The pricing philosophy carries over to most auto market lines in AU. The bikes and cars today are much better equipped than earlier models for the same asking price as the offset. My 2011, 103" SG with ABS, oil cooler, cruise etc was a similar cost as my 06 88"SG with no cruise, no oil cooler, no ABS etc. If you can't afford it, buy Korean....just stop fucken whinging....

Perhaps Mr Bean would gain more support if he has written any topic, anywhere on this site showing a positive interest in harley davidson motorcycles other than financial concerns of a seemily manic and campaigning proportions!?

We like to ride harleys here. That and ways to make our bikes look, sound and run smoother to enhance the ride.

Thats what I come here to talk about anyway... not be told how stupid we are for paying too much.

Whinge, whinge, fucken whinge.

If you don't like it go buy a Vespa.

This subject is up to page 3 and getting nowhere fast.

Here's an update on costs. There's more information to come next week but I need to finalise a few details before posting it.

Aussies pay 1/3 more than Kiwis when in fact it costs slightly more to import a bike into New Zealand than Australia.

The costs, duties, taxes, etcetera are set up slightly differently but the cost to get a bike into Australia or New Zealand from the U.S. or Japan work out almost exactly the same. For example a $25,000 bike that costs $2,500 to ship from the U.S. or Japan will cost $31,663.07 after duties and taxes in New Zealand, the same bike after duties and taxes in Australia would cost $31,625.

Here's the calculation:

NZ ($25,000 + $2,500 shipping) * 15% GST + $38.07 = $31,663.07
AUS ($25,000 + $1,250 (5% Duty)) + $2,500 shipping) *10% GST = $31,625.

So, it costs HD Australia a slight bit more to put a bike into the warehouse in NZ than in Australia and yet they charge 1/3 more in Australia than in NZ.

BTW, New Zealand has a thriving motorcycle market, dealers are not going broke, bike shops are not shutting down, the motorcycling world is not coming to an end, the sky is not falling.

I'll have more next week!

+ 1 more Davo

+2 Davo.....me bike is priceless to me....BUT, I will consider offers over 50gs LMAO....

Bt

A few updates:

1/ Harley Davidson motorcycles sold in Australia are 1/3 more expensive that those sold in New Zealand.

See here.

2/ Imports and price setting for both NZ and Aus are by Harley Davidson Australia in Ryde NSW. The same company does both!

3/ Importing into New Zealand is just marginally more expensive than into Australia, the market is smaller and less profitable, so bikes should be more expensive there.

So why are Harleys so much more expensive in Australia?

New Zealand has a free-market. New Zealand allows anyone to import a new motorcycle so Harley has no monopoly there. If their prices were not competitive with what an individual could import for, everyone in New Zealand would simply import their own bike.

Harley Australia is using Government legislated market controls that allow them to gouge Australian customers. It is not because Harleys are a premium brand, or because costs are high, or for any other legitimate reason.

It is simply because Harley can gouge Australians and not New Zealanders and so they do just that!

 

thats it, I'm moving to NZ

For those worried about your current bike being devalued if a price drop occurs, take heart, Harly Davidson Australia is completely supportive of this argument and wants you to to push it at every opportunity to ensure prices stay high.

It allows them to continue the price gouging and earn a few million dollars extra in profit each year!!

Ahh let him go, he'll soon have some fuckin upset Kiwi's looking for him when they increase the prices on new HD's in NZ in line with those here.

Deadwood, HD Australia cannot increase the price in NZ. Kiwis would simply import the bikes themselves. HD charges the price they charge in Aus because we cannot import new bikes while Kiwis can. It's that simple.

Hey Greygo,

                  Why not use all that excess energy doing something about the fucking banks? thats something I do get worked up over,but HD aus .Mate I've been into Harleys since I was 12yrs old and ever since then I would sell my left nut and both of yours to have one. When I first bought one in 1990 "Frasers" were the biggest rip off going but that did not stop me buying one . Now 5 Harleys later I would like to pay less for a new one but I think the much improved dealer network we have nowadays goes someway towards alleviating the extra we pay . And I'm sure if our thieving fucking government did not bleed us dry on every transaction we make we would all be better off .So if your after support go after the banks and then the FUCKING FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

Page 4, unbelievable...!!!!

