Hog Fanatic » Harley-Davidson Shopping Experiences

Why I Am Buying Harley Stock

Harley Fan — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:27:14 +0000

I've driven a lot of cars in my lifetime.

When I did my stint selling cars back home in California, I had an opportunity to drive a good variety of nice cars. Some of the cars I took out for a spin were considered highly desireable, and were priced in the $50,000 - $85,000 range.

Despite their price tag, despite the "awesomeness factor" of those cars, I never had as big of a smile driving them as I do every single day that I can ride my Harley.

When I ride, it's a completely different experience than when I drive - even though when I ride, I'm going over the same roads and interstates that I drove every day.

You notice things when you ride.

You see more.

You think less.

You're more "In the moment."

When I get to work and when I get home from work, I'm in a better mood if I rode my Harley than I normally am when I drive.

So what's this about buying Harley stock? Have I gone and swallowed the Harley-Davidson Kool-Aid? Am I basing what should be a logical decision on an emotional feeling?

If you follow the stock market at all, Harley-Davidson has been getting hammered by stock analysts who are warning people - especially short-term investors - to stay away from buying Harley's stock:

While the company normally does not release mid-quarter sales figures - although it did during the middle of the first quarter of 2009 - a survey by Robert W. Baird showed sales slipped again in the first part of the spring.

New motorcycle sales were down at the surveyed dealers during April and the first part of May by between 20 and 25 percent.

Dealers said they had problems with everything from the economy to the weather.

Harley said last week it was beginning another trade-in promotion through the end of August to help sales.

* On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Harley to report a profit of 25 cents per share on revenue of $1.18 billion. In the same quarter last year, the company posted a profit of 76 cents per share on revenue of $1.4 billion.

* An RBC Capital Markets analyst lowered his sales estimates for motorcycle maker Harley Davidson Inc. and suggested investors "avoid" the company's shares in the short term.

* KeyBanc analyst Scott Hamann wrote to investors on Tuesday that "It is our expectation that the general economy and deteriorating employment numbers could hinder significant increases in motorcycle purchases."

Ok then. Here's some more:

RBC analyst Edward Aaron said sentiment on Harley is "very negative" on weaker second-quarter sales, which Aaron estimates will fall 25 to 30 percent, following a 10 percent first-quarter decline.

"While Harley's inventory issues are not quite as bad as other areas of recreational products, dealer inventory levels are clearly too high heading into the model-year changeover," wrote Aaron in a research note.

Harley is also expected to announce production cuts this week when it reports second-quarter results. Aaron said that Harley's high fixed-cost structure is also problematic, but restructuring efforts at its York, Penn., plant has the potential to restore investor confidence.

"In the interim, extremely weak demand and downward estimate revisions leave the stock vulnerable, in our view," he wrote.

Aaron, who rates the shares "Sector Perform," cut his price target to $16 per share from $18 per share.

With all the analysts warning people to stay away from HD stock, why would I go out and buy it, other than the fact that I'm someone who just naturally looks to go a different way than the crowd?

Harley-Davidson is a company with a hundred-year history. They've gone through problems before (AMF, anyone?) and come through. They have some of the most advanced design and manufacturing processes in the world when it comes to motorcycles. They have a brand that would cost so much to overcome by any competitor coming into the market that Harley would have to cut their own throats in order to lose market position.

Will Harley cut their own throats? Will they move their factories to Mexico? Will they screw up their designs so badly that their fans lose interest, shrug and look at their cheaper competitors' offerings?

Maybe they will. I doubt it, but it could happen.

I don't think anyone wakes up and thinks, "I want to own a piece of Pioneer Southwest Energy Partners," despite the fact that PSE has been performing pretty well and has good analyst reviews.

Buy stock in what you believe in. Buy stock in companies that treat their customers right, in companies who sell what you and your neighbor and your neighbor's neighbor and his brother want to buy. They may not have the money to buy one right now, but sooner or later

For me, that's Harley stock.

New to investing?

