MotoF150 wrote:I just can't understand why anybody would spend between $14K and $17K for a Harley and please don't tell me "resale value" reasale value means nothing unless you either find someone to buy a used Harley or trade it in on a new Harley. I have a bug up my "O Ring" for Harleys
As I am a newbie poster here, I am not sure if you have any agenda or not, so I'll take your post at face value.
Why would anyone spend $14K-$30K on a Harley? Well, there are several reasons:
1. They CAN! Prospective Harley owners are generally financially better off than young sportsbike owners. Suppose you wish to buy an $8,000 bike and you make $30,000 a year. That bike would represent 26.7% of your annual income. Someone who makes $100K a year can go into a Harley dealer and buy a Softail for $16K, and that would be only 16% of his annual income. Yes, I have no doubt there are those out there who live in shacks and drive rust buckets to be able to afford that Hog, but where I live, most of those folks can more easily afford a Harley than most kids can afford a Ninja.
2. Most Harley owners are OLDER. They no longer have a NEED to scream around the twisties. As one approaches the half century mark, most (not all) begin to have a keen grasp of their own mortality. Many have already been hospitalized for something and do not wish to relive the experience. They want to cruise down country lanes and smell the roses, having long since rinsed the wheelie/stoppie impulses out of their system. And older bikers are usually more affluent anyway.
3. It is not all part of being a member of any club. There are thousands of Harley riders who do not have the tat/piercing thing going. Many are indeed in shape and have no facial hair. Granted, Harley seems to tap into the "rebel" marketing strategy, but it is not universal. For me and many others, H-Ds make very attractive bikes, with clean lines and that great rumbling sound. The H.O.G. clubs are nice, however, and gives one an opportunity to meet others.
Some love to make an individual statement and chrome it out, put loud pipes, etc. Others like myself, however, prefer the subdued look. I am considering a Street Bob in flat black. It has very little chrome. So not all of us want to go the Orange County Chopper, "call attention to ourselves" look.
4. Harleys are like Rolexes. Metric bikes and Seikos do their respective jobs more efficiently, but there is always a market for a Rolex.
I've had four Hondas in my life, so I am hardly metric averse. I, like many thousands of others, simply like the H-D, are in a position to afford it, and are very happy with them. Some are snobs, but you meet those folks in all walks of life...even on the metric side.