And it looks like 5 is coming up.

Blah, blah, blah

Hey, thanks for the response.

Bano, you'd have heard the old saying, "absolute power corrupts absolutely", we're currently watching middle-east dictators who have had absolute power get overthrown. Harley Australia's absolute monopoly has corrupted them. They do not have this monopoly in NZ and are behaving rationally there. So, when you say, "we all walk in knowing that we are paying heavy premiums and that is our choice" you are taking a position much like those who have supported the corrupt regimes in the middle east, not standing up and rejecting their corrupt behaviour. If we as a group stand up we can change this "heavy premium". As I've said before, you won't get shot for saying "no" to their price gouging.

Chromer, you're right, Harley is not unique. And flying off to NZ or the U.S. is no way to tell the assholes that I live here and this is not acceptable in my country!

Obie1, I am a dedicated Harley owner, I agree the Government has created this situation but Harley does not have to take advantage of it. They do so out of greed, nothing else.

Fangio or is it Reflector Man, yup! I think Davo's signature says it all.

Mr Mow, you understand; Deadwood just likes to bash my ear, so we can ignore him; Groover, yeah neat ain't it, as much as you hate it, others want to be heard on this topic.

And that brings me back to Chromer, who made a good point. I'm new here and have not introduced myself, you know diddly about me, so; me dog's called Bear, me bike is called bike, I like hard-ass rides. I doddled from Sydney to Cairns in 7 days last June, did Cairns to Darwin via Normanton in 4 days last July and then Darwin to Sydney in 4 days in early August. Best day was 1,125 kms from three-ways to Winton. I like to ride alone 'cause, well I'm a hard-ass and can't stand the whinging!

This year, I think I might zip out to WA in late June, I reckon I might get from Sydney to Norseman in 2 days, 3,200km, that'd be a gas, right. Can it be done? I could then futz around in south WA for a month or maybe head to Broome, Darwin and then back to Cairns and Sydney for spring. I love to ride hard-ass!

I reckon the best roads in Aus are in the NT and with a speed limit of 130kmh and no cops it is easy to cruise at 145-150, just watch out for the fucking wedgetail eagles feeding on the roadkill. They don't seem to understand how fast a bike moves and will sit on the road until you can see the whites of their eyes, and then fly towards your windscreen like they know no fear. Scariest fucking thing I've ever experienced, and many times, it's like playing chicken with a 20 kg turkey with a 2 meter wing span, fuck, fuck, fuck....wedgetails!!

So, that's me, I had my first bike when I was 16 in 1969, a BSA Royal Star 500, piece of shit in retrospect. I've ridden a few bikes since then, think the Honda 500-4 might have been the fastest, and my Canam 175 dirt bike could climb trees and swim rivers. I love my Harley and love to ride hard-ass, and DO NOT like getting screwed.

And as for havin' thick skin, well Davo, my old man might have made me a bit harder if he had called me Sue but with the last name Bean I've taken more shit than you could imagine and one day look forward to grabbing one of those wedgetail eagles out of the air in full flight and havin' it for dinner off of my exhaust pipe!

So howdy all!

SJ, I know there are a few here who don't support me, but as 'no response' is legally understood to be approval, I suspect there are hundreds, maybe more than 1,000 who do support me.

That's why I really haven't been paying much attention to the negative comments here, other than to humour them.

I suspect your 'we' is a royal 'we' kind of pronunciation that represents..... well you. So why not say, 'you' don't support me rather than pretending to speak for the hundreds, maybe a 1,000 who likely do want this pricing issue resolved.

Bano, apologies, I can see how my quote could be interpreted to mean 'actively supporting', like a member of the corrupt state. It was not meant that way and was taken out of context.

A certain poster cleverly omitted the end of my statement which said, "not standing up and rejecting their corrupt behaviour from which I hope you recognise by 'supporter' I meant a 'passive supporter', maybe apathetic, or disinterested, or resigned to accept the situation and thereby tacitly supporting it.