Here's what I do to invest in Harley-Davidson stock, easily and with the least amount of fees:

I have my Sharebuilder account set to buy a certain, small amount of Harley stock every pay period.

I use Sharebuilder because ShareBuilder is designed to make dollar-cost averaging easy by allowing you to buy in dollar amounts - dollar-based investing. When you buy stocks at a typical brokerage, you can only buy whole shares. If your chosen stock sells for $70 a share, and you have $200 to invest, then you can only buy two shares for $140 (plus commissions). The remaining $60 has to sit on the sidelines until the next month (which means it can't be working for you in your portfolio).

If you have $50 a month to invest at a typical brokerage, and the stock you've selected currently sells for $85 a share, what do you do? Either you wait until you scrape together the remaining $35 (and hope the price doesn't go higher), or you find another stock.

With ShareBuilder, dollar-based investing means you can purchase fractional shares with the entire amount of your investment dollars. Your $200 will buy you 2.857 shares of your $70 stock (without a transaction fee). Or your $50 will buy you 0.588 shares of your $85 stock, so you don't have to put off investing until tomorrow.

As a nice little bonus, if you're a member of Costco, you can sign up for Sharebuilder and get a bonus deposited into your account when you open it and make your first stock purchase.

Over time, I think investing in Harley stock with Sharebuilder will work out very well for me, because I do believe in the Harley brand. Whether or not the same thing would work for you is something for you to consider.

Added A Sissy Bar And Backrest To My Road King Classic

Harley Fan — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:01:14 +0000

After taking my wife and my mother for a ride on the back of my 2009 Road King Classic on the 3rd of July, we all realized that two-up riding is fun.

For those of us who are in the drivers seat - me - it's more fun.

For those of us who are trying to stay on the passenger pillion without slipping off the back - my mother, wife and anyone else who happened to jump on - it's not as much fun so much as a terrifying.

I'd imagine that slipping off the back of a motorcycle that's going about 40-50 miles per hour would be very bad.

So the consensus is that passengers would feel much more secure riding if they either had something to hold onto, or if they had some kind of backrest that would keep them from flying off the back of the bike when it got moving. I, on the other hand, did not want to have something permanently bolted to my bike. I like the looks of the solo seat too much.

Sissy Bar and Backrest In Their Boxes

To that end, the wife and I drove over to Dillon Harley here in Omaha to see what we could buy to address the problem satisfactorily.

After talking with Dan Von Seggern at the Dillon Brothers Harley parts counter and explaining to him what we needed, Dan pointed us to part numbers 52627-09 and 52886-98c.

Detachable Sissy Bar And Passenger Pad Boxes Sitting On Counter

Closeup Of Passenger Backrest Pad and Detachable Sissy Bar Box Labels

52627-09 is a Harley-Davidson brand detachable, standard-sized sissy bar that fits Harley's touring motorcycles, such as my 2009 Road King Classic.

52886-98c is a Harley-Davidson brand smooth passenger backrest pad that conveniently comes with the hardware required to bolt onto the detachable sissy bar mentioned above.

If you order the 52886-98c smooth passenger backrest pad from here, be aware that it will not look like the picture shown on Amazon. It will look like it does in the pictures shown below:

Contents Of Sissy Bar And Backrest Boxes

Detachable Sissy Bar And Backrest Assembled

Detachable Sissy Bar and Backrest Assembled Rear View

Once I put together the detachable sissy bar and passenger backrest combo, a process which took all of 5 minutes with an appropriately-sized allen wrench, I took it outside to my bike and put it on.

Fortunately, when I ordered my bike, I had them put on the Harley-Davidson 4-Point Docking Hardware Kit - which is part number 54205-09, for your convenience should you decide to order it for yourself.

I would highly recommend getting that kit when you order your bike, however, as it makes attaching and detaching hardware designed for it incredibly easy, even if you have no actual mechanical aptitude yourself.

