Torque and Chrome - Is your motorcycle an "Investment" like my Harley is?

Is your motorcycle an "Investment" like my Harley is?

One of the reasons I bought a Harley (other than the fact that I look really cool on it) is because of its resale value. Everyone has always told me that its an investment and that I'd be able to get my money back on it if I sold it. I've been checking all the bikes for sale lately, and it turns out that the market price for my same bike is about $6,000 less than what I paid for it a year ago. Not only that, but I added loud pipes, juiced up the motor and added a few other accessories to the tune of another $5,000. So, if I sold it today, I'd get $11,000 less than what I paid. Had I bought a Japanese bike for, say, $8,000 a year ago, I could probably sell it for $5,000 today. Anyone else have a good "investment" story?

Public Comments

Hey! Guess what, dude... They all lied to you! Harleys depreciate just like every other motor driven vehicle does! The only solid investment that burns gasoline is an original Piper Cub, and even they depreciate if they're not well maintained.
Yep it's an investment....in my happiness......no one looks cool on a Jap bike. It's my husband's bike and I love it!!
Well it's an investment, but not the monetary kind. You are investing in your lifestyle. You may not get that $11,000 back, but think of all the tail you are getting because of the bike. I bought my bike a couple years ago, would probably lose about $8k if I tried to sell, but everytime I pull up outside the gay bar, everyone checks me out in my chaps. And I usually get a little pole smoking because of it. That is easily worth $8k.
Sorry, but Harley's, cars, and trucks all have the same problem. They loose money after you drive it off the showroom floor. Now if you keep it for maybe 25 years, you might get some money for it if it's in great condition. I read not long ago, that a 1954 Corvette sold brand new for about $3200.00 dollars. One sold last month at auction for $106,000.00 dollars. However, Harley's are not Corvettes. I own a Harley and I can tell you that the resale for Harley's beats Honda's and Yamaha's in the long run.
If you bought your bike as an investment then added 5k worth of crap to it, then you are a moron.
It wasn't an investment for collection It was an investment to save me some money on travel The high gas prices forced me to stay home more but with the bike I can now see the world. The way I look at it is If you wana ride just buy a good bike and do it.. There are so many good bikes today and cheaper ones that if you can get your dollars back from selling your harley than Good Luck But myself I would rather buy 2 Kaw cruisers than 1 Harley. Just like buying a car,when it wears out throw it away and get another one. You will never live long enough to see your Harley worth much money and the same goes with Jap bikes... Take alook at some prices on the old Jap bikes,they are worth as much as an old Harley
I have a Valkyrie (made in Ohio). I have 148K TROUBLE FREE miles on her. Not a dime spent for other than routine maint and doo-daddery. I can't get what I gave for her, but I'll jump on and ride anywhere without worry. When my missus rides HER OWN bike, I never lack for a pillion. Now, that's what I call an investment in a motorcycle. I don't hate Harley's. I don't much care for non-riders bashing Jap bikes, though. They haven't earned the right to play that game .
No way in hell are you gonna lose $11,000 on a Harley unless it's wrecked & burned. Where are you getting your used prices from, the blue book? Street prices(actual price or market price) for most H-D's are still above MSRP for new Harleys.
The whole myth of underproduction and waiting lists is boloney! It's to add to the hype, to make you covet. There is a surplus of Harley's on the road, and a surplus for sale thanks to all the RUBs who realized that motorcycles were not for them only after it was too late and stashed then on Auto-Trader. Look into exporting it to Europe, seriously! They are so expensive over there, a real "luxury" bike, and really original.
Ive been riding my whole live and owned 2 Harleys in the past ,sold them both for the same price I bought them , only because of a name , Look in the Bike trader and see whats for sell more than any other bike ,must be a reason behind that , You sould have bought a couple of rice burners and fixed them up so your buddies could ride with you , nothing is cooler than a pack of bikes cruising down the highway no matter what kind they are , But a Harley broke down on the highway looks like a fool trying to be cool /lol
HD William is actually a character called black aingst who is a Harley basher!!