The point I was making was that to change the situation requires active dissent, anything else is support. Legally, if one does not voice their objection then they are prima facie giving their support or approval. For example, if a mate suggests committing a crime and one does not voice their dissent, and stands by and watches it happen without taking part, one can still be tried as an accomplice. One is a supporter.

I'm not sure I've improved the situation with this explanation but please accept my apologies.

I am not a disgruntled ex HD employee, never worked for a motorbike shop of any kind or anything related to bikes in my life. I am a computer geek, have been for almost 40 years, for the last 15 years I've been helping major companies analyse how to make their businesses more profitable either through enhancing sales or reducing costs. I'm kinda tired of the corporate shit but see exactly how HD Australia could dramatically improve their business. That is probably what prompted my interest.

As to what's in it for me, I see two possible outcomes; 1/ the next time I take my bike in for service my HD Dealer will tell me to piss off, when I want to trade up they will put me one a wait list from hell, and I may also get the 'we do not approve of dissenters so do not expect any service from us' treatment with every legitimate interaction I might want to have with them, or 2/ I get them to drop prices and if they will sell to me I save maybe as much as $10,000.

Yeah, why am I doing this? I must be nuts.

Maybe this will explain. I've had a few speeding and parking tickets, to me they almost always seem like revenue raising rather than real 'breaking the law' type activities. Anyone else feel this way?

Well unlike 99% of people who whinge and complain and pay their tickets and carry-on about what an unfair system, I take each and every one of these tickets to court and make a judge decide whether the ticket was justified. And you know what, judges are people who get tickets too, and are pissed off that the poilice raise revenue this way and often dismiss the chrages; I think in the last 10 years I've won 4 out of 5 of these. I have two in action right now, a speeding ticket where I was doing 51 in a 40 kph school zone and a parking ticket where the ticket machine said motorbikes did not need a ticket but I missed some small print on a sign 40 feet away. I am waiting to hear when I am do in court. I expect to win both and have the charges dismissed. At minimum I will not just lay down and pay these bastards, they will have to work for every cent they take from me.

Now imagine if everyone did this? I suggest that the cops would stop with their petty revenue raising and chase some real crime.

So, I am taking it to HD Australia because if I do not, no one will, and then we all suffer!

I can't think what else might be in it more me. I sure will get a lot of pleasure out of winning, if I do, and believe I have right on my side so I am prepared to fight. I think it is that simple.

wow, here i am page 4 and 15 minutes later, I totally feel like I've just watched a snail slowly but surely make intimate relations with a deceased rodent.

GOLD.

Good fun thanks guys!

(luckily I bought a CVO, so I already knew I was being super-AAA-+++-Gouged before I did the deal, and what a satisfying gouging experience it's been!)

They are rubbin it in your face Greygo!

 

Subject: Iron 883 price rise

www.hdforums.com.au/Default.aspx

All of a sudden, Im happy I bought when I did!

SJ, seems Terroristone thinks it's bullshit as well, i dont really believe that they would be selling for close to cost as i can import a new iron from the states and have it on the road here for around the $11000 mark, if i can do that then where are all their expences?

And I bet he's not talking about buying a bike wholesale for $4-5,000 like HD Australia does. He's talking about buying it retail from a U.S. dealer for $7,000, paying shipping of say $2,000, paying duty (5%) and GST (10%) and still getting it on the road for $11,000. Harley Australia on the other hand probably gets it from the factory for less yhan $5,000, ships it in a container with 20 others so pays $500 shipping and then adds 5% duty and 10% GST putting it on the road for less than $7,000. They likely take $3,500 in profit and the dealer would get $3,500 profit and bingo Aussie's pay over $14,000.

How can I be sure I'm close to the mark? Because in New Zealand they sell the Iron 883 for just over A$10,000. And as I've said before, at that price it is not worth it for a Kiwi to import a bike himself! In Australia since we cannot import new bikes Harley Australia charges much more, not because they are 'selling close to cost' as they claim, but because they are greedy bastards.

SJ, thanks for highlighting that Iron 883 Price Rise thread.

Finally, the NZ market is not struggling to stay alive, so HD Australia is still making a profit there as are NZ HD Dealers. And they are doing that selling bikes for A$10,000.