Here are pictures of the end result:

Detachable Sissy Bar and Backrest Attached To 2009 Road King Classic

Detachable Sissy Bar and Backrest Attached To Bike View From Directly Behind Bike

Detachable Sissy Bar and Backrest Attached To Bike Viewed From Rear Left

The seating for the passenger was now, according to my wife and my mother, comfortable.

Even babies like it.

Cute Baby Utilizing Detachable Sissy Bar and Backrest For Riding Comfort

Future Harley Rider

Since the whole setup is designed for the passenger on your motorcycle to keep their balance and not feel like they're going to fall off every time you accelerate off a green light, I put it to the test with my mother, who volunteered to be a crash test dummy.

After taking mom for a quick spin around the block, she pronounced the new passenger seating to be "just about perfect," with the only thing missing being a cupholder of some kind.

The cupholder thing will not happen. She will have to deal.

Here's the mileage of the ride we took, before and after:

Mileage before ride

Mileage after ride

If you decide to buy this setup for your own bike, take care to pay attention to the installation instructions. You connect the black front brackets on the sissy bar to the black bracket holders located to the immediate inside position of your rear shocks. Once you locate these (picture/other side), which can be a bit difficult if you haven't had your saddlebags off, installation is a snap.

Taking it all off takes less than 2 minutes. Putting it all on takes less than 4.

Overall, I would say that the detachable sissy bar and passenger backrest combo is a worthwhile purchase for anyone with a Road King or Road King Classic that plans on taking anyone for a ride.

Here are more sissy bars available for sale on eBay:

Sissy Bar Side Plate Detachable 04 up Sportster

US $110.00

18d 18h 59m

HARLEY SPORTSTER DETACHABLE SISSY BAR WITH PAD

US $150.00

21d 23h 13m

celibi 4 IN 1 DETACHABLE SISSY BAR BAG LUGGAGE BAGS

US $104.95

25d 13h 35m

Harley Softail Black Detachable Sissy Bar w Pad

US $135.00

22d 23h 49m

And here are more passenger backrests for sale on eBay:

OEM Accessories Kawasaki Vulcan 750 Passenger Backrest

US $162.40

14d 22h 37m

Harley Davidson Dyna FXDS PASSENGER BACKREST

US $49.95

3d 13h 50m

Harley D VRSCR Passenger Backrest 53762 06

US $66.45

22d 1h 15m

716 Harley Backrest Pad V Rod VRSC passenger seat

US $30.00

4d 21h 15m

Harley-Davidson “We Ride Free” Promotion Is Back

Harley Fan — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:02:11 +0000

The popular promotion that Harley-Davidson had going on earlier on this year is back, and it looks like it's about the same as it was before.

Harley We Ride Free Promotion

Here are the terms and conditions:

You have to buy a new 2009 Sportster 883, 1200 or XR1200 between July 1, 2009 and August 31, 2009
Once you buy that 2009 Sportster 883, 1200 or XR1200, you can trade in that bike at its original MSRP value towards the purchase of a Harley Big Twin motorcycle no later than one year after the date of purchase of the qualifying new motorcycle as reflected in the official purchase contract
You must be the original owner of that vehicle.
You need the original bill of sale, titled in your name.
The MSRP value used for trade-in will be the factory-delivered MSRP, including factory installed options.
Added parts and accessories, taxes, titles, licenses, set-up/prep charges, Extended Service Plans, GAP coverage and any dealer add-ons are included in this price.
The trade-in can only be used for Harley Big Twin motorcycles, which includes all Touring, Softail, Dyna and VRSC models - but not the police models.

So you can't trade in your 2007 or 2008 Sportster anymore, but you couldn't expect HD to really keep doing that when the 2010 Harley models are right around the corner.

I found a few comments from people around the internet about their experiences during the last We Ride Free promotion. Read into them what you will.

My dealer told me, they have some fine print of 4000 miles per year, before they MIGHT ding you a bit. He said they took an '08 in with 24000 miles, and only dinged the guy $500.

I almost went for this deal.

My '08 XL1200C has 13K on it. MSRP for it is $10,385. At first the dealer tried to tell me that they would only give MSRP for a base vivid black 883. As if any fool couldn't read the HD website....

