My buddy has an '84 Camero with a mildly built 327 out of a '64 Vette as well. He did not have to reduce the compression though. He runs 92 in it.

 

01 Griz,
I see alot more old Harleys running around then I do old Hondas. Also, about the leaded fuel. Explain how my friends 12.1 to 1 '65 Barracuda (not stock) can run on Shell 93 Octane?
While the octane is lower, gas is more refined than it was.

 

Lurch you hit the nail on the head...Its like wondering why those nasty "Rich" people spend a million dollars on a painting...We think its stupid but they know that in a few years it will be worth a 2 million. In the mean time they get to enjoy the painting and doubled thier money at the same time. With an HD I get to own it, RIDE it, and when I want something new, sell it for a profit.

I agree with the postledebuhr1 made, there is a sucker born every minute but they are not buying HD's, they are buying things that DEPRECIATE. We purchase our homes because they appreciate in value. If they depreciated like a Yamaha or a Suzuki would we buy or rent our homes? We would rent! Why is leasing so popular in cars these days? Its a depreciating asset.

I ride with many owners of Foriegn bikes including hondas, yammys, and even some german built bikes and they are incredibly nice! What irritates them is that with 50K miles on a 3 year old bike it isn't worth 1/2 of what they paid. I am sure that the HD phenom will not last forever. Market conditions, and the general state of our economy have alot to do with it. One must admit however HD has done a fine job of limiting supply during a period of ever increasing demand for their products. This keeps the prices up and makes resale values go up also.

I have seen one case in my life where another bike besides HD went up in value inside of 20 years. It was my father, who purchased a 1981 GS850L Suzuki brand new in 1984 (still in stock) for a mere $1500. Since then he has put 58 miles on the bike. Now people are offering him 5-6000 dollars for the bike! Just one problem....He never got to use it which defeats the reason to own a bike in the first place but he seems content ; )

The bottom line is ride what you like if you don't mind losing money...If you want to ride a machine that may have its quirks, yet gets lots of looks, and can be resold for a profit, buy a HD and you will never be unhappy. Even if you get it, hate it, and want to sell it, you can put it in the paper and there will be a ton of folks lining up at your door to pay you a few thousand more than you paid. Heck thats enough for a down payment on the new Honda ; )

 

can someone explain to me why a harley appreciates and a honda depreciates? if i took a harley decal and put it on a honda,would it now be much more valuable? is it because of the limited suppply of the harleys?

does this mean that the Ford F-150 harley davison edition is appreciating because it has harley on the side?

later
jon