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I once got a quick look at a printout on the counter at Sac HD. I saw dealer cost on a Willie G leather jacket was under $200. I had just bought one for $475 WTF !!! From that day forward I asked for a discount and never looked back! When you spend the kind of money we spend on our bikes you should never have to pay MSRP! That being stated my local dealer does not and will not negotiate on bike sales. At least until now, I am not sure since the economy tanked. 

[indcoltz]

And so does Chicago HD and several other dealerships.  Which means that there has to be more than 20% profit margin in hard parts.  Accessories and motorclothes is even greater than that.

I know a young lady here in Nor Cal that got an FXRG (leather, not the textile) at 50% off.  So what's the real profit margin on motorclothes?

Having said all that, they are running a businnes for profit.  They have over head, benafits and burdens to meet for each employee, mortgage payment, utilities, advertising, etc. etc.

Clothes markups differ from t-shirts to leathers, T-Shirts usually have around a 50% markup unless the dealer has put his own special logos on them, then it will be less. Leathers will have as much as 100% markup, Denim or Blue Jeans have the least amount of mark up, sorry don't remember the markup margin on them

[indcoltz]

I once got a quick look at a printout on the counter at Sac HD. I saw dealer cost on a Willie G leather jacket was under $200. I had just bought one for $475 WTF !!! From that day forward I asked for a discount and never looked back! When you spend the kind of money we spend on our bikes you should never have to pay MSRP! That being stated my local dealer does not and will not negotiate on bike sales. At least until now, I am not sure since the economy tanked. 
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quote]
It's not just Harley Stores with that much markup all clothing stores regardless of who they are have markups that would scare you to death. Leather usually has the most along with Suits

[indcoltz]

I have always wondered how much gross profit there is in a new Harley. My guess is that its about 33% but that is just a SWAG. Does anyone on here know? Thanks
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Touring bikes have around 26 to 28% That will put you right at the dealer cost not counting overhead or anything else. You will never buy a new Harley anywhere close to there cost trust me. Softtails and Dynas are around 20% Sorry do not have a clue on Sportsters or Buells

[indcoltz]

I have always wondered how much gross profit there is in a new Harley. My guess is that its about 33% but that is just a SWAG. Does anyone on here know? Thanks

Oh and by the way you always figure markup from the MSRP thats the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price not what is on the little tag hanging off the handlebars, those prices are really inflated

[Wanna ride]

This light of a mark up, 10%, doesn't make any sense.  

A lot of folks on here are quick to comment without reading the entire post/thread.
I never said it made sense. I'm just stating what a dealer employee told me, and I believe him because I've heard the same thing from other employees(current and former) of the same dealer. And sadly, most of their employess don't buy from them either. And this particular dealer in our area has a reputation that parallels this behavior.

There's a difference between dealership employees and Moco employees. As far as the MoCo employees, I also said it sounds about right that they would get 20% off of bikes. I've heard this also from people who are related to MoCo employees. But I don't believe the MoCo mandates that the dealership has to give the dealership employees any specific discount. That's at the discretion of the dealership.

[BLM777]

Does anyone remember what MSRP on the SEEGs were?  I think it was $29,995 but couldn't swear to it.

The little girl doing the title clerk work when I bought mine made the mistake of pointing a pile of docs saying "that's all the paperwork on your bike" before excusing herself to use the restroom.  It was all docs on my bike but not docs for me.  One of the docs described a factory invoice price of $24,699.

Have no idea how authoritative was the doc, how complete nor what else might have weighed in to other figures.  That's just what I saw that day.

Right on both counts, Mr. Don.  Amazing that a man of your advanced years can maintain such a memory..... BTW, that invoice number has the shipping in it.

[Twolanerider]

  Amazing that a man of your advanced years can

Bite me you old(er than me) fart!   

[SBB]

Right on both counts, Mr. Don.  Amazing that a man of your advanced years can maintain such a memory..... BTW, that invoice number has the shipping in it.

Brian

For a 107 year old guy Don does have a great memory.
If he could just remember where he put it.

                                

SBB

[Twolanerider]

Right on both counts, Mr. Don.  Amazing that a man of your advanced years can maintain such a memory..... BTW, that invoice number has the shipping in it.