Eventually, after some arm-twisting and bluff-calling, they were going to give me full MSRP towards a Low Rider. I have always liked the FXDL: it looks classic, like a slightly larger Sportster Well, I rode it. It was not as quick, and the handling was not quite as sharp. And since I never ride two-up anyway....(wife rides her own)

So I walked. No regret. The dealer didn't exactly want the deal anyway (they even complained about the HD promotion.)

I had around 17k on my 07 XL1200C when I traded in on an 09 FLHTCU, and they took it no problem. The only issue we had was they were trying to give me msrp on a vivid black model XL1200C which was a few hundred less than the pacific blue pearl model that I had. They eventually agreed to give me the actual MSRP of my model and all was well. I searched the entire gulf coast and up into north alabama and mississippi and about the best deal I came across was at mississippi coast harley in biloxi. They were nice and got the bike I wanted for msrp out door with no freight/prep/doc fees which was better than any other dealer.... sadly enough... then I just paid sales tax when I registered the bike, which I didn't have to pay tax on the trade in allowance which saved another 700 or so.

so $9955 for a bike that was well ridden, plus about $700 off my sales tax on new bike, it worked out better than the $7k some dealers were gonna give me for the bike.... Funny enough I was actually going to trade in the bike even before this promotion after a few long days of riding the sporty around christmas, then dec 26th, the first day of promotion I was sitting at a harley dealer talking to a salesman and they mentioned about msrp trade-in.

I traded in my 08 XL1200C with almost 13K miles on it for $9895. The sales guy told me that without the promo, they would have offered me $6000 .

Love my new Heritage, and so does the wife. When I first bought the Sportster, my wife did not ride with me. Took her for a ride on the Sportster after I had it about 4 months, and she really got into it. Now we have a scoot comfortable for two and more room to carry stuff.

So if you're on the fence, thinking about buying a new Harley but you just can't swing the cash for a Dyna, Softail or Touring model right now...this could be the time to buy for you.

If you're in the Omaha area, check out Dillon Harley down on on 173rd and Maple. Ask for Jason Davis. He's one of the best guys around to talk to if you're looking for a new Harley-Davidson.

2009 Sportsters For Sale:

Harley Davidson Sportster 2009 Harley Davidson XL1200 N Nightster LOW RESERVE

19 Bids

US $2,827.77

1h 40m

Harley Davidson Sportster XR1200 HARLEY XR SPORT BIKE PERFORMANCE CAMS LOW MILES

US $8,500.00

1d 17h 21m

Harley Davidson Sportster 2009 HARLEY SPORTSTER XL1200C ONLY 598 MILES

10 Bids

US $4,550.00

17h 7m

Harley Davidson Sportster 2009 HARLEY 1200 CUSTOM

11 Bids

US $4,950.00

4d 13h 51m

A 2009 Road King Classic Is Now Mine

Harley Fan — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:42:19 +0000

I couldn't sleep very well Thursday night, knowing that at noon, I'd be taking possession of my brand-new 2009 Road King Classic.

So, it wasn't quite Christmas eve, but as the long hours stretched out it sure felt like it was.

I finally got some sleep, only to find myself waking up at dawn. I looked at the clock and immediately found myself thinking back to the past yearly ritual of enduring the last day of school and how it felt to watch the clock slowly mark out the passage of time. I told myself that I'd better find something to do or I'd drive myself nuts.

For a while I kept myself busy by working on a few projects and got a few things done.

I remembered that I needed to shop for some motorcycle insurance, so I looked on the Internet for some of the more-recommended motorcycle insurance companies. I called GEICO and after talking with the insurance agent for a while, signed up for motorcycle insurance through GEICO for $736 a year, which would drop to about $360 for renewal next year. I was told the amount would drop once I got a year of riding under my belt.

At the time, I didn't care about what anything cost. I just wanted to get everything done and make sure that I had no hitches when it came time to pick up the motorcycle. I was pretty much the perfect customer for anyone selling...anything.

