The HD CEO stated HD discourages dealers to discount from MSRP. That has nothing to do with this years bikes being lower priced.

All of you that grip about the fact that HD goes of shore for materials and parts. Well here is the reason that costs have went down. What you are seeing is the passing on of lower costs due to the strength of the dollar to buy the out sourced parts much cheaper than over the past years. That along with the improvements in manufacturing and inventory control that were put in place recently. York went from over 30 buildings with separate functions to one large efficient plant.

Now you bitch about lower prices. Good God!!!!!!

 

I am assuming you are talking about me. Harley just issued another recall this time for their street bikes for a faulty fuel line that could cause the motorcycle to explode. They also moved their wheel manufacturing to China and layed off hundreds of Australian workers during Christmas. Regardless of what anyone says here the quality, reliability, and integrity of Harley Davidson has gone down and all the recalls and market share losses are proof of that.

As I stated earlier I have no vested interest in Harley so I am simply speaking as a consumer. My softails have been bullet proof and I absolutely love them but if I was in the market for a new motorcycle I would not consider a new Harley Davidson. I don't care what others choose to spend their money on. I don't mind paying a premium for a premium built machine. That's why I've owned so many Harleys.

And there is absolutely no factual proof as to why the deluxe is 1200 dollars more than the heritage for 2016. If they are cutting prices do to the savings from over sea parts then EVERY Harley should go down in price not just three softails.

 

It could very well be as simple as lowering the price on bikes that have had sales slow down on and increase the price on bikes that sales are doing well or are increasing on.

The CVO Limited was increased to $40,229

It was a hot seller in the preceding years.

I haven't looked at the new street glide or street glide special prices, but I would not be surprised to see them increase in price due to what seemed like everybody and their brother buying one.

As for as the street models, they were brand new bikes with no ties to much of anything so it is really not surprising. Some people don't consider them real Harley's and expect them to be just a short lived experiment which the motor company has done many times before.

 

That could very well be but there is absolutely no proof whatsoever of that being the case but there is plenty of proof of qaulity issues, more inferior Chinese made parts, more skilled workers being laid off like at the motorcycle plant in Kentucky, and the fact Harley has never lowered their prices before. Harley stated that they would simply produce less bikes rather than lower their prices to keep their brand premium. Their are no official statements saying otherwise.

 

The fallacy in your argument is that the Deluxe increased in priced and the Heritage decreased in price therefore the Heritage must be lower quality. The two bikes are virtually the same, so if one has somehow gotten to be shitty, then then other would be also, yet you are stating that is not the case.
Windshield, bags, and seat are the three main things that differentiate the two bikes.
Even if an assumption was made that those three items were compromised, that would still be faulty logic due to the fact other models which may not be selling as well as they used to have also dropped in price and they don't share these three items with the Heritage.
Touring bikes, especially the Street Glide Special have been a hot seller for the last couple of years due to the aging demographic. Their prices are the same are higher.

The only way I can see that you are drawing the conclusions you are drawing is because of what you paid compared to what the new ones sell for combined with the fact that these lower priced ones have a few extra features people have wanted for years. Meaning, your bike not only lacks these desirable features, but it's value is also further diminished by the new one costing less. These two factors combine to substantially reduce the value and desirability of your bike and that is exactly why you are taking the position you are taking.

I ride an old 80" carbureted Evo Heritage with really lousy brakes and none of this has any impact on me.

 

There is nothing faulty about my logic as it is based on fact and Harley officially saying they would not discount their motorcycles. Fact is Harley has never discounted their motorcycles before. You have no facts or official statement from Harley saying that they reduced the price of certain softails because they were not selling especially since it was at the plant that made dynas, sportser, vrods, and street bikes that Harley laid off 169 skilled workers.

You have absolutely no official statement or facts to support Harley eating a grand on each heritage, fat boy, and slim sold simply because they were not selling. Didn't Harley stop making the road king Classic in North America and the Electra glide standard because they were not selling? Harley has never reduced the price of their motorcycles and they said officially they never would. You cannot convince me without facts.

I understand you are a Harley apologist so buy what you want and believe what you want. It will not change my stance or belief that Harley has reduced the quality of their motorcycles as they continue to cheapen their products in order to increase profits and the recall of their motorcycles because of faulty parts from making their motorcycles cheaper and cheaper is yet further proof of lesser qaulity.

At the end of the day all that matters is consumer confidence in the brand and with all the recalls, layoffs (during Christmas for Australian workers), and moving manufacturing to China has soured public opinion and has shown a reduction in quality and integrity. I only pay premium for a premium made products and made in China isn't what I call Preium.

 

Yet despite your anti capitalist anti corporation mentality which you find flawless, you still cannot explain why the Heritage would somehow be inferior to the Deluxe. You are basing your assumptions on lower price equals lower quality. I could go along with that if it were not for the fact that the deluxe and the Heritage are essentially the same bike. In other words, if you were claiming both bikes were shitty, it would make more sense than by claiming the heritage is shitty and the deluxe is not like you are.

 

Dude I understand you are only looking out for Harley's interest. I love both my softails but as a consumer I will no longer consider a new Harley as a choice. That is my right and my choice.

 

That is cool but again I would agree I with you if you were making the case that both the deluxe and heritage are shitty or that both bikes were great. Because they are essentially the same bike with the heritage costing less, it is incorrect to jump to the conclusion that it must be worse than the deluxe.

 

It's just supply and demand -- the Deluxe is in greater demand and they are cutting Heritage prices to move them. It's not that complicated. They are essentially the same bike (I have both). Ron