I have been riding Harleys for 18 years. WHile I have had other bikes in the stable at the same time, I have been on Harleys the whole time.

My parents used to ride way back in the 70s and early 80s. They had a Shovelhead, and somewhere, I even got a pic of me sitting on it in 1981, the day before I went off to basic training. While overseas, we used to get the biker mags, like In the Wind, and Easyriders, back when they were the ones to get. The Dave Mann art, all the pics of the road trips and runs in In The Wind, and we were all kind of hoping to be able to get in the wind as well once we made it back to the world.

In 1985, I actually tried to buy a Softail, but the finance company, then Ford Motor Credit, turned me down on the app, since I had been gone so long, and didn't have any credit. Little did I know at that time that it would be 1999 before I could actually get on a bike.

When the late 80s and early 90s came, so did the bike shortage. Bikes were running anywhere from 5 to 10 grand over MSRP, and the waiting list was about 3 years. Seems like throughout the production run of the EVO, until the twin cam came out, that even being able to find a bike an average working guy could afford was the impossible task. Harleys had always typically held their value, but in this case, they held their value plus about 5-10 K more. Softails that were going for 10K in 1985 were about 20-25K new or slightly used.

Fast forward to the days of the Twinkie. Plentiful, solid running, no leaks, really reliable bikes. When I had my evo, I was constantly fixing something. Not so with the twinkie. Thumb the starter and ride. Now, the price of parts and the service went up, way up, in comparison, but the bikes themselves, are pretty much the bees knees.

Then, I look at the prices of lightly used dynas, at 5-6K, and it makes me happy/sad. Happy that the newer guys can get on a great bike for that cheap, and sad that I kind of miss those days. I mean, way back in the days of those old Easyriders and In the Wind pixs, those guys were riding anything but new iron. The real hard core guys were doing barn finds, searching and finding the bike they always wanted, and doing it up over time, until it was exactly how they always wanted it. They were not walking into dealerships with gold cards and riding out on CVOs, but their bikes would hold a candle to anything the factory even dreamed of doing. No dollar value could be put on those one of a kind creations, and when you finally got your bike to the point where you had it down, everyone in town wished that it was theirs.

For a 5-6K starting point for a less than 10 year old bike with low mileage that will probably never give you any issues. the sky is pretty much the limit. Man, if I was 20 years younger. Heck, if I ever wanted to get on a bike, and just never did.

I have no regrets for any of the time I spent in the saddle. I have loved every minute of the past 18 years riding, and would have more under my belt if I could have done it back in the days.

With the new bikes out, and the twinkies showing up used, there's no better time to get on a bike and ride than right now. Heck, imagine all the extra beer money you could have if you could settle for something a little older. There's tons of people out there that would welcome you, and help you get it sorted right.

Shiny side up ^

 

The only 5-6k bikes I see out here are beat and overpriced. Wish those deals were common on the west coast.

 

Good deals are plentiful here. Even the local dealer has a 2007 Street Bob with a TC110 for only $5,990. That's before negotiations even.

http://www.cajunhd.com/default.asp?p...ownedinventory

A quick scan in the local Craigslist shows great bikes going for $3,500 to $5,500. Sure, there are a few crack heads on Craigslist that are asking forty grand for a Sportster or something, but for the most part, it s a buyer's market.

 

I bought my project RK for $6700 w/ 12k miles. Very happy, I had lots of other to choose from on CL.

 

The one in your siq? Sweet!

I had an 03 classic for 7 years. Great bike.

 

I bought my bike new, and now wish that I shopped around more for a good used one. There are tons of low mileage bikes near me.