My take:

Although I have been riding street and dirt bikes since I was a pup (10-12 years old)...including Harley's owned by others...when the time finally came for me to own my own Harley I had much soul searching to do in order not to buy the wrong bike to "start" on.

Being asmall framed man (5-8 155) I originally figured I'd start on a Sportster...although I lusted for the baggers (or dressers as we used to call them), I was lucky to have a dealer with a salesman that was a lifetime biker and he took the time to consult me.

I sat on almost every bike in stock. Including baggers (touring) that I knew I wasn't ready for. In the end I test drove and purchased a Dyna Lowrider as my first "big bike". And even though I bought a Road King a year later...I'm sure glad I started on that Lowrider. I learned a lot about handling a big twin bike. And that gave me the experience and confidence I needed to move up to the bagger I really desired. Some said I wasted money by not buying the bagger to start with , but I could not disagree more.

Point: Ya gotta walk before ya run.

Good luck with your decision!

 

This is difficult to recamend for your situation, but I tried to avoid extras that did not want or need ,(for cost and resale reasons) but went for new,warrenty(just piece of mind), and added lowers,cruise ,..ect myself. A road warrior

 

If you're gonna jump, jump big.

 

You have already received a lot of good advice. Look at the interest rate that the lender is going to charge you. I always use my credit union (Navy Fed.) Right now Navy Fed has 6.75% up to 60 months on new motorcycles. There are restrictions to joining Navy Fed as with most credit unions.

When I bought my last HD, I was looking at the Street Glide as my next purchase. I did a rental at my local HD dealership and rode both the Street Glide and Road Glide. After everything was said and done, I went with the Road Glide. I am glad that I rented both bikes. At my dealership if you do a 4-hour rental, you can come back and ride any other HD they without getting charged extra. I was reimbursed my rental charge once I purchased my bike (2007 Road Glide.)

Myself, I went with the 5-year extended warranty. I wanted it for peace of mind with the new power plant and transmission. On the other hand I have a 2003 Deuce that I bought new in Aug. of 2002 and I have not had one problem with it.

Take your time and look at all the models that you have a interest in and then rent each one. Good luck.

 

HD Financing will bury you in a bike loan, doing a 7 year note to keep the payments to the level you say you can afford.

This means youi will be taking it up the backside for years on finance charges and you will most likely always be upside down on your note. In 4 years if you sell chances you'll owe more on the bike than it is worth.

Have a hefty down payment and only finance for 4 years. If you can't do that, you can't afford the bike.

 

Get the "GAP" insurance...

It pays off the bike if you still owe more then book if its stolen or totalled! It will pay for itself in the future if and when it has to pay out.

Other then that, enjoy your buying experaince and get what you want when you what it.

 

Listen to the advice these guys are giving you re: the financing of you new bike as you want to enjoy it and not be buried in finance charges by it. My wife and I joined a credit union for the sole purpose of buying my EG Standard. Best thing we could have done. We saved about 3% on the rate 6.25% and they will go up to 125% of retail if you desire plus I have found now that I am in the credit union I am saving money in the account I opened. Do the research and enjoy the bike of your dreams..... You ride it and not the other way around.

 

You will never get better advice than this. Listen to Neggy and others. Frankly, HD ain't interested in doing you any favors with there financing. One reason HD sells so many bikes is that they will finance anyone. That's not to say anything about you or your credit. One of my customers bought a Fat Boy in 05. He told me he had no credit and couldn't believe it when HD dealer told him he could buy any bike on the floor. Sound familiar? He had Stage1 kit installed, 7 year warranty. helmet, jacket and insurance. $384 for 7 years. $32,256. Neggy's right, you can do better and if not you can't afford a new bike. Lastly there are a lot of low milage used Harley's out there. Some are loaded with stuff. Let the person selling theirs take the loss and make it your gain. I paid $15,000 for an 02 RCK that cost the seller over $23,000. There's plenty of good deals on used bikes. Do yourself a favor and look around a week or two. It's hard to turn down that shiney new bike on the showroom floor. As the saying goes "All that glitters is not gold", unless you're the Harley dealer.
Gary

 

Take your time.

 

Buy it Dont look back. All I wanted was to get back on two wheels. I had to sell my 02 Road King due to circumstances way beyond my control.... I had the chance last summer and jumped all over it... I bought a left over 2006 right after the 2007's were released. My bike hadbeen on the floor a little whilel. It already had stage 1, alarm V&H ovals. I bought the 7 yr warranty with the service contract covering the first 5 services. I paid a little more but I have the bike I wanted set up the way I wanted it. But listen to all of the advice given here.

Best of Luck
Jeff