how can you justify the price that you charge for a new bike? it is not like they are made with the highest quality materials. i can not see spending more money on a new bike than i did on a new truck. and then have to turn around and spend a small fortune on aftermarket parts to make it comfortable enough to ride for any lenght of time . I JUST DO NOT SEE IT

Jesus Nail, just buy a truck and don't worry about it.

Buy an 04-06 Used Sporty with low miles...Theres LOTS of them for sale...Let the original owner take the initial loss instead of you...Many of them still have time left on the transferable warranty

I bought my 04 Roadster with 900 miles on it..for almost $2000 less than a new one..and it still had over a year and a half left on the warranty


I just paid more for a FXDWG than I paid for my house 28 years ago

They charge what the market will bear. And even at the overly high MSRP, many dealers up the cost another 10%-15% - and GET IT!

If the price scares you, get a Kawasaki ZX-650 twin, for about $6,500. It'll run 12's in the 1/4, leave a Sportster after the first tight corner, and all this without any upgrades.

i dont see 8900 bux for a 1200r being that high. low insurance compared with other bikes, better trade in value, and a engine that is very solidly built.


honda spirit 750cc-6,500
honda shadow sabre 1100cc-8,699
ide rather pay a bit more and have the real thing especially when its not so much more.

... Harley isn't charging too much for a product which is generally superior to the other options available on the market. Buy whatever the hell you please, if you don't like the price, don't pay it.

... Harley isn't charging too much for a product which is generally superior to the other options available on the market. Buy whatever the hell you please, if you don't like the price, don't pay it.
What?! What bikes are Harley superior to and it what ways? I'm not bashing Harley at all, but I don't agree with you. I've had 1 Yamaha, 2 Hondas, and I currently have a BMW and a Sporty. I love my Sporty, but to I could not honestly say it was manufactured better or came with better stock parts than any of the other bikes I've had.

Like Duane said, they charge what people are ready and willing to pay. If you don't like it, go buy a honda and join their forum. Leave the sporties to people who know and enjoy a great, classic motorcycle.

Cheers

Luke

It sounds a bit like marketing posture in the pricing. The price is saying, "You can have an X for $6500, but for a little more, you can own a Harley-Davidson." Nostalgia gets in the way when we make the purchase, too, and the manufacturers will play on that for the Baby Boomers. Prowler, Cruiser PT, SSR Truck, 2006 Mustang headlights; sound nostalgic?

No need to answer: how many people "bought a legend?"

To each his own; one must satisfy what suits his/her needs.

Regards,
Curt

I find the $4-6k price difference (in Australia) between 883 and 1200 Sporties hard to justify. But it is not just HD. My son wants to buy a bike and was looking at some different options -a Yamaha xt660x motard single was $500 more than a fz6n naked Four???- Pete

i all ready bought the truck, i have a 93 sporty and a 98 custom so i alread own harleys .it was just an observation on the price of new harleys. just trying to make conversation.

keep in mind harley has been making bikes the same way for 100 years. v-twin cruisers and standards. in that segment of the bike market others fall short in trying to do what harley does. mainly that harley sportsters just look right and are built with good materials and quality paint. you can make all the comparisons to other bikes you want but the sportster doesnt really have an equal. from standard, chrome cruiser, bobber, cafe, tourer...whatever. try doing all those things with any other bike. few would be able to look good doing it. ever see a sportbike with saddle bags? or bobber style?
the sportster fills a segment that no one else has really been able to do and most likely it was done unintentionally but the look is just right.

i all ready bought the truck, i have a 93 sporty and a 98 custom so i alread own harleys .it was just an observation on the price of new harleys. just trying to make conversation.

Which new truck costs less that the 8,700 + tax that I paid for my sporty?
Did hyundai start building trucks?

Well if you look at it in todays dollars , it ain't that much, if it was say in peso's how many million would that be?

S&D man, what's the mystery? :)

Yeah I was kinda wondering too, what new truck costs less than a new Sportster? This is the Xl Forum not the Big Dog / Iron Horse Forum.

The four Ps of marketing are product, price, place and promotion. Price doesn't refer to how much it cost to make the item, but where in the market place you want your product to reside. That's why you don't see Hilfiger or Polo in Walmart. Harley has done the same thing with their product and apparently its a good strategy because they can sell all the bikes they can make.

I am amazed by the prices people are asking for used Harleys in the local paper. They want a couple hundred dollars less for a two year old Harley than you can buy a 2007. Of course that doesn't mean they will get those asking prices, but I'm sure they get close.

I'd also like to know where you bought a $9000 truck. The list price of a 1/2 ton Ford, Chevy or Dodge is around 20 grand now.

Which new truck costs less that the 8,700 + tax that I paid for my sporty?
Did hyundai start building trucks?
Hell hyundai's accent is there cheapest and its $12,000 and up.

i bought my 06 1200 custom brandnew and paid 11,000 and that included
the sissybar my wife made me put on it. my brother in law paid 22,000 for
his 2002 dyna wide glide brand new after he added all the add ons. now he
pays 400 amonth while i pay 200 and when we ride i honestly can't see
the 200 a month difference in price. call me crazy but i think my bike is
faster than the BT dyna.

Jesus Nail, just buy a truck and don't worry about it.

