Frosty morning in Hell: Harleys on sale

[prester_john]

I dropped by my local H-D dealer on Saturday, and tarnation! All the bikes had sale tags! Most were only marked from the price the dealer has been getting down to full MSRP, but a few - some VROD models and the Buells - were tagged under well under MSRP.

They said they had '07s inbound and were trying to clear out the '06s. You'd better sit down: next weekend they're holding a tent sale! Hoodibaba!

They had a good selection, and they aren't asking a surcharge. If you've been thinking about a Harley, now might finally be the time.

Scoot safe,
Tom

[mediajackl]

Hmm.
Been meaning to post some stuff from the Harley annual report, one item of note was the new head honcho saying The Company intends to make sure that production meets demand. Harley's longtime trick of making fewer bikes than could be sold did much to maintain the bike prices, and boosted the resale value.
The honcho's point is (paraphrasing from memory here) that nobody ever made a customer happy by not selling him something he wants to buy.

Times is a-changin', it seems.

[prester_john]

Harley's longtime trick of making fewer bikes than could be sold ...

To be fair, HD did expand their production by 6X in the last twenty years. They probably could have expanded more, and more quickly, but coming from a manufacturing background, I will say that there's a limit to how much and how fast a company can expand (facilities, tooling, trained workers, etc.) and still maintain control and quality, and not run up excessive debt.

Tom

[Big Daddy C]

Heaven help me, where's my check book.....

[Chrystal]

I dropped by my local H-D dealer on Saturday, and tarnation! All the bikes had sale tags! Most were only marked from the price the dealer has been getting down to full MSRP, but a few - some VROD models and the Buells - were tagged under well under MSRP.

They said they had '07s inbound and were trying to clear out the '06s. You'd better sit down: next weekend they're holding a tent sale! Hoodibaba!

They had a good selection, and they aren't asking a surcharge. If you've been thinking about a Harley, now might finally be the time.

Scoot safe,
Tom
Dang. A tent sale?? Those really aren't sales at all. From my experience, people working on commission make the most at "sales".

And here I am, a sales person without a job.

LOL

[yossarian]

At the dealer I was just at they all had, "stop, make an offer!" tags on them.

[MsPotatoPotatoHead]

Whew! Good thing I'm not in the market for another bike....... :mrgreen:

[Logan]

The bubble broke a few years ago on HD.

Demand & supply are fairly equal.


Thus, no waiting lists, no markups (except for the gullible), no selling your 2 year old ride for what it cost new.

[Big Daddy C]

Yeah!!!!

I'm waiting for the '07s to show up new so I can get mine with EFI....

I figure that week between X-mas and New Years out to be blowout heaven!!!

[MsPotatoPotatoHead]

The '07s should be on the showroom floors very soon. Our dealer has had his first batch in the storeroom for a couple of weeks already, but can't put them out until the official "release date."

[Repeater]

'07 is going to be a big year for H-D, product-wise. They've got several new models out. FI models are going to dominate thier production capacity for the first time in history. The TC88B is out, the bigger 96cid motor is in. The Sportsters are rumored to be greatly improved with their new FI systems.

For the people spending the money, there's little to no reason to buy a 2006 model unless they're heavily discounted compared to the new models. If the '06es don't get discounted, they'll languish on the floor for years, since for an extra $100-$300 (depending on the model) you get a non-archaic fueling system, as well as, in the cases of the big twins, a whole new motor that's superior to the old one in pretty much every conceivable way.

This is probably the single biggest year's worth of changes for H-D since the Evolution motor first dawned. Discounts are in order so their newer, more competitive models can get out onto the sales floor and start making some money.

I find it a bit odd, though, how they still concede 4cid to Victory's cruisers. I thought for sure we would have seen a 102 or 104cid motor from H-D, rather than a 96. Maybe that's in the Screaming Eagle lineup somewhere down the line.

[Big Daddy C]

HD already makes a 103 ci Screaming Eagle engine.... I have seen some customed out softtails at the dealers with them installed....

[mediajackl]

(Apologies for double post...I put ths in another thread, and meant to put it in this one)

Something of an update...
On the way to the Harley parts department Saturday, naturally I wandered among the new bikes on the floor. Got to talking with a friendly, low-key sales guy who pointed out the new 07s, and pointed out the new Big(ger) Twin engines, the 6-speed tranny, the EFI and whatnot...
Anyway, I ask him about the 06s. Particularly the Dynas, which I have an interest in.
Yes, the dealership is ready to deal on the models in stock, he says.
He said that translates to: MSRP, but with a discount on the accessories already put on the bike, and - probably most significantly, in terms of price - "you get a better price on your trade-in."
That was something of an aha! moment, for me at least.
So they won't move much on the base price to move old stock, but they will find ways to sweeten the deal.
By how much? No idea, as I didn't have time to pursue it further.
Something to keep in mind, certainly in terms of when to buy a new bike if you've got the hankering for a new HD.