Motorcycles, touring & trikes

[That Minnesota guy]

Rolled into Duluth Harley today. Sat on both the Limited and a TriGlide. Very nice bikes. The salesman was very knowledgeable and took tons of time explaining features, pro's & cons to me.
Got out of there without writing a check so that was good.

[97roughneck]

Originally Posted by That Minnesota guy

Rolled into Duluth Harley today.

Is that the one in Hermantown? Or is there more than one dealership up there?

[That Minnesota guy]

Yes I suppose it is Hermantown. Right on Hwy 53 towards the mall.

[C&K]

Originally Posted by lakedog

They had the CX500 turbo debuted as a prototype in 1980 and was produced in 1982. If anything Kawasaki copied Honda. I think you would be lonely in your opinion that it was not a ground breaking feat of engineering for the time. I would be curious to know what Harley was doing that was more innovative?

Only Honda knows if the 650 was a jab at what they considered to be manipulation of the markets, but it's widely rumored to be the case.

Have you ever ridden one? I have. It was a POS.

When these bikes hit the market has nothing to do with who copies who. They all got corporate spies to keep track of who's doing who and who's bike is parked next door. Kawasaki Heavy Industries had demo'd the GPz clear back in early 1980 as a 650. Development on the GPz started in early 1981 as a 750.

Honda's offering during the Big Turbo Wars was an abomination. A shafty (complete with all the torque jacking on the rear end). Throw a rudimentary fuel injection system at it (that was glitchy as ****) to prevent it from melting the piston crowns off. Put a vacuum controlled wastegate on the charger to prevent it from being over-boosted, and strap the whole thing into a weak-kneed frame that flexed like a rubber band with a heavy liquid-cooled Guzi-style pushrod V-twin in it.

Kawasaki won the Big Turbo Wars of the early 80's hands-down.

Why the 650? That was done for the GL Silver Wing, no other reason. All they did was punch the cylinders 0.177 and put a stroker crank in it to up it to 674cc displacement to get 16 more hp out of it for their light-weight tourer. That just happened to be the engine they grabbed off the shelf to try to keep up to Kawasaki. The Kawasaki engine, however, was a purpose-built from the ground up blower engine, from the spark plugs to the transmission output shaft.

Wife and I have owned well over 100 motorcycles in the 40 years we've been married. We pretty much live and breathe 'em around our house. We've owned all these bikes at one point or another. We got a lot of old scanned photos, this is me with one of my CX's back in the day, don't remember what year. I am completely familiar with them. They were not that great in the engine and handling dept even in their stock form, much less with a charger on it dressed in sport bodywork.

[C&K]

Originally Posted by That Minnesota guy

Rolled into Duluth Harley today. Sat on both the Limited and a TriGlide. Very nice bikes. The salesman was very knowledgeable and took tons of time explaining features, pro's & cons to me.
Got out of there without writing a check so that was good.

Did you make it to RL Harley today?

I know all about the Ultra Limited. What I'm really interested in is hearing your thoughts on the TriGlide, and what the sales person told you about it, after seeing one. We're thinking on Saturday we're going to take that blue one for a spin at RL Harley, just to get the experience on it.

[97roughneck]

Originally Posted by That Minnesota guy

Yes I suppose it is Hermantown. Right on Hwy 53 towards the mall.

I bought a new Softail Deluxe there in 2006. It was a very unique color called Dragonfly Green that was iridescent and changed color depending on how the light hit it.

It started out as a fun transaction but ended poorly . After we had made a cash outright deal and shook hands on the price, they moved me to another office to do paperwork. Nothing unusual about that until I looked at the bottom line and it was considerably more than the agreed upon price. Closer inspection of the paperwork revealed they had added on freight, handling and set-up charges on top of our agreed upon price. Total was about $1,300 upcharge. I told the title clerk I needed to meet with salesman and manager. They were very aggressive but I've been in sales my whole life so I wasn't going to be intimidated. When I told them I was leaving if they didn't honor their agreement, they relented but actually threw something at me as they stormed out of the office. Very rude and definitely unprofessional. I have no idea if the same people own the dealership now but I'd be surprised.

[That Minnesota guy]

I intended to hit RL today but I had to go through Duluth so I thought I would stop on the off chance. Lo & behold they had lots of bikes.

They have a 2014 TriGlide with 21,000 on it they are asking $25k for. They just got it in and it wasn't cleaned up yet. That had the small motor from 2014. I think he said the color was Brandywine.

He also had a 2020 on the floor that was sold that was in the $35k neighborhood I think he said. They also had 2 customer bikes in for service so I had plenty of trikes to look at.

The Ultra Limited was black and they had dressed it up a bit. That was low $30's as I recall.

Saved me a couple hours each way.

[That Minnesota guy]

Originally Posted by 97roughneck

I bought a new Softail Deluxe there in 2006. It was a very unique color called Dragonfly Green that was iridescent and changed color depending on how the light hit it.

It started out as a fun transaction but ended poorly . After we had made a cash outright deal and shook hands on the price, they moved me to another office to do paperwork. Nothing unusual about that until I looked at the bottom line and it was considerably more than the agreed upon price. Closer inspection of the paperwork revealed they had added on freight, handling and set-up charges on top of our agreed upon price. Total was about $1,300 upcharge. I told the title clerk I needed to meet with salesman and manager. They were very aggressive but I've been in sales my whole life so I wasn't going to be intimidated. When I told them I was leaving if they didn't honor their agreement, they relented but actually threw something at me as they stormed out of the office. Very rude and definitely unprofessional. I have no idea if the same people own the dealership now but I'd be surprised.

The salesman I was talking with did mention those add-ons would be on top of the prices on the bikes. I knew I wasn't buying today so I didn't bother to ask what that amount would be.

[C&K]

Originally Posted by 97roughneck

Closer inspection of the paperwork revealed they had added on freight, handling and set-up charges on top of our agreed upon price.

That is normal, whether it is an auto or a motorcycle. Harley states specifically in their paperwork

Prices listed are the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices for base models. Options such as color are available at additional cost. Prices exclude tax, title, licensing, registration fees, destination charges, added accessories, and additional dealer charges, if any, and are subject to change. Harley-Davidson reimburses dealers for performing manufacturer-specified pre-delivery inspection and setup tasks. Dealer prices may vary.

So when you get your price on the floor, you can expect to pay freight charges (it varies by bike model). But dealer setup and pre-delivery should NOT be added as a line on the bill of sale, as Harley pays the dealers to do this and it is included in the price.

[C&K]

Originally Posted by That Minnesota guy

He also had a 2020 on the floor that was sold that was in the $35k neighborhood I think he said. They also had 2 customer bikes in for service so I had plenty of trikes to look at.

Cool. What was your thoughts as a first-time looker as to how well they did the integration of the trike system onto the Ultra platform?

As an example, my first reaction is why did they leave the Tour Pak on it? Why can't they do an integrated rear end of the bike that sort of builds that in? We've seen some custom ones at Sturgis that do a better job of that rear end integration (IMO).

The Tour Pak is adjustable for your pillion's preference for room, and I realize that. But that could be integrated too.

Not that it looks BAD. Just that (IMO) it looks like an Ultra that they took the back fender and wheel off and bolted a trike kit under it. If I'm paying $35 Grand for it, that turns me off on the TriGlide.