Well, after wasting time doing this and that, the time finally came for me to head over to the dealership to finish everything. My wife dropped me off, and after making sure that I'd be OK, that the bike was OK, that everything was fine - she took the kids and headed home.

Jason Davis, using one of the 2009 Road King Classics on the floor, went over the entire bike with me, explaining each feature on the motorcycle and some general maintenance tips that'd come in handy. The guy knows his stuff and had an answer for every question I had.

Once I was in the finance office with Mark, everything went smoothly. Mark even managed to save me a bit of money. I mentioned what my insurance cost was and Mark let me know that I could save some money with a 15 minute phone call to their own insurance group. He dialed, I talked, and 15 minutes later I had a policy that was half the price as what I'd paid GEICO.

5 minutes later, I cancelled my GEICO coverage. They were nice about it, although it'll take 10-15 days to get that premium back onto my credit card.

I wrote my check, signed my name and shook everyone's hand as they handed me the keys to my new baby, who I will call, "Wheelface."

My Bike Before Delivery

My 2009 Road King Classic Shot From Right Hand Side

My 2009 Road King Classic Shot From Left Rear

My 2009 Road King Classic Shot From Left Front.jpg

After Jason loaded 3 huge boxes of parts into my parent's Highlander, I climbed onto my new ride and took off for a little ride before heading home and showing it off to everyone. My two boys both wanted a picture with the new motorcycle as well.

2009 Road King Classic and My Middle Child

2009 Road King Classic and My Oldest Child

Buying A Motorcycle In Omaha?

If you're in the market for a new or used Harley-Davidson or Buell, I highly recommend you give Jason Davis a call, or shoot him an e-mail. Jason kept me in the loop throughout the entire Harley-buying process, explained things to my satisfaction and helped get the ball rolling again when it had stopped briefly in the service department.

If you stop into Dillon Harley sometime, let whoever you talk to know you read about my experiences with Jason Davis and with Dillon Brothers Harley-Davidson in general.

Let me know what they say.

I'm off to ride.

Other Road King Classics For Sale:

Harley Davidson Touring FLHRC NO RES 2005 ROAD KING FLHRC ONLY 4K MILES SHOWROOM NO RES

25 Bids

US $9,300.00

3d 1h 13m

Harley Davidson Touring 2006 FLHRC Road King Classic One Owner Extra Clean

7 Bids

US $8,100.00

2d 14h 27m

Harley Davidson Touring FLHRC EXCEPTIONAL 07 ROAD KING WITH 7K AND TONS OF EXTRAS

6 Bids

US $10,100.00

7d 2h 12m

Harley Davidson Touring FLHRC 2007 Roadking Stock P10548 Black

2 Bids

US $7,600.00

23h 46m

Bought My First Half Helmet

Harley Fan — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:23:48 +0000

Back on the 21st of May, I stopped by Dillon Harley here in Omaha and looked through their selection of motorcycles. My wife and I chatted the salesguy up a bit, talking about a few things like the 2010 Harley colors and models that were going to be released soon.

Of course, while I was doing this, in the back of my mind I was thinking:

I might as well pick up a half helmet while I'm here.

So I did.

Box That The Harley Spoiler Half Helmet Came In

Nice box, huh?

Ok, after I opened the box, I had the nice surprise of seeing my new half helmet in a helmet bag. Now, I don't know if helmets usually come with bags, but this one did and it was a nice touch.

After opening the box:

Harley Davidson Men's Spoiler Half Helmet Box Open

And after opening the bag and moving things around a little bit:

My New Half Helmet On Top Of Harley Box

What you see here is a Harley-Davidson Spoiler half helmet. This half helmet weighs just 1 pound and 11 ounces and isn't uncomfortable at all when it's on my oversized head. The weight is due to the Aramid fiberglass shell, and the comfort level is increased with the thick liner inside that is supposed to wick away sweat. The liner, combined with the forehead venting that is built into the front of the half helmet, should reduce the chances of my skull heating up beyond my ability to deal with it.

