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Smells like a lease to me. This is great for the guy that can write it off, as well as the guy who wants a new bike every couple years and doesn't care about ownership.
Excluding tax, tag, title, etc. a basic Road Glide ($26,599 MSRP) would cost you $33,719.39. WOW. $2660 down and $4500 in interest over 4 years. Yikes.
Last edited by BrandonSmith; Mar 8, 2024 at 09:32 PM.
This seems to be the trend quite a few manufacturers are moving toward (Both Auto and Bike).
They want the buyer to be more focused on that monthly payment and not think about the total cost.
Everyone seems to be more interested about monthly payments these days.
One of the first questions salesmen always ask these days is "How much are you looking to spend per month"
If you answer that question, they almost always have you hooked (because they will make sure the term length is long enough to meet that number)
Guess that is about the only way quite a few people can swing buying high dollar items anymore.
When a CVO Ultra is going to be over $50K out the door, best your **** they only what them seeing monthly payment amount,
not the final price, nor the balloon payment at the end when they can't turn the bike back in, and stuck for even a higher interest loan on a used bike when they go to refinance.
Hence the only win is for Harley, when someone can not afford the bike outright to begin with, or playing a losing fiance game on the bike isntead for the crowd that just has to have a new bike every few years, no matter how much they are going to lose on it each time as well.
How true - designed for the individual that simply wants a new bike every few years.
A neighboring dealer called today to share that HD had some special rates of 1.99. Given that rate and financing the $24K listed above, the payment would be $520 per month. When you compare that to the estimated $335 lease payments, that shows an $185 difference.
Some folks may jump right on that - forgetting the residual balance of $15,275. Figure it this way - would you rather pay the higher payment (48 X185 = $8900) monthly and own the bike or be faced with either buying the bike for $15,275 or not having a bike at lease term.
I used to do this all the time with my trucks. Suburbans would hold their value and I could always sell them for more that the residual value. So, in this case, if you lease a bike and are confident you will get more than $15,275 (plus taxes) - well, then this could be a win for you.
I’m a person that normally trades bikes every year or two, and yes I mod them as well.
My dealer was part of Harley’s “test” of flex financing Q4 2023. The dealer called and told me about the program and thought it might be good for me. I was somewhat interested in a Fast Johnnie RG so I asked them to figure one for me. Well the $3k paint upgrade on the FJ couldn’t be worked into the flex program and was split into equal payments over the term, so at 36mths it added almost $100/mth.
There were a couple of other weird things about how the payment was figured with any extras like a tour pack. At the end of the day they came back with a “flex” payment that was all most as much as the normal payment, I passed.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
HD Flex Financing