You must be pretty silly to have done that. You by a bike to ride. end of story!.
My Honda VTX 1800 is very much an investment. I enjoy it everyday I ride it, and have no plans on selling it. If I had bought it to make money it would have been stocks, not a bike.
I don't know which is funnier, that people continue to fall for these troll posts, or that this dude who is so against HD apparently spends all of his time on Yahoo! answers and no time at all out riding.
Nope. My 401K was an investment. My house was an investment. My motorcyles are a whole different story.None have left me until they were worth less than the remaining parts themselves. It takes a real genius to invest in a negative return. But then again, my returns are not monetary. P.S. Did you buy it outright? If you are making payments, you haven't invested yet.
Grendle....I thought you rode a beemer.
no mines fast and scawwy.
Well harley is an can be a good turn around, depending on how you bought it. I got a 2006 HD Softail from a guy who road it 6 times and had to sell it, he was getting a divorce, So I also got the 4 year warranty with it and extra pipes, jacket and helmet, all for $4000.00 less than he paid 4 months ago. So, as you know the key is to buy anything for the correct price. I can still sell it for what I paid and make about $1000.00 on it right now, the only down side is, the new 2007's came out with bigger stock 96cu. motors and 6 speed trans. They will take two years though to get all the bugs worked out on them.
any thing that moves with a motor is going to depresiate if you want to make a wise investment buy real estate
I got my motorcycle for free, but it's cost about $800 in maintenance every two years. My motorcycle is a junker ratbike of a Yamaha Virago 700. Ugly, but it's great for commuting.
i've heard many people claim certain things as "investments" - i china collection, some rare coins, a car, etc. in a way there is an investment because once you pay for it, you have it and you shouldn't have to pay for it again. However, in the traditional meaning, an investment (like real estate or stocks) are worth more as time goes on. My BMW is worth less now than when i bought it - it probably lost more value than it should have because i ride A LOT and i don't stop for rain - this means that i have some rust spots and tar on the underbody. when i bought a motorcycle, i bought it to ride - i looked into safety, looks, power, carrying capacity --- i didn't buy it because i thought that i could sell it for a lot more some day. i'm sorry that you were mislead. maybe you should take a motorcycle safety course, start ridign a lot and get a better kind of return on your bike.
I have never lost on a harley, have bought three new ones rode them for years and sold them for close to new price. For example 1987 fxlr I paid 8,800 for new still has a blue book price of 7,800 not bad if you got to ride it for 19 years. If you only bought it for an investment you wasted your money. Iwonder what a 1987 honda would be worth?:)
You are correct to say that it's a marketing ploy. The only machines that go up in value are classics and antiques. If you enjoy your bike, then that's good enough. Don't ever look to buy a bike or a car expecting a return out of it. The value always goes down. Harleys used to HOLD their value longer because they made less of them and more people wanted them. So a few years down the line you could get what you paid for because the waiting list for a new Harley was almost a year. Now that they're mass producing the bikes and the influx of Japanese cruisers and Victory motorcycles, there's less of a demand for Harley. The Jap cruisers are getting very stylish and they're catching on to the American muscle theme. Harley really lost a foothold on the cruiser industry the last few years.
Norton Commando.
hubby and i bought a 92' sportster and didn't add anything to it and still came out even. if your going for the investment way i would recemmend a bike u won't care so much about,yet, still get the performance u wanted. that way if the sale becomes unsatisfactory, later on, "harley davidson" won't pay the price.
If I ever bought a bike for resale value I hope my riding friends would shoot me in the head.
I treat my Buell as a investment , Its still a harley and it keeps its value quite well
No, fraid not. The only things I ever buy as investments are ... well, investments!
I invested in a stock called Iriduim, space based cell phone system.I paid 27 dollars a share for 8,000 shares, it went up to 77 a share befroe it went bankrupt and I got paid 55c a share, which I bought a kawaski ZX6R, and I still ride it.