Not that I am concerned about sweat because I have a huge sweaty head, you understand.

The visor in front is removable, which I will probably take advantage of because half helmet visors tend to catch the wind and push your head back - which is just a general pain in the ass thing that I don't need.

Now, I'm not quite done with this helmet, or with helmets in general. I did have Holstein's Harley order a half helmet, which I'm probably not going to need at this point. And I feel like an ass for not picking that up, but...I'll go over there at some point and pick up (and pay for) a good 3/4 helmet with a visor.

Also, after browsing around on Amazon for a while I found an interesting accessory that I'm going to have to pick up - the Road Tech Bluetooth 2.0 Helmet System:

Road Tech Bluetooth 2.0 Helmet System

I don't intend to be out on the road without my iPhone, and driving anything without using a Bluetooth headset or earpiece to have a phone conversation with is a bad idea.

So that helmet system might be one of my next purchases.

Half Helmet Auctions:

HARLEY DAVIDSON® Mens SPOILER HALF HELMET 97352 01V

US $99.99

8d 35m

Harley Mens Spoiler Half Helmet Gloss Black 97352 01V

US $150.00

3d 23h 35m

Harley Davidson Hybrid Spoiler Half Helmet Matte Large

US $180.00

17h 53m

Harley Davidson Hybrid Spoiler Half Helmet Matte XL

US $180.00

11d 21h 45m

2010 Harley-Davidson Color Information

Harley Fan — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:08:26 +0000

I stopped by Dillon Harley here in Omaha tonight and chatted with Jason Davis again. He's got to be tired of seeing me come in.

I didn't have a whole lot of time to spend there, which was a relief to my wife, but I did confirm with Jason that the list of 2010 Harley-Davidson colors has been out for a while now and that the turquoise and antique white two-tone will be discontinued. So 2009 is the only year for that color combo, at least for a while.

Jason and I also talked a bit about the custom motorcycle painting that Dillon Brothers can do. For about $2500 or so, (and this is just a rough guesstimate on his part, so I'm not holding Dillon Brothers to it) he said they could do just about any color scheme I could think of.

That might be fun, I mentioned, as my wife shook her head.

Yeah, I'm still thinking about it.

After I got home and did a little searching, I was able to find the official list of colors that Harleys are going to be available in for 2010.

First off, Harley-Davidson is going to discontinue these colors that were available in 2009:

Black Pearl
Pewter Pearl
Dark Blue Pearl
Pewter Denim
Red Hot Denim
Dark Blue Denim
Crimson Red Sunglo

So if you had any of those colors set in your mind that you really wanted, you might want to put your money down now.

Here are the colors and color combinations that are going to still be available on the Harley 2010 model year:

Solid colors

Vivid Black
Flame Blue Pearl
Brilliant Silver Pearl
Black Denim
Red Hot Sunglo
Mirage Orange Pearl
Brilliant Silver Denim

Two-tone colors

Brilliant Silver Denim/Black Denim
Vivid Black/Mirage Orange Pearl Race Stripe

And here's the list the new colors that Harley's going to be introducing on the 2010 model year lineup:

Solid colors

Scarlet Red
Black Ice Denim
Black Ice Pearl

Two-tone colors

Black Denim/Brilliant Silver Denim Race Stripe
Vivid Black/Brilliant Silver Pearl Race Stripe
Scarlet Red/Vivid Black
Flame Blue Pearl/Brilliant Silver Pearl
Vivid Black/Brilliant Silver Pearl
Vivid Black/Black Ice Pearl
Flame Blue Pearl/Vivid Black
White Ice Pearl/Black Ice Pearl

Here are some pictures I managed to scrounge up on the Internet of the Harley 2010 colors:

2010 Harley Davidson Colors Group 1

2010 Harley Davidson Colors Group 2

2010 Harley Davidson Colors Group 3

2010 Harley Davidson Colors Group 4

I can say with all honesty that I'm really looking forward to July 25th, when Harley-Davidson is expected to officially release all the 2010 model year information.

