Just Got a Call from my Dealer about Price.

[Deezil]

Whats the Deal here?

Are you sure your dealer is talking about the new UCE bike or the 2009 AVL Lean-Burn.

He is talking about the Unit engine...........

[Chasfield]

How do you know Enfield isn't real on the pricing?  I'm sure the bike costs them a fair amount to make.

Eamon

It is just that I think RE has chosen a bad time to make its great leap forward. In the UK our economy is collapsing around us like a punctured bouncy castle. Launching the UCE bikes with a stupendous price hike seems a bit out of synch. with the times we are living in.

That said, the other manufacturers have more or less abandoned the market for 500 cc street bikes over here, so RE will at least have it to itself.

[Kevin Mahoney]

Whoa----Deezil only knows what he was told. Is it possible someone in the office said something that was misinterpreted, sure it is?

[birdmove]

   Our US economy's problems are well known. I work at a Harley-Davidson/Buell dealer and they have had a lot of layoffs.So far my job is secure. But now they have just announced (HD that is) the release of the new XR1200 in the USA (finally) after having released it in the UK and Europe allready. I want one of those too. But, as anyone working at a dealership knows, the pays not good.I made way more money working at a truck repair shop working on big freight hauling trucks. I quit that job after 24 years to go and work in the field of motorcycles (my life long passion), and also cut my commute from 65 miles to 15 miles.

   Jon

[Deezil]

I think the Bonnie looks great!  
Is it worth $1500 more than the uce bike? Well with 30 more hp I would say yeah.

These are things they better look at when they go to price them the uce bike.

[Kevin Mahoney]

Chasfield makes a good point, but no one picked a time to introduce anything. The timing is what the timing is. Interestingly enough  while we are very concerned about economic conditions things have not been too bad. It helps that we are carrying a product that is modestly priced. High oil was helpful to us this year as well. While consumer financing has gotten tighter it is still available especially for lower ticket items. There is plenty of financing available to dealers to finance inventory which is a very good thing. No one is going to raise prices a penny more than they have to so this year will probably be a good year to buy things that you have waited for.

[Eamon]

I think the Bonnie looks great!  

I think so as well.  They are indeed good looking bikes.  I just think the Bullets (new and old) look even better!  As I said, that part is purely subjective.   

Is it worth $1500 more than the uce bike? Well with 30 more hp I would say yeah.

Well, I didn't ask if the the Bonnie was worth $1500 more.  I asked if it was necessarily "better" than the Bullet, given the criteria I laid out (crusing ability, weight, handling, user serviceablility, gas mileage, and looks).  My point is that the Bullet seems worth every penny the Bonnie is by those criteria, and is a bargain for every penny LESS than a Bonnie that it ends up costing.  If you really need/ want that extra 30 HP (and the extra 100 pounds that comes with it) then by all means buy the Bonnie.  I would bet though, that the new Bullet will be able to keep up with a Bonnie no problem at all reasonable speeds.

More is not necessarily better to everyone, sometimes it's just more!  If the extra HP is really a big deal for you, then is it maybe the case that a Bullet is not for you at any reasonable price?  Just throwing the question out there...

Eamon

[Bath Bullet]

I suspect Deezils dealer may be stringing him along to keep his money in his pocket as long as possible, and not spend it somewhere else?

[Kevin Mahoney]

I own a new Bonneville, an old Bonneville and many RE's both old and new. (not to mention several other "off brands like an old Shovelhead Harley). I really like my Bonneville's and I really like my RE's. While there are many legitimate points of comparison, for me they are not at all similar. None of it centers around price. There is nothing like the sound of my old Bonnie with Norton pipes, just as there is nothing like the sound of an RE thumper. Same with feel, completely different.

[Kevin Mahoney]

If Deezils dealer is who I think he is, he is as straight as the day is long. I suspect a conversation about ranges of prices and dates may have been turned into something more definitive by mistake, a bit like a game of telephone.

[t120rbullet]

I own a new Bonneville, an old Bonneville and many RE's both old and new. (not to mention several other "off brands like an old Shovelhead Harley).

Ha, I knew it I knew it I knew it. A Harley!
A closet Harley guy, no wonder you never joined in on the kitty-litter action at the Rally on the River.

 

[Kevin Mahoney]

Well sort of, it is in my garage in pieces and has been like that for quite a while. Pity really since I have all of the repainted sheetmetal and other parts needed to restore it. Too bad I have to work for a living. Interestingly enough all of my restoration activites have ground to a halt since I started this business........although there is a Flat Head Ford engine making slow progress.

[Bullet Bill]

Weird as it might seem, I'm just glad the AVL models will have at least one more year.  They're cheaper, and I like the idea of having one more year for those who want a bike they can fix themselves.

....Meh.  Viva la Enfield!

[exiledcarper]

If the price for the new bike is just shy of 7 grand it won't be enough bike at that price, in my opinion.  You can get a Sportster for that money and like 'em or not, it's a LOT more bike.  Also, the U.S. Dollar has had quite a dramatic increase in value lately, so imports should be more reasonably priced than recently, don't you trhink?  I am quite interested in the new Classic, but not at that sort of money!  It would have to come in at around 5 grand for me.  Let's not forget that they are cheap as chips in India, where production costs are WAY lower than here. Of course the resurgant Dollar may be seen as a chance for a much higher profit margin, rather than a better price for the consumer?  BAH HUMBUG!

[ace.cafe]

  You can get a Sportster for that money and like 'em or not, it's a LOT more bike. 

Ha ha!
Yep, it sure is!
About 200 pounds of dead lard more bike.
Perhaps a person could hang 4 50 pound sacks of sand on their Enfield, so they can feel more like a Harley.