G'day to all,

My name's Doug from Bris, like so many I've finally seen the light and am looking at getting on a HD in my mid 40s. Rode dirt bikes when I was young and sold my last Jap road bike a few months ago. 

I've been researching Fat Bobs for a few months now and have test riden a few. Have located an 09 FatBob for $20900.00 , 4000kms (US import , with Aus compliance, speedo converted to Km by licenced instro, front indicators modified ).

Can anyone tell me if this is fair price for an import and if any is there any bad news on buying an import???

Appreciate it.

Doug

 There all made in the same factory Doug, as long as your Mechanic hasn't any issues on imports and will service her.

Check out Bike sales for the current prices and if the imported one comes with all the paperwork etc needed to get her on the road and is priced right can't see a problem. The imports are normally cheaper to purchase though.

Maybe Chopaweeza can add some of his wisdom here, but if I were you and you haven't bought yet, send him a PM and enquire about a purchase through him...................

His well used on here for imports, Sorry Chopaweeza that doesn't sound right :-)  , His held in the utmost repect in regards to the importation of Bikes from the USA. 

Thanks for the info mate.
I guess they're cheaper cause the import duty is alot less if not none compared to a new Aus model.

Hi Doug.

To be perfectly honest with you, I am by NO means dead certain of this, but, to the BEST of my knowledge, (Please people, feel free to correct me on this...I don't want to be spreading misinformation!!) The bikes themselves are all made in the USA, therefore, all Aussie HDs are imports...Yes, HD did open a production factory in India, but I was told by a HOG (Harley Owners Group) West senior, that that factory caters to that region only.

Merchandise and apparel on the other hand, Is pretty-much all made in China.

Now, having said all that, Since you can now get the 2013 Fat Bob for $24,990 AUD brand new, I would have to say that the 2009 Fat Bob you've located is not a reasonable price at all.

Personally, I would rather spend an extra $4,000 on a brand new bike, straight off the showroom floor, than save $4,000 and buy what is now a four year old bike.

But that's just my opinion...To each their own.

hi,

check around for floor stock 2012 models

thanks

robots

I would never buy a bike brand new, you lose money as soon as you leave the showroon floor.

If I had bought my Muscle brand new it would have cost me $30,000 plus with all the modifications done to it, buy second hand you get all the mods without the huge price.........

I got an 05 lowrider carb model from the US with a genuine 484klm on it as chopper has said "twice a year toys" mine is in showroom condition with no sign of use when I got it etc cost me all up around $13500.00 on the road and If I had gone through Chopper maybe even cheaper as I had to negotiate over the phone etc so worth doing some home work I reakon

I just bought a 2010 Wide Glide from a fella down here who went over to the states,bought it new,put a few miles on it and imported it..He is a BMW man and decided to sell it,it had 450 ks on it (the papers he showed me said 5 miles at the time of import)...The only thing I am disappointed about is that it has no alarm and no imobiliser as apparently they are optional extra's over there...Other than that and apart from the crap Harley rusty spokes it is a great bike...By the time I add the extra's I want I will have an almost new bike for $20000...Gotta be happy with that...Before I bought it I did email my nearest dealer to find out a few things and was told they won't honour warranty but they will change or repair any recall issues....

 

Cheers...Sparra

I did my head in over the import vs local.
Right or wrong the imports will carry a little stigma with them. Actually it's not right but enough people talk about it so it's out there. That and the fact they come in cheaper should keep there resale a little lower than comparable H5 models.
I looked at importing and was happy with the process. The bike I wanted would have cost $20,000 in Australia ready for rego.
That same bike from a dealer cost about $3,500 to $4,000 more. Came down to how patient you were and how risk and capable you are at chasing bargains.
I personally ended up with a local H5 with over $10,000 spent on it.
By pure arse they were the exact mods I wanted to save for over the next 5 years.
To do it to a standard import would put me way over price. Tolerant
But that's just me in my situation.
The US have great bikes and we can all benefit.or buy local for a premium . What ever floats your boat.

hi,

I know HH are wanting to clear a few wide glides, they got 3 black ones they doing for 23k brand new all the warranty etc

try a few of them with the fat bob

thanks

robots

Welcome Doug,
I did the Import last year of a 09 Deluxe with 190 Mls on the clock when I bought it, via the internet.I traveled to the USA road for about 4 weeks there before I brought it home.When the bike arrived at my front door it owed me around 23k,its no different to any bike here in Aust other that the 1 vs 5 on close inspection.Had a great holiday and now have a great bike as my every day ride.Everyone has a story for the pro's & con's.Cheers

Welcome.

 

A big thanks to all those who replied. All that info helped with the decision.

I'm now the proud owner of a 09 FatBob with under 4000ks in brand new condition with full Aus conversion, 12 months reg, stamp duty, 3 months warranty and bike cover for $20500.00, imported by Qld Performance at Molendinar Gold Coast. Dave the owner was brilliant and has more Harleys if anyone is interested.

And it rides brilliantly.

Cheers

Doug

 

 Well done Doug, 

Hi Doug I have just been through the importing rigmarroll of importing a bike.Unfortunately I went through a dud who damaged the bike and went bust before I could take him to court,You can go to ebay ,scroll down to international sites,select USA and browse bikes.You can definitely buy a lot cheaper in the states but you need to pick a reputable importer.There are also damaged bike auctions in the states where a lot of import bikes come from.You would not know this because they dont have to tell you. I have seen 2010 low mileage fat boys go for 4-5,000.00 american dollars.that only need a set of tins,unless you have contacts over there dont go there because you need to make sure they have clear titles. Most sellers in Australia have these contacts.There is a dealer in Victoria who is known to bring in up to 10 bikes at a time.Gary.   PS it took 8 mnths to get bike here and register it.

I bought mine off a fella that imported it for himself...Included in the paperwork he gave me was some that showed the bike had 5 miles on it when imported...He had it complied and I bought it with what I believed was 500klm....Now I have the bike I notice that the speedo face was changed to k's but the odometer is in miles so the 500k's was actually 500miles...No biggy,just thought I'd share...

^^^ happened with mine too sparra.

speedo was changed over to km speedo. bought the bike with 12 900 miles and thats what the km reading when the bike was delivered. some 8000k wiped off the mileage. does not matter in my case i plan on keeping the bike for a long time. just for people to be aware.

It appears that you can get a good deal on an import, and yes they all come from the same factory,

But I've always questioned not having any history with the bike - for a $20k bike I like to know/have service history and mileage history. Most imports don't have this coming from the states and if you are lucky enough to get this history, how do you know if it's real or fabricated?

I bought locally.( not against importing . All for it ) I found that having the additional information adds to peace of mind.
Original books,receipts,servicing all showing owners name and klm history. Email confirmation from dealership that it sold new to the guy i bought it off.
I also kept the original bike sales add and all email and text correspondence.
A big plus was the owner(from new) was happy for me to keep his details for any further confirmation if idecide to sell.
Now I continue with the records.
Blue slip,rego,insurance details and my own oil changes Etc with receipts for parts.
I'm sure many imports would have most of this. Having the one original owners details and number is a big one.
Cheers

IRNBRU

The vast majority of the US 2nd hand grey imports I have seen here in Perth have for sure

 NO WAY BEEN LEGIT' LOW MILEAGE BIKES !
 

all with 4,900 K's ??  YEAH RIGHT !!

IRNBRU PM me for contact details.

Retroman