Jesus doesnt need a truck he needs a Harley

i was not talking about the price of sportsters i was talking about the price of thier cruisers,i have owned sportsters for alot of years so you guys do not have to defend them to me.you guys and your smart remarks really get me.i was just making a observation a while ago.

well the reason I have a harley is because I dont like chrome plated plastic parts and if I ever get assaulted by a gang of 1%er honda shadow riders I can pull my steel air cleaner cover off my bike and beat them with it.

Theres an awefull lot of good buys out there for used Harleys. You just gotta spend time and look for them. I know what your saying about the high price of the bigger bikes. But its like everything else in todays economy. $30,000 for a V8 Mustang... Sheezzz
Muda

i was not talking about the price of sportsters i was talking about the price of thier cruisers,i have owned sportsters for alot of years so you guys do not have to defend them to me.you guys and your smart remarks really get me.i was just making a observation a while ago.

When you say cruiser do you mean touring? I doubt you woud "HAVE" to add much to one of the their touring bikes to make it more comfortable to ride. Most of what is added to those bikes is added to personalize them. Pegs, covers, trim pieces, etc.

If you are referring to the Softails (Heritage, Fatboy, Deluxe) or Road Kings as cruiser bikes they are prettty comfortable as they come. Particularly for the rider. Some models may require some upfitting to make them more comfortable for your passenger.

I'd say more is upgrading is done to the Sportsters and low end Dynas/Softails in the way of comfort. The other bikes seem to get more bling that is not related to comfort or performance in my opinion. Don't mean to be jumping on you, just trying to figure out your reasoning and what you are talking about.

No smart remarks here. Harleys are priced the way they are because people are willing to pay that price. You can say the same about BMW's touring bikes. People will pay their high prices, in large part, because because it's important to that group that it says BMW on the tank. Goldwings are, by far, the most expensive motorcycle Honda makes. Why? Because the folks attracted to them are willing to pay that price. The golden rule of capitalism is, price it a the most the market will bear, whether it's gourmet coffee, flat screen TVs or, yes, motorcycles. It's just good business. The choice to buy or not is ours.

I love my 01 Sporty and will never part with it. But will probably never buy a Big Twin Harley. If i'm ever in the market for a big bike it will be a Kawasaki 1500 Drifter. It's a awesome riding bike and looks like a old Indian.

In my opinion the sportsters are a great deal for the price. yes they have a few problems (suspension), but give a great performance to value ratio. Its the other harley's that I think are ridiculously priced.

I love my Sportster and I do understand Harley Davidson targeting a market that is willing to pay more money for their product. When the Japanese are selling bikes that that have 165 horsepower, run 1/4 mile in the 9's and have a top speed of over 175 mph for less money the Motor Company could give their loyal customers a few more ponies. I do not think it is a good thing when a car is faster than a motorcycle.

how can you justify the price that you charge for a new bike? it is not like they are made with the highest quality materials. i can not see spending more money on a new bike than i did on a new truck. and then have to turn around and spend a small fortune on aftermarket parts to make it comfortable enough to ride for any lenght of time . I JUST DO NOT SEE IT


What new truck were you buying??? My new truck(07 GMC 2500hd) was over $50,000. I could've bought a couple of sportsters and put them the way i want them for less than my truck costs??

What?! What bikes are Harley superior to and it what ways? I'm not bashing Harley at all, but I don't agree with you. I've had 1 Yamaha, 2 Hondas, and I currently have a BMW and a Sporty. I love my Sporty, but to I could not honestly say it was manufactured better or came with better stock parts than any of the other bikes I've had.
I can tell you one for sure.I work with 3 guys that all bought the Suzuki Blvd c50 800cc.Sure they look ok but look a little closer.The bike is 80% plastic
.The fenders are plastic.Hell,even all the covers on the motor are plastic.One of my friends had a rock fly up off the highway and put a whole in the side of his motor.That's ridiculus.I have a 2004 Sportster 883 and it cost about the same as the Suzuki does.The Sportster is far and away a better bike in every way.The Suzuki is a big plastic peice of junk..

I love my Sportster and I do understand Harley Davidson targeting a market that is willing to pay more money for their product. When the Japanese are selling bikes that that have 165 horsepower, run 1/4 mile in the 9's and have a top speed of over 175 mph for less money the Motor Company could give their loyal customers a few more ponies. I do not think it is a good thing when a car is faster than a motorcycle.


WERD Up...suspension ugrade too. not a rice rocket suspension, but not junk either

...my brother in law paid 22,000 for
his 2002 dyna wide glide brand new after he added all the add ons.....

Gee. I hope he got a big sloppy wet kiss with that screw-job!

.....People will pay their high prices, in large part, because because it's important to that group that it says BMW on the tank.....

Hmmm.... I am kinda thinking about a BMW RT model, not because it says BMW, but for the various features and crazy lean/turn angle that you can't get from an H-D touring bike.

I wonder how many people buy an H-D because it says that on the tank?

I believe some people LIKE the prices being high. Not everyone is like this but how many people have you heard say the price in the name of the bike? "Joe just bought a $17,000 Softail". For some it does two things, declares status and insures exclusiveness. Some people ENJOY being able to say I have xx item and YOU DON'T. I call it keeping ahead of the Jones'. I have a friend who is always trying to outdo me and everytime I get something he has to get the same thing but the "upgraded" version. How juvenile.
Unfortunately, the eclusiveness of a Harley is what helps make people want them. If they were more common they wouldn't be as "Special". Personally, they can have the bragging rights if it helps their egos or insecurities. I don't care if the guy next me paid more or less for his scoot an long as MY face is in the wind.