Who here rides a Harley?

[Zerxes]

Thats not appreciation, they had to pay to put the stuff on.

Appreciation is when it increases in value on it's own accord. When you add to your house you increase it's value but it's not due to market appreciation.

HUH?! I know what appreciation means bro. They put the parts on & YES they had to pay for them. Just as you would have to pay to have a shitty house(in a decent neighborhood)fixed up ya know?! You DO that so you can make a markup on it. Markup being you make more than the TOTAL amount invested in whatever it is you're selling. Its simple & needs no explaination. Thanks though.

 

[Code]

HUH?! I know what appreciation means bro. They put the parts on & YES they had to pay for them. Just as you would have to pay to have a shitty house(in a decent neighborhood)fixed up ya know?! You DO that so you can make a markup on it. Markup being you make more than the TOTAL amount invested in whatever it is you're selling. Its simple & needs no explaination. Thanks though.

You cannot buy a sportster in 1980, garage is and expect to get more than you paid for it. This is the fallacy that harley pushers try to get people to believe.

The value of the bike will only increase in proportion (not greater than) the amount you put into it.

Very very few bikes raise in value, ever. Like an Arlen Ness.

You will never buy a harley for 18K and sell it for more than you bought (or put ) into it. Especially if you put miles on it.

Something appreciates when it is worth more than you both paid for AND put into it.

 

[Finaject2001]

I dont know about other parts of the country, but in the south Harleys definitely do not appreciate. Theres always hundreds for sale in the near vicinity. The good news is that bikes dont depreciate as bad as cars do. You can buy a bike (harley, or rice rocket, whatever) ride it for a couple hundred miles and sell it for close to what you paid. But thats mostly for rare bikes, like the latest gsxr or ninja.

 

[Code]

Some harleys have been known to sell for 30% above cost.

But if you broke it down by cost to the owner you end up with a mere 5% appreciation.

Such bikes have litle or no miles on them and are usually rare or discontinued models.

 

[Temple]

How big are you??? Most large guys aren't comfortable on a sporty unless it is just for short trips. If you are going to do longer rides you will want a bigger bike but it will give you a good trade in when you are ready to get something else.

 

[crimson coal]

I'm with code on this.. I think appreciation isn't as much as people think on Harleys. Main thing is if you want it to appreciate at all you have to keep it immaculate and that means washing the thing weekly (I wash my bikes weekly anyways) and taking care of it. People mainly are so into the Harleys because of the Mystique of the name and it's history and badboy image. Everyone wants to be a badboy including all the weekend riding Lawyers, Dentists, and Businessmen. I own 2 Metric Customs and will put them up against any bike out there. If I was to shell out a whole lot of doh for a bike, it would most likely be an Indian model of some sort and a full dresser. I hear they don't handle that well but I'm in it for the slow cruise and just being seen on a nice bike. You can make any of the new model cruisers american or metric look killer with the right bolt ons and customing.

 

[SOLID]

I like the fatboy style better than the sportster but I was thinking I might be able to get a real nice deal on this since my uncle owns it. Yes, I would prefer a bigger bike, I like the beefy look of the fatboy with fat tires and so forth. I'm sure I sound like a kook, because I have no idea about bikes. What are some other styles like the fatboy made by diferent manufactures. Any bikes out there for a real decent price. I'm going to look for Indian's website.

 

[The_Ghost]

I ride a Harley now here is some advice.

Buy whatever you buy because it is the ride you want to ride.

Don't buy one type or another because of the cost or what you preceive the value to be down the road.

You wanna be happy, try a bunch of different rides out and buy the one that feels right to you.

 

[big4life]

If you can get a good enough deal on the sportster you can always "fatten" it up. Just add fat bob tanks, change the front end, and the fenders, it will cost money, but I have seen some very cool looking sportsters.

 

[Guey]

Someone above mentioned maintenance costs being high on Harleys. I have put many miles on my Low Rider and it has been infallable. It has a rubber mount engine that isolates vibration and as a result: maintenance.

I don't expect my FXDL to appreciate, but it won't be a complete loss like a car or any rice made bike would be.

For me riding a Harley is about pride, kinda like driving an expensive car. Aside from training, there is nothing I like better than to sit in the sun on a Sunday morning and get all my chrome PERFECT...not speck anywhere, and then go on nice long ride.