealer and he quoted me $800 below msrp without any of that setup bs, i want to buy it now, ill buy from you if you match it" he gave me the gotta check with my manager crap and i figured he was going to give me a hard time but he came back in about 2 minutes and said "sold". I bought the bike and im picking it up this week. did i lie? yes, yes i did. could i have gotten a better deal? perhaps so. am i happy with my deal? yes i am and thats all that matters.

Try thiels wheels north of columbus or chillicothe hd, they will play ball. I cant say for sure how every dealer will handle it, but in the current economy a dealer would be a fool to turn away a real buyer. Too many out of work or with reduced income right now.

 

I found a dealer that had the bike I wanted (2011 Road King Classic Black) on the floor. The bike had been there for more than a month... and it was the end of the month (I bought mine on Oct 30).
I got what I feel was a good deal... I am happy about the deal, and I LOVE the bike !!

 

Keep in mind that you also have the winter on your side. If you ran out right now and paid MSRP for the bike you wanted it would still be sitting until spring to ride it. I think dealers play off spring fever alot and people want to get out on the road ASAP so they pay more. Do the research on what bikes are in stock in yoru area, throw you feelers out there and let the dealer work for YOU. Remember its your hard earned money, never let them make you feel like they are doing you a favor by selling you a bike. I have never had the option to haggle for a bike because AAFES (military Sales) can't adjust prices.

 

best way to get the best price is email dealers all over the country and simple tell them you are buying a bike and willing to travel for the best cash price otd. If price is all your shopping you can get a good deal doing this. I have done it several times over the years. Be prepared when you get a good offer to take it. Over the years tho I have learned some times shopping strictly lowest price is not always the greatest thing in the long run.

 

My local dealer in southeastern ohio gave me $2000 off MSRP, no set-up fees, on my 2011 Streetglide. If you are willing to travel 100 miles, PM me for the dealer (don't know if forum rules allow me to post the name). This was a no-haggle price from a small family owned dealer that takes care of his customers.

 

My 2 cents,I bought my new Roadglide Ultra from Barnett Harley in El Paso Texas.I live all the way across the state from them.Of all the dealers I emailed they are the only one that replied.They beat my local dealer by enough that I bought from them.The good part is they deliver.After they dropped my bike the next morning(they are 13 hours from me)they went to Oklahoma city to drop off one and then on to Indianapolis Indiana.They just sent one to south africa and one to New Zealan (spelling).They are supposed to be the largest HD dealer in the country.When I got the bike there was two new t-shirts,a tool kit and a bunch of other freebies in the tourpack.It was a great transaction dealing with them.

 

Just set a price your willing to pay and stick to it, walk out a few times from the dealership. I bought my 2011 SG in Oct and it took 4 visits and 3 walk outs. And finally I told them I was going to go down to Cinti HD to buy the bike. They called me back 10 mins later and they said come back in and we have the number you want. Came down to it was $200 more than I told them but for a loaded unit OTD for $19220.33 I couldn't walk away. I bought it from Powder Keg in Mason Ohio, it's about 20 miles north of Cinti, OH