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[MontyB]

I was at my local dealer's today for a group ride refresher course and boy was it quiet!!  Other than those of us gathered there to watch the MSF video, there was no one around.

And apparently its wasn't just today - there is a gorgeous, brand-spankin' new orange & black SERG that's been sitting there for over a month and a half.  Looks sad, like a kid stuck in detention.

I guess the gloom of the current economy is really sinking in.   How's things at your local dealers??

 

[Ditch]

Plenty of bikes on the floor here at Springfield, Mo. dealer. I was in there Thursday and they only had two other customers in showroom. Slow slow slow! They are offering sale's almost every other weekend to try to get people in the store. 

[hd-dude]

Things are slow with the standard bikes here at our local dealer here too. CVO's do not sit on the floor thought for more than a day or so. They just rolled a red SEUC out on Wednesday and it was gone Friday when I went in. The SERGS have all sold in days at the most. The first Silver SERG sold in two hours for 5k Over I think this is typical for mst Bay Area Dealers....

[REGGAB]

Was out today rollin' off more break-in miles.  Stopped at the local dealer......dodgin' tumbleweeds as I rolled up.  Place is full of bikes.  They're wantin' to sell 'em bad.  No business. 

Other local businesses that have been around for years are either closed or are closing.  Very slow.  Can't figure why houses are still being built other than the Army Materiel Command is supposedly coming to town.  I guess we'll find out for sure sometime after Tuesday.

[DavidG]

Went in to pick up some filters Thursday and all the salespeople were busy. The guy that sold me my bike said business was even better after the first. They do have an 09 SE Springer that's been on the floor for a month now though. The nice riding weather here in the south helps.

[BMF-110]

    Slow rolling in the Toledo stores also, 2  SERG's, and too many others to list, except my 09 FXSTSSE3 I nabbed in August, couldnt let that 1 get away!!

[grc]

Went in to pick up some filters Thursday and all the salespeople were busy. The guy that sold me my bike said business was even better after the first. They do have an 09 SE Springer that's been on the floor for a month now though. The nice riding weather here in the south helps.

Good point.  I don't think we should make any hard and fast conclusions about the market until the entire country digs out and gets to the riding season.  I'm not surprised that northern dealerships are quiet as a tomb, since riding in snow and sub-zero temperatures tends to be a rare pastime.  Once spring is sprung, we will get a truer picture of just how much the motorcycle market has shrunk.

Jerry

[RickC]

I've been in three different dealerships on several occasions (each) since right after Christmas. They all seem to have some activity, but they all have a boat-load of bikes. *LOTS* of used bikes and a scad of Sportys everywhere, probably thanks to the MSRP trade-in promo.

New CVO's are a mixed bag. Almost every dealer in the area has at least one, if not two, SE Fat Bob's on the floor, mostly in yellow. There are a couple of FLSTSSE's lying around, an occasional CUSE and not even one SERG.

The only SERG I've seen on the sales floor was a yellow/charcoal that had been presold, but the deal fell through at the last minute. It was on the floor all of four days before it sold and that was the week between Christmas and New Year's.

Even considering that its mid-winter, sales are definitely down.

[BLM777]

I don't read a lot into the slow Northern shops.  It's been a heck of a winter from all reports.  I think it trends the rest of the economy state by state and in some cases different areas of the same state.  I speak with several HD shop owners frequently and in some cases their numbers are significantly ahead of '07 when things were typically blowing and going.  Good shops with good marketing and customer relations will survive just fine.

[BMF-110]

    I agree, the numbers are also a little better than last up here also, I think the talk has swayed towards good deals in the making in the near future, keeping my fingers crossed!!

[Guilty]

I was at a local dealership this weekend and they had a 09' RKC and a 09' Ultra Classic, both for 3K below MSRP, free set-up and no freight charges. They said that they were still selling 3-5 bikes per week, but the parts dept. business had dropped off to almost nothing.

[BMF-110]

Exactly the same here and the news is more to come, $2000.00-3000.00 below resale??

[Harley Guy]

In the snowy North, our local HD shop is usually slow in January - It starts to pick up in late February and even more so in March.

I was in the store last Saturday for the annual HOG chapter membership sign-up. The store seemed slower than normal - IMO, just a sign of the economic times we are living in. In 30-60 days, a better feel for it will be more accurate.

[DCFIREMANN]

I was at my local dealer's today for a group ride refresher course and boy was it quiet!!  Other than those of us gathered there to watch the MSF video, there was no one around.
And apparently its wasn't just today - there is a gorgeous, brand-spankin' new orange & black SERG that's been sitting there for over a month and a half.  Looks sad, like a kid stuck in detention.

I guess the gloom of the current economy is really sinking in.   How's things at your local dealers??

 

You must of been at Whitt's. He has driven that dealership into the ground. The service department is one of the worst in the country. Most of the good people have left in the last 6 months and it isn't going to get any better. The rumors are looming about him closing the doors very soon.

Be Safe

THE DAWG

[johnnymap]

There  are CVO's at several dealerships down here.  One has an ultra, two have rg's, one has an ultra and a rg.  One dealership is +1500 on a serg and ultra.  Another is +4000 on an ultra.  Another is +3000 on a serg, OB.

Probably the reasons they still have them.  One has had a yellow serg since November.  I was talking to him last week and told him he has had it so long that he should give it to me.  He said he would'nt give it too me but he would make me a good deal.  Another, has had a haze ultra since Oct.

john