It would be a grand understatement to say we live in interesting times. With gas prices retreating, but still high, the economy mostly in the toilet, and people looking for ways to save money, the motorcycle industry is having an interesting time of its own. On one hand, a motorcycle is an inherently efficient vehicle, and more and more people are lining up to buy one even during the winter, especially in the Sun Belt. On the other hand, motorcycles have been (successfully) marketed as a fun, escapist luxury item during the good times, and that's the impression that lingers in many potential riders' minds.
So the shakeout of all this is that cruiser sales are on fire...but only on models under 1200cc, and selling for less than five figures. If you think the housing market is upside down, welcome to the motorcycle industry. We've heard stories of dealer markups and waiting lists on 250cc bikes. The big boys have been left out in the cold, with '08s still nailed to the pine while the '09s roll in the doors. The bad news for the recently booming large cruiser segment is good news for the large cruiser aficionado. If you've got the means, the time to replace your old bike is now. The selection and variety of big cruisers today is staggering. With several of the jumbo cruisers getting dropped from OEM lineups (and thus from our buyers guide), this may not be readily apparent, but rest assured you can sill get '08s in most locales. The caveat to all this is that credit can be hard to come by right now. But since the big boys (in some cases) are going for what the midsize bikes used to go for, that might be less of a problem than you might think.
We wanted to know which specific models were the biggest losers in terms of sales, so we did some research. We made calls to the four corners of the USA, searching out dealers large and small for their insight into what, specifically, was selling and what wasn't. Results varied by area and even by dealer in a given area. For instance, Sales Manager Clay Wallace of Honda of Jacksonville, says "we've got nothing" and that sales are strong on all models including the VTX1800 (more on this later). While other dealers in the Jacksonville area reported just the opposite. The general theme is that little bikes are tearing ass out of town, while the big ones sit, but some dealers are down overall while others are feasting. Some of the dealers helping us out with our story wanted to remain anonymous, while others were glad for the exposure. For your convenience their names are listed at the end of the article.
We also talked to the big fellas themselves, the OEMs, but they were mostly pretty resistant to talk about their sales (or lack thereof), with a couple notable exceptions. Kawasaki and Victory both offered insight into the market and what they saw as the hidden gems in their lineups.
We'd like to point out that all of these bikes are favorites of ours, solid performers that have merely fallen on hard times. If they weren't good bikes, we wouldn't recommend them.
So in alphabetical order, the biggest deal from each of the majors, along with some honorable mentions:
Save Big! Harley-Davidson...
Save Big!
Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary Edition Dyna Wide Glide
Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary Edition Dyna Wide Glide
This bike was a bit of a perfect storm for Harley. It was a strong seller back in the 90's when it was introduced, but really hadn't changed that much (styling-wise) in the intervening years. Known as a rider's bike, it was the foil to H-D's chopperesque Softail with exposed shocks apeing a 1970's custom Harley. However, that style has been in the dumper recently. When you can have a real hand-built chopper for somewhere around 20 g's, a dated-looking wussified version with a skinny rear tire just isn't going to cut it. Add to that what one Harley-Davidson dealer referred to as "the Coppertop" paintjob and you've got a formula for distress. One dealer was offering discounts in the neighborhood of $1500. Somehow, Star got away with delivering the similarly styled (skinny front tire) Raider into this market and it's a big seller.
All that said, the Wide Glide is a solid machine if you're into the skinny front tire look. Despite the lack of much styling change, the 'Glide sports H-D's current Twin Cam 96 motor and six-speed transmission. With a reasonable 34-degree rake, a 160 rear tire, and a relatively low 678 pound wet weight it's pretty nimble as well. Although with it's long reach to the forward controls, it's not recommended for riders under 5'9" or so.
Honorable mentions from The Motor Company include most of the rest of the Dyna and Softail lines. Harley's popular baggers and large touring machines buck recent trends towards smaller bikes with continued strong sales, but the other big bikes are fair game for good deals, and most dealers overbought them in '08. Also, as mentioned before the 105th Anniversary paint scheme doesn't seem to be a big hit, though it was the one thing that our source at H-D would comment on, claiming (wrongly) that we'd "have a hard time finding one now."
Honda VTX1800
Of particular note is Honda's VTX1800 former flagship cruiser. While most of the other makes have some regional flavor to what is and is not selling, the VTX is a pretty universal non-commodity. Sometime this year we're planning a $9000 cruiser shootout and believe it or not this bike would qualify based on discounts in many places, while average price seems to be around $10k. Honda didn't officially cooperate in our investigation, but the message from corporate was clear enough that the 1800 is in stock around the country when it was dropped from Honda's '09 lineup, yet remains on the website as an '08 carryover model.
The magic bullet here seems to be somewhat the same as the Wide Glide, dated styling meets uncomfortable price point, with the added bonus (in the case of the VTX) that it doesn't get particularly good fuel economy. Honda had made periodic changes to the front and rear fenders and offered them up as new versions, but the bike between the wheels was pretty much the same. Performance-wise, the bike is strong, but unremarkable, and outclassed in recent years by the flagship offerings from Star and Kawasaki. While the industry has been trending towards belts of late, the VTX still wears a shaft and has all the handling issues associated with one.
That said, seeing as it's now discounted to the tune of over $5000, it's the big winner in most head-to-head matchups. Of the five different trim styles it comes in, we're not sure which one is the least popular (and most available), but if you're unfinicky about your fenders (the main difference between the VTXs) you should be able to get onto a VTX for a steal.
Best Buy! Kawasaki Vulcan...
Best Buy!
Kawasaki Vulcan 2000
Kawasaki Vulcan 2000
A few years ago, hailed as avant-garde and possessing what was then the largest motor ever in a motorcycle (apologies to Boss Hoss), the V2k was the all-conquering hero. But when its more sedate and conventional looking sibling the Classic arrived shortly thereafter, it was relegated to odd-duck status and was quickly outsold by its little brother. Many point to the four-headlight cluster as being too out-threre, while others point to the fact that its blacked out and outshined by the chrome of the Classic. For some reason it's actually $800 more expensive than the Classic, while other makers' blacked-out bikes go for less than the chromed version. From what we've seen, discounts should be at least in the $2000 range for an '08.
It would be redundant to state that the Vulcan 2000 is a big bike, as all of the bikes here are big, but the Vulcan is big for a big bike. Ergonomically, it's not too stretched-out, but the sheer dimensions of the thing, along with the weight, make for a very, very "big bike" experience. What you do get for that price is an extremely torquey machine that somehow is also very manageable. Needless to say, this bike is all about the motor, effortlessly and soulfully thrumming away from a stop when the wick is turned on it. Ironically fuel mileage (one of the big factors in people rushing to little bikes these days) is actually pretty solid on the 2k, getting close to 40 mpg from its pushrod-equipped, water-cooled mill.
However, also of note from Kawasaki is the Vulcan 2000 Classic, as it's been outselling the V2k and so might have more inventory in some locations. The now-discontinued Vulcan 1600 models and Vulcan 1500 are also worth considering, as the dealers who are still sitting on them would like to see them depart soon.