Harley Davidson Touring FLHX TOURING 2009 HARLEY DAVIDSON STREET GLIDE CUSTOM ONE OFF

US $38,000.00

1d 1h 14m

Harley Davidson Softail FXSTC 2009 HARLEY DAVIDSON LOW LOW MILES WARRANTY

US $15,000.00

1h 30m

Harley Davidson Touring FLHX 2009 Street Glide Blue Pearl Arnott Air ABS Tour Pak

US $19,000.00

22h 12m

Harley Davidson Sportster 2009 Harley Davidson XL1200 N Nightster LOW RESERVE

19 Bids

US $2,827.77

1h 40m

Visiting Holstein’s Harley-Davidson Dealership For The First Time

Harley Fan — Sun, 17 May 2009 17:29:55 +0000

As part of the whole process of shopping for a new motorcycle, I'm going to be checking out as many dealers in the Omaha area that I can. When you're preparing yourself to drop about $18,000 to $19,000 on a new motorcycle, you want to make sure that the place you buy it from is going to be able to take care of you, that you can trust them a bit not to rip you off.

From the looks of things, unless they want to drive for a while, people who are interested in buying a Harley in the Omaha area have three choices - Dillon Brothers Harley at 180th and Maple, Frontier Harley in Lincoln and Holstein Harley-Davidson at 72nd and L street.

While it's not the first dealership I went to, I did have the opportunity to stop by the new showroom of Holstein's Harley-Davidson on the 15th of May, 2009.

Holstein's Harley-Davidson Dealership In Omaha

Holstein's Harley-Davidson new store is located at 4940 South 72nd Street, right across from where Rod Kush's furniture store is/used to be.

I've been talking with some co-workers about different dealerships in the area, listening to their experiences and getting ideas about what the motorcycle-buying scene in Omaha is about. We have some long-term riders in my workplace, who have been buying motorcycles for decades in the Omaha area. Everyone I've talked to about the different dealerships in the area have been pretty unanimous - with most people having a negative opinion of Holstein's Harley. In some cases, vehemently negative opinions...

I've been told that Holstein's dealership wasn't really interested in selling bikes, that they just kept the franchise to get the dealership discount, that their service department sucks, that they treated people like dirt during the years that they were the only Harley dealer in town - that type of thing.

I snuck the visit in with the wife as we were heading home from Kubat's pharmacy, so I went with my wife and kids in tow. The kids were tired and the wife was tired of the kids being tired, but she indulged me and hauled everyone inside to check things out.

From what I could tell during my visit to the Holstein's dealership, it looked like they'd put some money into the building and the presentation of the place. It was very clean and well-lit. They had a pretty good selection of bikes on the floor, both new and used.

Holstein's Harley-Davidson Showroom

From what I saw, they had about as many bikes on the floor as Dillon Brothers Harley-Davidson has. I wandered up and down the aisles and checked out the bikes. I noticed that Holstein marks their freight and dealer prep on the tags attached to the bikes - something that was missing during my many previous visits to Dillon Brothers.

I was asked once if I needed any help by a youngish-looking salesguy. I didn't need any at the moment, told him so and he left me alone, which is what I wanted. There were a few other customers in the store, more customers than salesguys, so I figured I'd let him go help someone who might want to buy today.

The selection of clothing and accessory merchandise didn't seem as extensive in Holstein's dealership as it did in Dillon Brothers. I checked out a few helmets while I was there, and was helped by a nice saleswoman.

She seemed knowledgable about helmets and was eager to help me find what I needed. When we found out that they didn't have the exact helmet that I was looking for in stock, she took down my information and told me it would be ready in about 5 days. She asked if I was law enforcement, I explained my situation and she told me to mention it when I pick the helmet up to get a discount. Good customer service there, as long as they get back with me.

Despite what I've heard about their dealership, my first experience visiting Holstein's Harley-Davidson dealership was a good one. I haven't actually talked to anyone there at length, but I'm waiting for that call back about the helmet and will talk to an actual bike salesperson the next time I stop by. We'll see how that goes.

