Is there an equivalent of truecar for motorcycles?

We're currently shopping for a Harley road sofa as my bad knee is pretty much pretty much preventing me from riding at the moment. Can't have that .

Given that we're shopping new or nearly new because I'm sick of buying into other people's problems, I'm trying to ensure that we get a decent deal but it seems to be fairly hard to get an idea what the real going rate for these bikes is. Mind you, give the motor company's reputation there might not be such a thing as haggling anyway...

You can haggle on Harleys. I did. STSTSTSTS_ZX2 can give you more info. I'm sure he'll chime in.

I forgot that he works for a Harley dealer (?). Let's hope that he sees this thread...

BoxheadTim wrote: We're currently shopping for a Harley road sofa as my bad knee is pretty much pretty much preventing me from riding at the moment. Can't have that .

Can you hold up a sofa with a bad knew. With my healed but previously busted ankles I have a heck of a time holding up a road king.

I should be able to. My problem is that if hold the knee at a "sporty angle" for a while, I get too much pressure on the nerves behind the knee cap. More normal angles aren't a problem and the problem doesn't weaken the knee per se, so I can still hold up a heavy bike, it just hurts for a while afterwards.

My BMW R100RS isn't a super lightweight either and I can ride that fine, the trouble with that one is that I can't get anything but classic insurance on it due to it's nature (non-US bike with aftermarket 4V-conversion) so I can't use that as a "daily".

BoxheadTim wrote: I should be able to. My problem is that if hold the knee at a "sporty angle" for a while, I get too much pressure on the nerves behind the knee cap. More normal angles aren't a problem and the problem doesn't weaken the knee per se, so I can still hold up a heavy bike, it just hurts for a while afterwards.

Cool, that's way better then I can do. I have seen discounts on HD's lately, ~5% with some fitment accessories thrown in. But that is out here.

I'm seeing something like 3-4% - but with a bunch of useful accessories thrown in on top of that - from a dealer over in CA as long as it's a bike they have on the floor. Our local guys are willing to offer a "discount" but they have some sort of "market value adjustment" going on (take an educated guess in which direction off MSRP) and the discount is based on that.

The one advantage that the local dealer is offering is that they can sort out a custom paint job for us as part of the package (we basically want a custom color that H-D isn't offering on this model) whereas the other dealers I talked to either can't quote us for that on a Sunday because they tame paint shop is closed or can only refer us to a painter.

BoxheadTim wrote: I'm seeing something like 3-4% - but with a bunch of useful accessories thrown in on top of that - from a dealer over in CA as long as it's a bike they have on the floor. Our local guys are willing to offer a "discount" but they have some sort of "market value adjustment" going on (take an educated guess in which direction off MSRP) and the discount is based on that. The one advantage that the local dealer is offering is that they can sort out a custom paint job for us as part of the package (we basically want a custom color that H-D isn't offering on this model) whereas the other dealers I talked to either can't quote us for that on a Sunday because they tame paint shop is closed or can only refer us to a painter.

Make sense.

If that is the case I would get the best deal I could on the bike you want and have it painted externally though.

What are you planning on getting and what color. I keep going back and forth between a softail and a road king.

We're looking at an Ultra Classic Electra Glide w/ ABS - we're planning to do some more touring in the next few years including a trip to Michigan so a proper road sofa is in order. Knowing how much luggage the wife can bring , a Road King might be a little underprovisioned in the luggage department. We actually had both as a rental in Fla a few years back and I like the Electra Glide better.

Color-wise we fell in love with the green candy metalflake that you can get on the Sportster and Softtail. You could get green Electra Glides in the past, but not at the moment and it's a stunning color.

I was also considering a Goldwing but unfortunately the local guys don't have one in stock, plus the ABS option makes the Goldwing a 28k bike before any other options. That's a little lofty even when compared to an Electra Glide.

Buying a black one and have a local guy shoot some paint on it is the other option; I talked to a local body shop a few days ago about getting the Miata redone and I know they also do bikes. I'll probably given them a shout Monday.

I would be cautious about buying a Harley to repaint it. Harley does a superb job of painting. Pretty much anything you blow over it will not be as nice.

You do understand that you can set touring gear on a Road King if you wish it, right? Though there's nothing wrong with the bigger dressers.

Do consider a reverse. These things are darn heavy to shove backwards, with good knees.

BoxheadTim wrote: I forgot that he works for a Harley dealer (?). Let's hope that he sees this thread...

Seen

Tim...PM sent.

Have you seen the H-D P&A catalog with the factory custom "tin sets" (paint sets)?

foxtrapper wrote: I would be cautious about buying a Harley to repaint it. Harley does a superb job of painting. Pretty much anything you blow over it will not be as nice.

We've seen the factory jobs and as you said, they are really nice. I think I might have to communicate the expectation to the local guy but our understanding is that we'd essentially get factory quality paint from them. That's part of the appeal of the suggested deal.

foxtrapper wrote: You do understand that you can set touring gear on a Road King if you wish it, right? Though there's nothing wrong with the bigger dressers.

I'm actually kinda looking at that too, the wife's Range Rover needs a bit more work than expected so I'm considering a cheaper bike.

foxtrapper wrote: Do consider a reverse. These things are darn heavy to shove backwards, with good knees.

Yeah, I still have fond memories of pushing my FXD around. Not to mention that I have to back the bike into the garage due to the driveway slope.

FSP_ZX2 wrote: Tim...PM sent.

Received, I'll get back to you later once I have left work.

FSP_ZX2 wrote: Have you seen the H-D P&A catalog with the factory custom "tin sets" (paint sets)?

I did find the "color shop" option in the online catalog. I assume you were referring to what is labelled as "Core Series - Hard Candy Custom™ Flake"?

I don't know if they offer a set for the dressers in that hard candy colors but that is the general idea...there are others offered in the "paper" catalog. We can look at that tomorrow. I will say that genuine factory custom paint can get a bit spendy...but the quality is superb.

I like my paint well done if I have to pay extra for it - from that point of view I'd either pay a little more to get the quality I want or I'll leave it alone before I pay for a shoddy respray and get mad at it every time.