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Now, i've been warned that if you don't look like you got the cash or don't look like a Harley rider, some of the salespersons won't even come talk to you. I'd like to add a plus one to the fact of that.

Today my brother (Jthmeffy) and i were in Dubuque, Iowa at Wilwert's Harley-Davidson and Suzuki and not one salesperson said hello. Hell, the front desk person didn't say hello. That's out of trend compared to wherever else i've been. Anywho, we'll tooled around the store for about a half hour without so much as one word and there was a Buell Blast that i was looking at for a first bike, 05 but it had been scratched up on the sides so it was $2,900, roughly.

Anyway, can i continue to expect this from HD stealerships?

Hey, 7.

Sorry that experience rubbed you wrong. I would be more inclined to feel pi$$ed if I asked the sales folks for help and they brushed me off than if they never approached me. Reason being that if am just looking, it gets to be a hassle to tell all the sales staff that I don't want their help, thank you very much. Maybe the staff there was just trying to accomodate that? Consider going back, grabbing somebody and seeing if they work with you or not. If not, then shake the dust off your boots, get on your horse and ride to the next dealership. Somebody will be glad to take your money...

The couple few times I've been to my local Harley dealer, I've been approached and asked if I needed help. The girl at the entrance counter said hi and asked if she could help. They seemed OK to me. Maybe it's just that dealership. I haven't been to any of the others in my area so I don't know how others are. But the one by my house is nice.

There is one by my work too. Maybe I'll stop in and test them out.

I've been to a local Harley shop about 5 or 6 times in the past 3 years. 5 of those times the guys working there seemed to ignore that I was there. 2 of those same times I had ridden up there on my Kawasaki. I had one time where I got way too much attention though. There were 3 people hanging around the door when I came in and they proceeded to all talk to me and follow me around. I didn't mind talking, but it was a shock compared to the "ghost town" like feel of the other 5 times. None of those timed did I do something special to stand out or conceal myself.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Luck of the draw really. Hit the right place and the right time. Some places do a better job than others. Some salesman seem to get tired of the people who want to talk, but not buy. Tough job though really. Some people want to be left alone, or they won't buy a bike. Some people want attention, but don't plan on buying a bike. It would be hard to guage if I was in their shoes.

I was sitting outside an H-D dealership on my Gixxer once and a couple of folks were on their way out. The woman told they guy "whatever bike you decide to get, just make sure it's not some japanese piece of crap"...I just smiled at her and walked in. The Harley elitists crack me up...they look down on bikes that are better engineered and could smoke em on any given day. Cracks me up

They don't look down on the bike or its technology actually. They look down on you for diverting work from good American Workers/union members to a bunch of foreigners. Your crime is no different than buying mideasern oil... there is nothing wrong with the oil itself...it would be great oil if it was owned my America and drilled by Americans, but by buying it now you are supporting terrorists and such.

There are some people that really buy into that whole "buy american" BS. I did at one point... when I bought my VW, I chose one that was made in Mexico when I could have purchased a German-made version... I wanted to support American workers in America. Nowadays I prefer to buy former soviet products... though not to the point of paying the absurd prices they want for Urals.

on why they look down on you
on everything else.

Make sure that blast wasnt an old MSF class bike, they frequently have problems (no proper breakin, overheated, excessive idling, dropping, improper use of clutch, etc).

Its funny I should read this post right now, since my girlfriends brother and I just dropped off the Road King he rented for our trip to the Keyes and had the same conversation on the way back.

I really think the attitude of the workers in any dealership is down to the management and consequently, the owners. I've visited some H-D dealerships (such as the one in Naples FL and Van Nuys CA) that were as friendly as anything. Others won't even give you a nice smile when dropping an insane amount of money for stuff just because it has HD printed all over it.

The saddest thing is, 99% of the things you buy in these dealerships aren't necessities but luxuries and it would be nice if the ruder dealerships would appreciate that.

I found all the japanese. dealers to be pretty good. They seemed moderately informed and let me browse their bikes. When they approached me, I straight out told them I wanted to take a look at what I've read. They left me alone, but the key was telling them my intention.

At the Harley shop, someone greeted me right away. I'm not your typical Harley rider in appearance. In fact, I'm Asian. Without predjudice, the dealer asked me if I wanted to just browse or be helped. I switch it up from time to time to see how they reacted. For the most part, they let me browse and told me to grab anyone if I needed further assistance. This was consistent every time I went to a Harley shop.

I've never done sales, but I can't imagine it being too difficult to tell your employees always greet incoming potential customers and find out their intention rather than assuming their intentions. Granted dealerships are going to have their busy streaks and they just can't greet everyone, but if they make it a point to do that, they'll have the best chance.

It's a crapshoot imo. I've seen really crappy japanese. dealers too. The Harley shop in my area beat all japanese dealers in customer service I've ever been too. I've never purchased a Harley. I like Japanese bikes for their reliability. I'm going to drive up to the Harley shop next week on my Kawasaki next. I want to see some looks and remarks. We'll see if I still get the help I've had in the past from that same Harley shop.

Bachstrad37 wrote:I found all the japanese. dealers to be pretty good. They seemed moderately informed and let me browse their bikes. When they approached me, I straight out told them I wanted to take a look at what I've read. They left me alone, but the key was telling them my intention.

I have found the same w. the japanese dealers too - except one guy wanted to charge me $500 to test ride his machine - I told him I don't pay people to give them my business and walked.....