jongilbert. if its true .......I just recieved $20,378.00 for my totaled Road King Standard with 32k miles....being a 2003 you should kiss the adusters a$$ and then some!!!!!!!! I don't care how much bling you had

 

How much did you have to kick back to that adjuster?

 

Yeah..I felt fortunate. Like I said, If it wasnt an uninsured motorist claim, I would never have gotten that much.

 

I was at my dealer yesterday. I say him loading a new Ultra on a customers trailer and asked him how sales were. He said they are down a bit but he is still doing OK. I told him the price on the used bikes I was just looking at looked really low and he replied the resale value on anything older then a 09 fell when the new 09's came out. He blams the new designed 09 for the down turn on value. Don't know how much truth is in that but it sounds like it possible, besides the economy of course.

 

I think this is as much a driver of the steep price reduction of used touring models as the uncertainty in the economy. Its like a perfect storm; the stealers don't want to carry a lot of used inventory and, with slower sales, they don't want to give big price concessions. Smart money management would be to enjoy what you have today and don't over invest in add-ons unless you have wads to spend and plan on keeping your scoot forever; otherwise, ride it like you stole it!

 

I bought mine to ride, not to resell. That's all that matters to me. resale is still a lot higher than on a metric.

 

Given the economy prices are going to be all over the place. The days of getting more than you paid are over, we all saw that coming a long way down the road, it just couldn't continue. I've watched HD prices fluctuate for thirty five years, it will change again, probably a lot for the worst before it gets better again. I bought a '79 shovel in 1987, paid pretty much the same for it then as the original owner did when it was new, $4,000. Of course, I added chrome and did some mods, but in the 90's I was offered $13,500 for it. Sure, I probably should have taken it but I like to keep my rides, that's why I have three now, probably shouldn't have sold any of the others but sheit happens. Today I can still get more than I have in it, but that price is falling fast in this economy. The nice part is, now that money is tight, for some the first thing to go is the toy, for others like myself, it's the last thing. If this continues, only the serious bikers, riders, enthusiasts, posers, RUBs, whatever you want to call them will be around, hmmm, almost like a full circle.

 

I was in Vegas last month for a friend's wedding. Stopped in LVHD to look around. They had several '08 Ultras on the floor(from their rental fleet) for $12K...'08 Road Kings (rental bikes also) for $11K. I could not believe my eyes. Three months earlier, my buddy paid twice that price for a brand new '08 Road King. I don't care what you say about rental bikes...half price is still half price.

 

I don't care about resale, I'm not selling.

 

Motorcycles are terrible investments. Dock Holiday said it best: expensive hobby. Well worth it though