Harley Holds its Value ...Where?

Question

Where do you people get this saying about a Harley holding its Value , I put 5 to 8 thousand miles a year on every Bike I have ever owned ,Your telling Us that if I put 8 thousand miles on 2007 Harley this year I can sale it for the same price I paid for it Brand New ,Thats just not going to happen and You know as well as I do your not going to pay That price, So please Exsplain in Detail Where you get this from /Peace

Answer 1

Used to be a day when that was true. Back in the early '90s it was true mostly because demand outpaced production and you had to pay a premium for the Harleys. Now the company has increased production substantially and it is far from true. What is true is the fact that they do hold their value better than "metric cruisers" and other Asian makes and models and harley will have parts available for their bikes 40 years from now and not be obslolete in 5 to 10 years.

Answer 2

I think you've gotten the drift from some of the other answers. Every bike no matter what make or model loses value once that first owner buts his butt on it and rides off the dealership lot.
I will say I have a 1981 Wideglide I bought with custom paint, S&S carb. and baby apes for $4500 in 1983. I'm pretty sure I could get more than I paid for it today. I can't think of another make of motorcycle made in 1981 that can say that. I realize it's part of the 10 or 15 years of the Harley craze. Should the craze die out all those Harleys sitting in all those garages will be sold to the last remaining for a greatly reduced price and at that time no one will be talking about how they hold their value.
This means nothing to me because I don't sell anything. I still have the Wideglide, am riding my softail and within the next four years plan on getting one of those used with low mileage UltraClassics. I'm kind of hoping the craze dies out in the next two or three years.

Answer 3

All you have to do is look in a NAAD book or black book and you will see tha HD holds its value better than any other bike sold in the USA

It does NOT hold 100% of its value.
There was a time when they did. Thatwas when you had to order a year in advance. People would pay you list for your 1 year old bike to avoid the wait.
Nowdays they hold there value very well

You will not see a HD in the paper for $2000
unlike the 93 Kaw intuder 1500 listed in the paper today for $2000 (rrstar.com) Bike is in good shape, have friend selling it.(Purchased for $8700 This bike woould compare to a 93 soft tail which will bring about $9000 sold for new for $11000

peace back at ya RIDE SAFE BROTHER

Answer 4

So I take it if you feel it's worth exactly the sticker price, that's holding it's value? You won't get exactly but you'll get a lot more than any other bike a year old with 7000 on it. People also change and customize Harleys which add to it's value. So, you obviously don't understand economics. So I'll stop talking, your soft head probably is sore.

Answer 5

beats me. I have a 05 sportster that is now worth 4 grand. I paid 8grand for it in 05. I once had a 03 Suzuki Volusia. I sold it 05 and only lost $1,000. Both are or were in mint condition. Back in the day, harley would keep its value cause it was alot more rare. You used to have to wait 6 months to a year to get one. Thus people would pay more for a used bike, so they could ride it now. Now u can go into any Harley Dealership and buy a harley and ride it home the same day. Thus the value for a used bike drops.

Answer 6

there is not any doubt that Harley holds it is value extra useful, yet enable me propose yet another element. in case you plan to maintain the bike for an extremely long term, you will desire to have a real concern finding areas for any Honda over 10 yrs old. Honda and the different jap motorcycles tend to alter issues on a widely used foundation, and supply up making the older areas. you ought to purchase just about any area for a 50 year old Harley! attempt doing that for a 1965 Honda!

Answer 7

Nobody ever said you would get new price for used. What they say is that you don't lose as much. Of course, they talk dollars instead of percentage of purchase price. The difference is smaller when you look at it that way. Inflation is never taken into account either.

You can't sell an '07 for what you paid for it.
You might be able to sell a '95 for what you paid for it, or a little less.

Answer 8

Harleys do depreciate in value. Not as much as some other bikes, but they do. The guys who spend several thousand dollars in chrome and billet doo-dads are the ones that lose their asses. Peace.

Answer 9

Ok make room for the facts ,you have four motorcycles a 2005 MODELS : VULCAN 1500 NEW $10500 NOW $6995 HONDA VTX 1800 over $10000 now $6995 SUZUKI C90B $10299 NOW $7060 NIGHTRAIN I paid $15000 now $14410 all motorcycles 2005 all the same class its not a saying its the truth any one that would tell you anything different is ignorant, Harleys are a American mans dream if you stand by one and listen to it idle feel the energy ,then you know if the guy wants to sell his sportster in mint con. for $4k, ill buy it look in kelly blue book motorcycles

Answer 10

in 1993 i bought a new harley springer softtail, rode it 37000 miles, and paid 13,800 dollars for it . in 2006 i sold it for 11,500 dollars, losing only 2,300 dollars. a friend of mine had just bought a 2006 springer softtail, and paid almost 22,000 dollars for it. i think they hold their value because the price goes up so fast on them, so i actually sold my bike for only half the value of a new bike. i hope this helps.