Hey, I've got a birthday coming up too.  Until a few days ago I thought I was turning 39 again.  My niece correct me.

[Twolanerider]

Brian

For a 107 year old guy Don does have a great memory.
If he could just remember where he put it.

                                

SBB

Yeah, my site birthday has been 107 ever since the red bike's engine build. Just seemed appropriate .

[ridefar]

Does anyone remember what MSRP on the SEEGs were?  I think it was $29,995 but couldn't swear to it.

The little girl doing the title clerk work when I bought mine made the mistake of pointing a pile of docs saying "that's all the paperwork on your bike" before excusing herself to use the restroom.  It was all docs on my bike but not docs for me.  One of the docs described a factory invoice price of $24,699.

Have no idea how authoritative was the doc, how complete nor what else might have weighed in to other figures.  That's just what I saw that day.

  My 2004 SEEG brochure shows MSRP at $28,595.00 non Cal. model. I know the Tour pak was added in 2005 which probably added a grand or so.

[grc]

$29,995.00 was in fact MSRP for the 2005 SEEG².  I remember calculating that the dealer's gross was right around $6,000.00, based on paperwork I saw at the dealership.  This was based on MSRP versus Invoice and doesn't include any holdback or incentives from H-D which will increase that number.  It didn't apply to my purchase, but there is also significant extra profit for the dealer in the other goodies they offer like financing and ESP.  Not half bad, and significantly more than the average auto dealer makes on one vehicle in the same price range. 

No one needs to try to make me feel sorry for the typical Harley dealer; they have enjoyed massive profits with very little effort expended over the past 15 years, especially those who raped every breathing thing that walked in the doors.  In my little corner of the world we have three dealerships, two of which have always been MSRP places and one run by a shuck and jive artist from the used car world who jacked up prices well above MSRP on anything and everything.  I find it very refreshing that of those three dealers, the only one showing signs of distress in the current economy is the shuck and jive artist.  The other one's are still spending money on their customer appreciation day events (free food, entertainment, discounts, etc.), supporting community causes, and moving some iron.  The dealers who are in it for the long haul and understand the importance of customer service will survive and prosper, the other's will not be missed by folks like me.

Jerry

[JCZ]

$29,995.00 was in fact MSRP for the 2005 SEEG².  I remember calculating that the dealer's gross was right around $6,000.00, based on paperwork I saw at the dealership.  This was based on MSRP versus Invoice and doesn't include any holdback or incentives from H-D which will increase that number.  It didn't apply to my purchase, but there is also significant extra profit for the dealer in the other goodies they offer like financing and ESP.  Not half bad, and significantly more than the average auto dealer makes on one vehicle in the same price range. 

No one needs to try to make me feel sorry for the typical Harley dealer; they have enjoyed massive profits with very little effort expended over the past 15 years, especially those who raped every breathing thing that walked in the doors.  In my little corner of the world we have three dealerships, two of which have always been MSRP places and one run by a shuck and jive artist from the used car world who jacked up prices well above MSRP on anything and everything.  I find it very refreshing that of those three dealers, the only one showing signs of distress in the current economy is the shuck and jive artist.  The other one's are still spending money on their customer appreciation day events (free food, entertainment, discounts, etc.), supporting community causes, and moving some iron.  The dealers who are in it for the long haul and understand the importance of customer service will survive and prosper, the other's will not be missed by folks like me.

Jerry

You make some good points of issue Jerry.......very well said.

[Wanna ride]

No one needs to try to make me feel sorry for the typical Harley dealer; they have enjoyed massive profits with very little effort expended over the past 15 years, especially those who raped every breathing thing that walked in the doors.  In my little corner of the world we have three dealerships, two of which have always been MSRP places and one run by a shuck and jive artist from the used car world who jacked up prices well above MSRP on anything and everything.  I find it very refreshing that of those three dealers, the only one showing signs of distress in the current economy is the shuck and jive artist.  The other one's are still spending money on their customer appreciation day events (free food, entertainment, discounts, etc.), supporting community causes, and moving some iron.  The dealers who are in it for the long haul and understand the importance of customer service will survive and prosper, the other's will not be missed by folks like me.
Jerry

Agreed.