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Harley parts prices!

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Monkeyleg:
I've been riding motorcycles since I was old enough for a license in 1966. Big bikes, tiny bikes...in the end, it doesn't matter.

Anywho, I haven't been able to log the usual miles since 2001 because of health and money problems. Probably sounds familiar to a lot of folks.

I keep my '89 Springer (which I stole from the bank as a repo) in excellent condition. The bike and I have been all over the country, seen every great road, and been through every kind of weather. You name it, we've seen it.

This year, I see I need new tires. I'm not even venturing out on what's there.

Over the past maybe 15 or 20 years, I've taken the wheels off myself (save money) and take them in for new rubber. Last time was maybe two years ago. Cost for new tires, tubes, and balance: $365. It's been that price since I can remember. (P.S. I also do every other bit of repair myself, from tranny's to pistons to valves to belts, and everything in between. Better results, lower cost).

This week I took the wheels in for new tires, tubes and balance. Behold the new price: $475. A 27% increase in just a couple of years. On top of that, the service guy told me that, if I'd brought the whole bike in to have the wheels taken off and put back on, it would have cost an additional $130 for labor.

$130? I don't have a lift, but I can pull the wheels off and put them back on in about 1/2 hour. Plus, I don't scratch my bike, like every dealership seems to do when they get their hands on it.

While I'm waiting for the service guy to figure out how much to gouge me, I headed up to the parts counter to buy three--three!--cotter pins for the front brake caliper. Used to be that the HD dealer charged me about the same that I'd pay at the hardware store. IOW, maybe 25 cents each. Nope. Three cotter pins: $3.15.

Then the service guy has me take a look at the rear wheel. Even though I re-spoked it just a few years ago, the spokes are brittle, and the spoke holes are worn.

OK. For as long as I can remember, HD dealers always kept good used parts on hand. Some deep-pocket rider buys a new bike, tells them to take off the factory wheels, exhaust, headlight, footpegs, whatever. I could always get like-new parts for 1/2 price. I've bought exhaust systems and everything else on the cheap for years. Swap meets are great, too.

Well, not anymore. Mr. Bottom Line dealership owner has decided to eliminate the used parts. Not to mention all the good parts counter staff that helped riders like me keep our bikes going when the times were tough. I didn't even recognize anybody in Parts. Word I got is that the last single person I really knew in Parts quit out of disgust.

So, anyway, I walk out of the service department with a bill for $475 for two tires, and about $375 for a stock rear wheel.

All the while I'm standing there, I had to listen to some jerk bragging about how he's going to ride from Milwaukee to Indianapolis this summer. Whooweee! Talk about an Iron Butt ride!

On top of that, everything on this guy says "Harley Davidson." I didn't ask to see his underwear, though.

I know, I know. This has been going on for nearly twenty years. It's just that sometimes the HD phenomenon hits you smack in the face.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

atek3:
get a ducati.

Just messing with you... then you'd have to deal a whole 'nother class of posers complaining about expensive valve adjustments.  Fortunatly 6k miles is a long amount of time when all you do is take the bike to and from the starbux (maybe its a san jose thing )

atek3

Monkeyleg:
atek3, back in (what year was that?) I got a motel around the Monterey area, just in time for Laguna Seca. One of the Ducati race teams was staying at the same motel, and we spent a lot of time toying with our bikes and having dinner (burgers) together.

I can honestly say that I've never been with a bunch of riders who had no attitude. They had all ridden just about any bike made, and didn't put me down for my choice of ride.

No, it's the HD riders who have the attitude. More attitude than even Beemer riders.

Give me a Gold Wing rider any day. I've found that Gold Wing riders tend to be older, have ridden more brands, know what they want, and still believe in the fellowship of riders.

As for the new crop of HD riders with all the $$$ leathers and chrome, and no experience: get the hell out of my way!! I didn't ride from Wisconsin to Montana just to find you cheesebutts doing 10 mph in the mountain curvies! Pull over to the shoulder and act tough.

Guest:
Bikes are going through a bit of a resurgence, particularly Harleys. A lot of the people getting into them are older guys that always wanted to ride when they were kids but never did. Deep pockets + new fad = price inflation. A friend of mine has been riding HD bikes his whole life, that poor dude can barely afford to buy parts these days. God help the highschool grad that wants to get a nice used bike, it aint going to be a Harley anymore with the prices that they are commanding now. Ultimately i think this will be bad for the company, the middle-aged guys are buying Harleys today because they are what people rode when they were kids, this next generation is growing up on Japanese bikes, and they arent going to be interested in shelling out the cash for a HD when they get older.

dinosaur:
Why do you think they're called stealerships? I worked for a dealer back in the '80s during the transition from shovelheads to EVOs. Harleys weren't selling back then but every shovelhead we took in trade plus what we could pick up privately went overseas. They even took new bikes and put used speedos on them so they could be shipped as used.

Their are too many parts to stock. Don't want to pay big bucks for a part, buy new sailor, you can afford it with our 18% EZ pay credit plan.

There are plenty of wanna be's out there with more money than brains. The stealers put the real bikers to the curb years ago when the MoCo went public. Hence the new boutique showrooms, the untattooed "sales associates", the politically correct T shirts etc.

When I bought my first Harley if they didn't like you they'd throw you out through the front window.

The only thing I buy from a stealer is oil filters. I don't trust the aftermarket ones on my motor. Otherwise you can build a whole bike without using Harley parts. I bought my Wide Glide new 20 years ago and have no plans of ever getting another one.

You meet the nicest people on a Harley Feh!

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