I'm going down to the dealer next friday.....if he offers $3500.00 trade I'm agonna take it!!!!
unk:
I'd be very surprised if you got that from a dealer. HD dealers are greedy....that's common knowledge. Nobody gets "deals" at a HD dealer and often pay
over sticker for popular models to avoid waiting lists. Trades(other than the HD "buyback" program) aren't worth much to them. Non-HD trades are worth even less, because they know it's going to sit around a long time. People don't walk into a HD dealer looking for a Yamaha. And depending on the dealer, they might not even want it. No kidding....I've known/heard about more than one where the owner/manager/whoever is so "stuck" on the HD image they don't want any non-American bikes "polluting" their showroom and flat out refused imports on trade.
On a private sale you could easily get $3500, probably more. Trade-in at a HD dealership.......ehhh.....I seriously doubt it. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if they offered you $1500 or so.
If you're really set on this swap, do yourself a favor and sell the vmax yourself, then buy the hd. No need to line the salesman's pockets by taking a bath on trade value.
But dude, why a HD? I can absolutely guarantee as you ride the HD home you'll notice all the "shit" that is absent from a vmax. Be on the look-out for:
-A clunky, harsh gearbox with a throw of about a foot. Instead of a "snick.....snick.....snick" from a Vmax, you get "grrrrrrrrrrkerBANG..........eeeeerrrrrrchhhhBANG.......nothing....it missed......oh wait.....grrrBANG", and now I'm up to almost the speed limit. Apparently, "they all do that". Ummmhmm okay.
-Blinkers that come on and off as they please
-Vibration that renders the mirrors useless at all speeds
-Brakes made from wood and pizza pans. Seriously, your Nikes could do a better job, even with the car-size foot brake pedal.
-The fork wobbling under hard(relatively) braking.
-A speedometer that tends to turn off at idle
-0-60 time equal to that of most minivans
Those are the things I noticed on my 15 minute Harley ride. I promptly returned it to it's owner, said I thought it was totally sick cool dope awesome and got back on my Vmax and suddenly had a new appreciation for a precise, quality machine. I don't know about you, but I absolutely could not live with such a clunker of a bike after being "spoiled" by something that works properly. Even if I thought HD was the coolest machine on the planet, the abysmal engineering and horrid riding experience would completely ruin it for me.
Take it for a test drive and see if you're still sold on it. The phrase goes "never meet your childhood heroes"......and it's usually true. I mean if having the HD FLXTHIWTS whatever gives you the most enjoyment from riding then go for it, that's what it's all about. Just I can't possibly see how such a massive downgrade in quality could possibly improve the experience.
Anyway hope you're happy with whatever choice you make.
