Hell all,
I am new today to the forum. I joined for help with a purchase I am thinking of making. A friend of a friend is selling his 2003 Harley Davidson FLTRI Road Glide that he has owned since it left the showroom. This guy is obviously a hard core biker since he puts on over 16,000 miles on a motorcycle living in Minnesota! He just received notice his new bike is ready at the dealer to be picked up and wants to move his old one. He honestly doesn't want to sell it but needs the space.

Details:
-His friend has owned a bike shop for years so it receives routine maintenance.
-The motor was built up (increased cubic inch) at 40,000 miles. The build was with all OEM top quality parts. I'm not familiar with the specific build but I do know it was dynoed following the work and tuned perfectly for optimal HP / Fuel economy.
-Two years ago the motor received new crank bearings and lifters.
-Other than that, everything on the motor is original and runs very strong

So my question is, I have never heard of a HD motorcycle with this many miles. High miles is usually 80,000 from what I read. This bike has an additional 100,000, looks great, starts and runs great and everything works like it should!

Would you buy it and what would you pay for it? I want the option to re-sell it if I end up not riding. Just want a bike to ride on the weekends is all. I have basic mechanical skills so not too worried about the small stuff. Its obviously a very reliable motor!

I HAVE 3 DAYS TO THINK ABOUT IT

Thanks so much for chiming in what you would actually offer and why.

 

I know somebody with 220k on their 2000 FLHTCUI.

With that high mileage, I would offer $6k.

This is Black Book Powersports. But when you get that old, with that mileage you just have to go seat of the pants.

Year:2003
Make:Harley-Davidson
Model:FLTRI Road Glide
Model Type:Cruiser
Displacement:1450
Cylinders:2

Finance Advance:$5,750
MSRP:$17,450
Avg Retail:$7,640
Auction Wholesale$6,170
Clean Trade:$5,775
Fair Trade:$4,790

 

I wouldn't offer near that much

concerns at this point is the condition of the chassis...swingarm, swingarm and neck bushes/bearings...forks etc. is the wiring insulation about rubbed through.
metal fatique- welds...I dunno. ( the 09+ use a different frame method pioneered ( well, by Harley terms-) on the Vrod



in other words can it be trusted...can you jump on this and ride to sturgis and back with little more than checking the tires and oil.

so confidence level.

the owner should have info on repairs and services- I'd go through that carefully.

assume that this bike will have little resale value when you decide to get a newer model.

mike

 

I would pass on it. There is a huge amount of bikes out there with low miles. But thats just me

 

Damn that's some serious mileage! I sold my 2003 100 year anniversary classic with 3300 miles on it back in 2012. I know I did not ride it enough. But that's some high mileage. Anything can go wrong at any given time. Just like the others have said I would pass on it too many lower mileage bikes out there to be had.

 

If you can buy it for around 5500.00 , and have all of the service records why not? That bike would probably do another 200k if it is in the shape you say it is in.
You are going to have wiring issues at some point, so find a good independent bike shop, that won't charge 100.00 an hour to find the problem, and ride it.
The motor is probably a 95" motor, and the 88 is still the better of the twin cam motors IMO.

 

I wouldn't.

 

I wouldn't be afraid of it for the right price. A very dear friend had 180k+ on his 02 Road glide and rode all over the country with it, mostly with a trailer behind it. I've got 95k on my 09 and feel like it's just getting broken in, runs better than ever!

 

Are you handy with maintenance? The bike may or may not need it. As another pointed out, there are things other than the motor that wear out and may need to be replaced.

If the guy is picking up a new bike and needs to move it, I'd make an offer to try and get it for a good deal. I don't think I'd go more than $4,500.

Also, if the seller owns a shop, maybe he'd throw in a 6 month or 1 year warranty? Just a thought.

 

If you think it is in good shape I could see paying $4000 or so.