I frequently travel overseas and am amazed at the prices for Harleys in foreign countries. I assume the difference is primarily due to Duties and other such fees.

We are sooooo lucky............

I'm currently in Johannesburg for the World Cup Finals. As I usually do when overseas, I went to the local dealer (in the suburb of Sandton) to buy some T-shirts. The dealership was well stocked and quite nice; on a par with many I've visited in the States.

However, new bike prices were out of sight - a Road King Classic was listed for over $35,000 U.S. after taxes!

BTW, the exchange rate from South African Rands to U.S. Dollars isn't bad - on a par with the Hong Kong Dollar - not nearly as bad as the British Pound, so it isn't due to the weak Dollar.

 

I'm not sure how it works in all countries but in Canada here all Harleys go thru a "distributor" called Deeley and the markup is excessive.
In the case of a RK classic the US base price is $17,999.00 X the current exchange rate of $1.06 means our base price should be $19,078.00 in Canadian dollars but in fact the Canadian base price is $21,429.00 meaning that Deeley is tacking on an extra $2,351.00 for themselves.
The real corker is that part of the US dealer agreement with HD is they are not allowed to sell a new bike to a Canadian so there is nothing you can do about it if you want a new Harley. I know because I tried to buy a new one in the US and several dealers said they wouldn't sell it to me because they could loose their franchise over it.