Motorcycle Half Helmet Maltese Cross Skull M Lg XL

US $50.00

5d 1h 28m

New Motorcycle Half Helmet Devil Skull Flames M Lg XL

US $55.00

5d 1h 26m

GIRL SKULL ANGEL WING HALF MOTORCYCLE HELMET BIKER M

6 Bids

US $14.50

1h 47m

Gloss Blk Skull Cap NOVELTY Motorcycle Half Helmet LRG

US $43.95

2d 15h 38m

What I’m Looking For In A New Motorcycle

Harley Fan — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:14:38 +0000

I've been looking at a few different motorcycles for the last few years, waiting to save up a little money and for the wife to put her stamp of approval on the idea.

Up until a few months ago, I've just been casually looking around, checking out what's out there, looking at everything from Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda to Harley, Triumph and Victory.

So far, I haven't seen any metric cruiser-style bike with looks to match the Honda Shadow Aero's. That bike is a little too small for me, however.

Since business has been good, I've been seriously looking at bike manufacturers that were previously out of my price range, namely Harley-Davidson.

At the moment, I'm really leaning towards Harley-Davidson's Road King Classic. Why? Because from what I can tell, it's got just about everything that I'm looking for.

So what am I looking for?

My Personal Motorcycle Style Preferences

These are only my personal preferences, everyone has a different opinion about what they like, and I can respect that. I'm not sure why I like what I like, I only know what I like when I see it. there are a few common factors in what I like, however:

Fenders - I'm a big fan of and really like full fenders. I've never liked the small, chopped fender up front.

Fairing - No fairing. Please. Yeah, I know it's great for long trips. Yeah, I know it's great to have a fairing in the wind or rain. Yeah, you can put a radio in it and listen to your tunes while you ride. I just don't think that it looks right on a bike. It's just me. Maybe in 10 or 20 years I might change my mind.

Windshield - Having one available is good. If there's one on the bike, I'd like to be able to take it off easily, however.

Engine - I'm not going to be racing anyone, but I don't want to feel like I don't have enough power to move when I need to move.

Size - I've got a 30 inch inseam, so I need to keep things close to the ground. I'm open to lowering things an inch or so, but I don't know how much I can drop a bike without causing problems for the ride.

Seat - I'd prefer the leave the back fender bare, so a solo seat, or something that would convert easily to a solo seat would be great. Don't intend to take anyone with me for the most part, but having the option is nice.

Saddlebags - Kind of need these if I'm going to be riding to work. I'd like the option to take them off relatively easily, but the bike has to look good with them on.

Features - Cruise control would be nice, but I don't plan on making a whole lot of long trips. ABS would be nice, but not essential.

Visually, here's a few bikes illustrating what I like:

Custom Harley Bobber

1948 Panhead In Blue

Copper Panhead

I've also been looking at the 2009 Harley Softail Deluxe - which is probably the best-looking modern Harley out there right now, in my opinion.

The only reason I'm wary of that model is that it doesn't come with the windshield or saddlebags, it doesn't have cruise control and it has a 5-gallon fuel tank as opposed to the 6-gallon fuel tank that Harley Tourers have. And because the Softail Deluxe has just about the same MSRP as the Road King Classic, I'd have to spend a bit more to get the Deluxe as decked out as the RKC.

Although, this 2005 Softail Deluxe has just about the look that I'm going for:

2005 Softail Deluxe

And because it's May 2009, and the 2010 Harley lineup will be announced towards the end of July, I'm curious as to what changes are in store. When you consider how much of a change there is between a 2008 Road King and a 2009 Road King, I don't want to buy something if it's going to go through an extensive re-design in the next few months, you know? So I'm going to wait to see what changes the 2010 Harley's bring before I pull the trigger and make my decision.

In the end, I know I'm going to have to get on more than a few of these bikes and ride them at length before I settle on something in particular. I look forward to it.