[Kenneth_Moore]

Harley cuts production as demand dips - Financial Times - MSNBC.com

I guess nothing lasts forever. Is it a bump in the road or a harbinger of things to come? Tawk amungst yaselves.

 

[seruzawa]

I'm just glad that idiot boy is making other websites miserable today.

Does this mean I'll be able to get an Evo cheap finally?

 

[sarnali2]

This is the big one guys, they'll be two fer one by next year, a dime a dozen...


*edit* I guess if they were 2 fer 1 then a dime a dozen wouldn't be as good deal as it sounds... I'm useless at math, product of a miss-spent youth I guess...

 

[ejis]

Finally! Proof that old designs that people like are destined for an eventual demise. On the plus side, maybe the Fat Bob that I want will be on clearance next year since obviously no one else is interested. Now, back to my damper rod suspended naked twin...

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

Monkey Boy isn't going to like Pete stealing his "Great Motorcycle Prophet" title.

 

[bbtowns]

You'd think Harley would be doing well with the dollar being so weak. Ignoring the product itself, foreign bikes should start costing more, and in some cases this has already begun to show itself. So if Harley can't thrive in a weak dollar market, either the economy must really suck, or Harley has run out of customer's interested in premium priced big air cooled twins. I think it's a little of both, but I'm thinking the latter problem isn't going away till they come out with some new product. Anyone out there thinking of replacing their Harley due to the 105th anniversay? I understood the 100th anniversary selling bikes, but the 105th is like watching the odomoter roll over to 23K, not that exciting.

 

[seruzawa]

Home mortgage market....

You'd think Harley would be doing well with the dollar being so weak. Ignoring the product itself, foreign bikes should start costing more, and in some cases this has already begun to show itself. So if Harley can't thrive in a weak dollar market, either the economy must really suck, or Harley has run out of customer's interested in premium priced big air cooled twins. I think it's a little of both, but I'm thinking the latter problem isn't going away till they come out with some new product. Anyone out there thinking of replacing their Harley due to the 105th anniversay? I understood the 100th anniversary selling bikes, but the 105th is like watching the odomoter roll over to 23K, not that exciting.

...in case you've not been paying attention is tanking. Home prices are correcting since the irresponsible lenders have been wiped out. This means less refinancing to get those expensive toys. There's likely to be a recession from the fallout of the billions of dollars worth of irresponsible lenders/buyers (where were all those wonderful bureaucrats that the sheeple rely on to protect us?).... not to mention the European banks who are also neck deep in the subprime lending fiasco. It's about time since there hasn't been a REAL recession (no matter what the political liars claim)since that idiot Carter. So look for lower prices as manufacturers lower prices on inventory. This means that no one will be able to demand those ridiculous Kelly Blue Book internet used bike prices any more and the used market will return to the usual ruinous levels for used foreign bikes and reasonable prices for HDs. The Fed can't stop it and none of those stumble-bums in the Congress or White house has a clue either.

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

Seruzawa, You make some really good points here.

First, there are a LOT of people up a creek with this mortgage situation. Not only the subprime lenders and borrowers who are the obvious crises, but there's a LOT of people who thought they had magically "earned" a bunch of money when their property values went through the roof. Baloney. If you "refinanced," you just went further into debt; albeit possibly at a lower rate. If you sold, unless you were moving from CA to IA, you didn't really net any income because all the other houses to buy went up too. This is going to have BIG a long term impact on disposable income and "discretionary" purchases like bikes.

The White House, Congress, and the Fed were all in cahoots (conspiracy theory coming up, younger kids should leave the room) with the bankers on this. They "fattened up" the buyers and homeowners with the scam subprime loans and subsquent price explosion for housing, and now they're going to "harvest" this "crop" when they take their homes in foreclosure for a fraction of their "value." Nice work if you can get it.

As for HD prices, well, even though I've put a lot of bucks in my '77 over the years, I have a standing offer to sell it for exactly what I bought it for from a buddy. I've never seen a time when HD prices fell. The new bike prices will be maintained by limiting production. HD will never substantially discount their prices; to do so flies in the face of their corporate marketing philosophy.

Kill ******. It's the only answer.

 

[The_AirHawk]

No, no, NO.

You are BOTH way off-base here.

It's the Illegal/Irresponsible/Illegitimate/Ill-advised WAR that's put us Gazillions of dollars in the hole, with the Tax-and-spend Repemblicrats and the.....

Oh, forget it.

 

[seruzawa]

I'd agree with you but...

No, no, NO.

You are BOTH way off-base here.

It's the Illegal/Irresponsible/Illegitimate/Ill-advised WAR that's put us Gazillions of dollars in the hole, with the Tax-and-spend Repemblicrats and the.....

Oh, forget it.

... the fact is that even with the Iraq spending the amount of defense spending as part of GNP is still historically low. It's the entitlements that are the pending disaster.

I've said these things knowing that a certain fool is smashing his keyboard right now. Heh heh.

 

[seruzawa]

Lending a businessman...

Seruzawa, You make some really good points here.

