From the deals I have seen, think you need a more aggressive depreciation schedule. Not too many low mile 5yr bikes selling for more than 50% of original retail.

 

I know these aren't touring bikes, but it goes to show how Harleys seem to retain their value. My wife and I bought Sportsters 3 years ago. I bought an '04 for $4500 and she bought an '07 for $6250. We just sold both bikes a couple months ago to buy our new to us '09 Softale Deluxe (her) and an '08 Street Glide. I got $4,500 for my '04 and she got $6,300 for her '07. I know we lost on the add-ons we put on our bikes, but not bad to ride bikes for 3 years and almost 10,000 miles and got our initial investment back. If we get that lucky with the newer bikes I'll be ecstatic. Although I don't plan on getting out of them anytime soon.

 

I sold my '04 Road King last year for $1k less than I paid for it (I bought it used), enjoyed it for 3 years and 12k miles so I am good with that, if it were not for the economy (and me wanting to sell it for a bit less and move on the the Ultra) I probably would have sold it for what I paid.

 

In my area you have to speak up quick for any of the touring line,especially the Ultra's, if you want any chance of picking your color and options. With that then all of their used touring bikes are priced high. IMO! But people want bikes bad enough they will buy these used ones.
I got what I thought was very good trade value out of my 2002 bikes which had 75,000 miles on them!

This is just what I see!

 

It's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

 

Being a little optimistic, leaving some negotiating room. Also options and ad ons, it's not uncommon for guys to put $2-4k in options on a bike right away. Don't forget the guys who expect to recoup their original tax, title, license and destination charges. That $22k MSRP can easily be $25k out the door.
Up until 5 years ago or so used Harleys were holding their value (even increasing) extremely well. Some sellers bought under those conditions and still think it's realistic. Fortunate for them some buyers think that too. Harleys are the one vehicle where dealers are asking less than some private sellers.

 

Got my Ultra bout the same time with 32000 on it for $15000

 

I would say on average 8-10 years would bring a bike down to 50% if it's in normal used and not abused condition.

 

Dealer gave me $16K for my '06 RKC with 26K miles on it when I traded up towards to '09 Ultra way back in September '08.

Didn't think it wasn't too bad when dealer gave me that trade-in figure.

Thorey

 

2 factors: Harley has had over 3 billion in bad debt, so they cut production to try and force all of the repos on the dealers and us
studies show that the avg owner adds 40% above the price on accessories, what happens to that money?