From what I gather, it sounds like the MoCo and the stealerships are in cahoots here. But here's my experience... I bought my current bike through Harley's financing. I've got pretty good credit, own my own home and a couple newer vehicles. These were the only things I owed money on. No boat loans, no college loans, no second mortgages, etc. I got approved for 5.75% financing, and checked the rate at my local bank(where my mortgage and car loans are also) and the best I could get there was about 6 or 6.25%.
With this HD deal, I had to put down a minimum of 10% and could finaqnce up to 72 months, but I opted to put down 20% and only go for 48 months. Pretty much the same way I do my new cars/trucks. I just can't see making payments on something for 5 or 6 years. Now, a lot of manufacturers are offering 0-1% on new car loans, but mine are still i ngood shape, I owe a lot less than their worth, and I'm not buying a new vehicle just because the rate's good. I usually pay these types of loansd off 6-12 months early as well.
Now, I was pretty content with this deal through HD but what really struck me as odd was the fact that they will "pre-approve" you for X dollars above the cost of your bike. Do people really buy jackets, motorclothes, helmets, etc on these loans? What the hell are they thinking?