Over the last 18 months, I replaced my charging system, (again!) This time I went with Compu-Fire so maybe it will last. At Myrtle Beach the Y Pipe cracked on the exhaust leading to a hung up exhaust valve on the rear head. I found a nice set of take off heads and a decent 2 into 1 exhaust and threw them on. And finally, ( at 82,000 miles,) the tensioners are gone and gear drive cams sit in the bike. That's about $1,500 worth of EBAY / Craigslist pieces/parts and my labor.

Could have traded it, ( imagine what they would have offered!,) and the weak spots are fixed. All this for less than 4 or 5 new bike payments. The dealer would have offered me 60, 72 or even 84 of those!

I think I'll keep this one!

00' FLTRSEI

 

at 77k ,the engine will be good with all your upgrades, but what about the trans, wheel bearings, drive belt, ETC, I would trade for a new one, but thats just my 2 cents, ,,,

 

You have 77,000 miles on your '05' Ultra, and you're just now considering a performance package? Sounds like your trying to pad the justification bill. Do what makes you happy.

DJK

 

70,000 miles of wear,...... ain't gonna be only on the motor. Everything has wear on it.

Get the new one, no question about it. It will ride better and have less than 10 miles of wear when you get it.

If you put money into your 05, you won't see one penny of that on resale value.

Edit: I see a few posts up has already covered the "worn other parts" thing. LOL

 

Be sure and give us an update when you figure it out.

 

Got that right!

 

I have 05 with 95k miles and 2011 with 103 engine. You have the best bike, change the cam tensioners asap then ride and enjoy. Replace the bearings and check the belt as cash allows, no rush. Cash is king, feed the pig, dont borrow.

 

Couldn't agree more, banking those new bike monthly payments buys a heck of alot of drive belts, wheel bearings and tranny parts, if/when you ever need them. And it seems that Harleys depreciate as fast as eveything else does now.

 

What do you suppose a dealer is going to offer on a 6 year old bike with 77K miles on it that needs maintainance? If you still owe money on it, you're going to be faced with financing almost the entire amount on a new Limited?

If it were me, I'd get it paid off, get the maintainance caught up, and then put a little money into it. Guys are too willing to trade off a bike when it starts to accumulate a few miles.

 

Just a thought- what would the dealership give you on a trade, and how does that compare to what you still owe? Also, what is your current payment and what would the new payment look like? (Obviously all questions to answer yourself, not to us here on the post.)

I personally would kick it off by having the conversation with Momma first. Here's what we owe, here's how much longer we'll pay, here's what I'm mulling around and was thinking of talking to the dealership about my options. The smartest long (intermediate) term financial decision may be to trade it in. Address the fact that you have $1,500 in work that has to be done (ignore the rest- it doesn't really apply when talking about hard fiscal requirements- I'll come back to it in a bit, anyway).

Perhaps it's smarter to take a $50 increase every month to gain peace of mind. I am assuming that cash isn't pouring out of your pockets right now (based on the re-fi comment). What if something catastrophic does happen- blown piston, do you have the cash to get the bike up and running or are you going to be paying on the loan for a bike you can't afford to fix.

The other stuff, the stage one the fender cosmetics etc... it's all want not need at this point, just as buying a new bike may still lead to a stage 1 desire or changing boards or adding this trinket- all the normal crap we fall victim to. If you can avoid taking a loss, the trade in is probably a sound decision, so long as your new payment doesn't destitute you.

Contrary to popular belief, debt is not a bad thing- AS LONG AS IT'S PROPERLY MANAGED!!! that $1,500 you need to shell for maint/repairs can be rolled into 30 months with a $50 higher bill. ($50 is probably low going into the limited, btw- figure $180 payments for every $10k financed- assuming decent credit) There is value in having a warranty providing some financial protection, there is also value in fully assessing the impacts of keeping and maintaining you current bike vs. buying a new one.

Either way there are no "right" answers- each have advantages and disadvantages, you're just trying to figure out what is the most feasible and not irrationally justify your way out of that decision. Anyway- like I said earlier, do a full assessment on what you owe and for how long you'll pay. Have a discussion with the wife about where you sit and your desire to explore options. See what harley offers in both trade in and sales offer. DO NOT ROLL DEBT FROM THIS BIKE INTO THE NEXT!!! Consider a Ultra classic rather than the limited- hope that helped, sorry if it didn't.