In all sincerity, did you think you got 21K worth of motorcycle? I guess I just don't get how they can charge that much, are they that comfy, or that high quality to justify that much $$? or is it just the name and image that you're buying?
I'm not trying to be a smart ***, I just never understood what the cost was all about
In short NO. The $21K OTD price includes all the ridiculous fees we pay in CA, as well as having the stage 1 performance kit already installed with labor. The bikes base price was about $17,400 with the pearl paint and factory alarm system. My bike was a 2005, and one thing that really hurt my resale value was in '06 they added a 6-speed tranny standard, and then in '07, they added a 96" motor as standard. To add the 6-speed tranny is about $2K and probably another $2K for the 96" motor. Even with both additions, HD only raised the base price of the bike about $300.00 bucks. This made selling mine way more difficult. As for worth the price, it depends on what you're comparing to. If you look at the prices on the other cruiser bikes, and what they're made of, I'd say YES. I bought my wife a Honda Shadow Spirit 750 for her first bike. It was way cheaper than the HD, but when you take a close look at the chrome pieces, they're a chrome plated plastic. This was true of the bigger cc Honda's as well. With the HD, you at least get chrome plated metal. HD sat on their asses for a long time charging continually higher prices for their bikes and giving you the "same old bike". When the other manufacturers started offering larger and larger displacement bikes that were looking as good (or even better) for a lower price HD finally got moving and went to a larger cubic inch bike as well. Of course, this had an impact on the older bikes.
Times have changed in the HD market. In '96, I bought a brand new Dyna Wide Glide. Cost me $17,051 OTD. I rode it for the summer and then had to sell it. I put it in the paper for $17,900 and sold it in one day for $17,500 cash. The guy that bought it then had to go to DMV and pay the taxes on the $17,500 price. So I made almost $500 over what I paid for the bike including tax and license. But, back then, the waiting list for a new bike was about 1 year. So the guy that bought my bike had to pay for not waiting. Not like that any more by a long shot!!!!
As for comfort, the HD was way more comfortable. The stock saddle was just awesome and the riding position didn't put any strain on your body at all. Handling was also very good (for a cruiser) but the ground clearance sucked so you couldn't lean very far into corners without digging something into the ground. On one tight right hander, I dug my pipes in so hard, I actually lifted the rear wheel of the pavement. That one made a little brown spot in the pants. For some reason, the girls were also more attracted to the HD. I don't know it it's the whole "bad boy thing" or what.
I think if money wasn't an object, I'd have both the HD and the FZ6. I'd use the HD for city cruising or highway trips, but the FZ would be my choice if there were any twisties involved. If I can only have one bike, it's the FZ all the way.