First, there are a LOT of people up a creek with this mortgage situation. Not only the subprime lenders and borrowers who are the obvious crises, but there's a LOT of people who thought they had magically "earned" a bunch of money when their property values went through the roof. Baloney. If you "refinanced," you just went further into debt; albeit possibly at a lower rate. If you sold, unless you were moving from CA to IA, you didn't really net any income because all the other houses to buy went up too. This is going to have BIG a long term impact on disposable income and "discretionary" purchases like bikes.

The White House, Congress, and the Fed were all in cahoots (conspiracy theory coming up, younger kids should leave the room) with the bankers on this. They "fattened up" the buyers and homeowners with the scam subprime loans and subsquent price explosion for housing, and now they're going to "harvest" this "crop" when they take their homes in foreclosure for a fraction of their "value." Nice work if you can get it.

As for HD prices, well, even though I've put a lot of bucks in my '77 over the years, I have a standing offer to sell it for exactly what I bought it for from a buddy. I've never seen a time when HD prices fell. The new bike prices will be maintained by limiting production. HD will never substantially discount their prices; to do so flies in the face of their corporate marketing philosophy.

Kill ******. It's the only answer.

...less than he really needs and then buying up the business after it goes bankrupt is a standard banking practice. So is spreading lies like "sheep destroy the grass" thus encouraging cattlemen/sheeherder wars and foreclosing on both sides after they can't make their loans payments because they wasted their cash fighting. (And selling them the guns and ammo to fight with).

(Ha! You thought that because I detest socialists that I'm a big lover of capitalism, didn't you? The end result of unbridled capitalism and unbridled socialism is the same - a handful of people own everything.)

 

[The_AirHawk]

... the fact is that even with the Iraq spending the amount of defense spending as part of GNP is still historically low. It's the entitlements that are the pending disaster.

I've said these things knowing that a certain fool is smashing his keyboard right now. Heh heh.

I just didn't have the heart for a psuedo-tirade line of bullshyttin'.

I've let you all down, I know. I apologize profusely; from the bottom of my crankcase.

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

Yep, that too.

We still need to kill ****** though.

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

...less than he really needs and then buying up the business after it goes bankrupt is a standard banking practice. So is spreading lies like "sheep destroy the grass" thus encouraging cattlemen/sheeherder wars and foreclosing on both sides after they can't make their loans payments because they wasted their cash fighting. (And selling them the guns and ammo to fight with).

(Ha! You thought that because I detest socialists that I'm a big lover of capitalism, didn't you? The end result of unbridled capitalism and unbridled socialism is the same - a handful of people own everything.)

So, what you're saying here is that we need to kill ******, right?

 

[seruzawa]

Up the revolution!

So, what you're saying here is that we need to kill ******, right?

Power to the people! Down with the pigs. Legalize marijuana! (Oops. How'd that get in there?)

 

[sarnali2]

The trick to those super low rates was to re-fi out when the rates started back up. I went from a 7.9% fixed VA to a 3.2%-3 yr. p&i ARM then re-fi'd into a fixed 5.2% p&i conv. after 2 1/2 years and made out like a fat rat. The key is to read the fine print. The ARM I had adjusted up 2% per year until it capped at 12% after the 3 year teaser, there was no way in hell I'd have kept that.

When the fixed 30 year conventional loand s hit 4.9% I started the process but locked in at 5.2%, still an excellent deal. I just completed a deal on my 2nd which is a no-fee drop from 8.2% 15 yr. p&i to 6.9% 15 yr. p&i through my credit union which saves me $9k over the loan life and puts about $65 in my pocket per month.

People that stayed with ARM's or specially the interest only loans they were pushing at the time are getting a shellacking with this. It's the same with any deal, stay within your income range and read the fine print, the banks weren't doing those deals because they're all a nice buncha' guys..

 

[seruzawa]

Well well

The trick to those super low rates was to re-fi out when the rates started back up. I went from a 7.9% fixed VA to a 3.2%-3 yr. p&i ARM then re-fi'd into a fixed 5.2% p&i conv. after 2 1/2 years and made out like a fat rat. The key is to read the fine print. The ARM I had adjusted up 2% per year until it capped at 12% after the 3 year teaser, there was no way in hell I'd have kept that.

When the fixed 30 year conventional loand s hit 4.9% I started the process but locked in at 5.2%, still an excellent deal. I just completed a deal on my 2nd which is a no-fee drop from 8.2% 15 yr. p&i to 6.9% 15 yr. p&i through my credit union which saves me $9k over the loan life and puts about $65 in my pocket per month.

People that stayed with ARM's or specially the interest only loans they were pushing at the time are getting a shellacking with this. It's the same with any deal, stay within your income range and read the fine print, the banks weren't doing those deals because they're all a nice buncha' guys..

Looks like Ken and me know which ****** is next.

 

[sarnali2]

Hold up now, let me call the police. You know us flaming lefty liberals don't have any guns

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

Power to the people! Down with the pigs. Legalize marijuana! (Oops. How'd that get in there?)

Dammit Serz, you always leave out the good stuff:

Promote Teen Sex! Ban Christmas! Tax the Rich! Feed the Poor! Till there ain't no rich no more! Killlllllll ******!

 

[SmokeU]

I have some guns you can borrow.