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My friend who has bought a lot of bikes told me that motorcycle dealers don't negotiate much if at all on price, unlike car dealers. Do you guys agree with that?

UberC wrote:My friend who has bought a lot of bikes told me that motorcycle dealers don't negotiate much if at all on price, unlike car dealers. Do you guys agree with that?

Yup.

Yep, that's the general pattern.

Once in a while you can find a "new old stock" or leftover bike that they're willing to deal on, but it's the exception to the rule. My wife's 2003 Trophy (purchased new July 05) and my 2005 V-Strom (purchased new Nov 06) are examples. I'd had my eye on the V-Strom at the local dealer for months; the Trophy we found by sheer dumb luck.

If you are going to try to dicker, late fall is probably the best time.

The best place in the US to buy a Honda is at Southern Honda in Chattanooga, TN (http://www.southernhonda.com). Everything is out the door price, bought my 2007 Honda Shadow Spirit 750C2 for $5700 brand new. People travel all over the states to go there just for the discounts, paid $60 in gas and saved $1000 on the bike. I've never seen a bike dealership sell 65+ bikes every weekend, but they do. Just throwing it out there

UberC wrote:My friend who has bought a lot of bikes told me that motorcycle dealers don't negotiate much if at all on price, unlike car dealers. Do you guys agree with that?

No, I wouldn't agree. It depends entirely on the dealer, the bike and the time of year (bikes are seasonal commodities).

If you want to buy a really popular bike, from a large dealership at the beginning of spring, forget about negotiating a great deal.

On the other hand, if you want a bike that's been sitting on the showroom floor for 6 months at a small dealership, and it happens to be snowing outside, you can probably negotiate a nice deal.