Preston Harley (Bowker) down

[Nice 'n' Fat]

I see on e-bay that they have the same incorrect model year listings for their Street Glides too. Registering a 2019my bike in 2020 does not make it a 2020my bike

The subtle differences between model years on Harleys is there for all to see. All except Harley salesmen it would seem

 

[Gyp]

I see on e-bay that they have the same incorrect model year listings for their Street Glides too. Registering a 2019my bike in 2020 does not make it a 2020my bike

The subtle differences between model years on Harleys is there for all to see. All except Harley salesmen it would seem

It's not just them. I was looking (remotely) at a beautiful orange and black 2019 RKS being sold by a Supercar dealership in Manchester. Their write up was going on about how wonderful it was as you would expect of a 2020 model.

I messaged them to let them know it was a 2019 and that there were quite significant differences between the two. I was polite and made it clear that I had no axe to grind, but was trying to help. They replied with the one word answer "noted", and left the advert as it was for the remaining few months that it ran

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

I can forgive a car dealer for not knowing the differences but not a Harley dealer !

 

[Gyp]

True, but I'd expect them to revise the advert when informed.

There's a bit of a difference between accidentally misrepresenting a vehicle and knowingly misrepresenting a vehicle.

 

[Mezza]

My salesman was good enough to point out that you could tell them apart by the wheels.

"and the 2020 having RDRS" I added...

When I bought mine I was surprised to find the number of salesmen/dealerships who had no idea what the RDRS system was or which bikes/years had it fitted. I even had to point out the button on the switchgear to one....not that he seemed the slightest bit interested. I bought elsewhere in the end

 

[Flipfly]

When I bought mine I was surprised to find the number of salesmen/dealerships who had no idea what the RDRS system was or which bikes/years had it fitted. I even had to point out the button on the switchgear to one....not that he seemed the slightest bit interested. I bought elsewhere in the end

A very common problem with many vehicle salesmen (and all salesmen really), is that their product knowledge isn’t very good and they rely on a spiel. Once you take them off track they often flounder on the most basic of questions.

Best vehicle salesman I ever met was actually the kid cleaning the cars at the dealer, he knew everything there was to know about the car, it’s history, it’s spec and performance. The sales guy was pissed when I told his boss to move the cleaner in to the sales position and send the sales guy to clean the cars. I bought the car and made it very clear who I thought deserved the commission.

 

[Shurv]

Car sales in 2020 were lowest for many decades

Something like 50-60% down

If bike sales were the same, then there will be a few bike dealers ceasing too

With the staff levels they carry, they cannot carry on even with furlough

The premises alone cost £2-3m to build and funding the loans on that with reduced t/o cannot go on for very long

Fixed costs will finish then off, despite HMG funding short term staff costs

Consumer indecision caused by lack of clarity in their jobs only makes it worse

It’s shit on a stick

The car market for 2020 was 30% down,some brands worse than others,Toyota was 15% down and you wouldn't want to be a Vauxhall dealer as an example.

 

[Gyp]

The car market for 2020 was 30% down,some brands worse than others,Toyota was 15% down and you wouldn't want to be a Vauxhall dealer as an example.

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/motorbike-sales-figures/

Sales of bikes was down by 2.6% in 2020. I don't expect 2021 to be so good, but we'll see.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

The car market for 2020 was 30% down,some brands worse than others,Toyota was 15% down and you wouldn't want to be a Vauxhall dealer as an example.

Exactly and not getting better soon

Who needs a car, confined to barracks?

 

[Gyp]

Exactly and not getting better soon

Who needs a car, confined to barracks?

Life's too short to worry too much, but I do wonder if the bikes bought in 2020 will be a bit like the puppies bought at the same time. Seemed like a good idea at the time but no longer have time for them.

 

[Rugged Path]

And they still want £93 for road tax .

Sent from my MI 9 using Tapatalk

 

[tripleblack]

bmw bowker motorrad the same attitude is starting to show there no call backs ect maybe they ill be going soon

 

[Big Si]

bmw bowker motorrad the same attitude is starting to show there no call backs ect maybe they ill be going soon

With lockdown and furlough, there's probably no one there to do a call back. I know the only person at my local HD dealer is the branch manager and the service dept., everyone else is sat at home.

Blade, who own Cheltenham HD, have appointed a overall company service director, Chris Trotman who comes from Cheltenham Triumph. I met him a couple of times when I had my Rocket 3 and he's switched on and actually does what he says he's going to do.

 

[Gyp]

With lockdown and furlough, there's probably no one there to do a call back. I know the only person at my local HD dealer is the branch manager and the service dept., everyone else is sat at home.

Blade, who own Cheltenham HD, have appointed a overall company service director, Chris Trotman who comes from Cheltenham Triumph. I met him a couple of times when I had my Rocket 3 and he's switched on and actually does what he says he's going to do.

Ah, ok. Chris was in Chelt HD workshop when I popped in there a couple of months ago to look at the RKS they have in.

I know him fairly well from popping in to Triumph and pointing at bits of my Triumph. I've dropped him an email to see if he can shed some light, but just got back what seems to be an "I'm on furlough" out of office response.

Despite the branding, it's all Heritage now.

 

[Big Si]

Ah, ok. Chris was in Chelt HD workshop when I popped in there a couple of months ago to look at the RKS they have in.

I know him fairly well from popping in to Triumph and pointing at bits of my Triumph. I've dropped him an email to see if he can shed some light, but just got back what seems to be an "I'm on furlough" out of office response.

Despite the branding, it's all Heritage now.

Was that the deep blue 114 RKS?

 

[Gyp]

Was that the deep blue 114 RKS?

Yes. It's a stock 2019 bike in blue.

It had a somewhat daft £19,500 price tag for a while. When it was "corrected" to £17,500 I thought that was a better starting point for negotiation and Chelt HD thought that it was a good end point for negotiation. As I think we've covered before, it's frustrating when 2019 bikes get put up as 2020 bikes too

 

[Big Si]

Yes. It's a stock 2019 bike in blue.

It had a somewhat daft £19,500 price tag for a while. When it was "corrected" to £17,500 I thought that was a better starting point for negotiation and Chelt HD thought that it was a good end point for negotiation. As I think we've covered before, it's frustrating when 2019 bikes get put up as 2020 bikes too

I see it's up for £17250 now on bike trader, you obviously got the ball rolling!

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Despite the branding, it's all Heritage now.

Yet if you look at the bottom of their adverts on e-bay is clearly states:

Business seller information

Blade Group Ltd
Chris Waldron
Elgin Drive
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN2 8DP
United Kingdom

Chris Waldron hasn't worked for them for around 18 months. In fact. Chris Waldron runs his own bike business with a chap called Darren (who used to be the Blade Group Head of Business for the Swindon site) from a unit not 1 mile away from the Blade/Heritage site in Swindon

 

[Gyp]

I see it's up for £17250 now on bike trader, you obviously got the ball rolling!

Quite possibly, and now they've got the same price on their website as on autotrader which is a step in the right direction!