update
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for the imformation. I have learned that motorcyles that are driven on public roads are considered "49 state" bikes because California has special emmision requirements. This means that the manufacturers have to add special emmisions equipment to the motorcycles to make them comply with california law. Only California dealers can get california approved bikes from the manufacturers. Therefore it allows CA dealers to sell the bikes at what ever price they choose to with no competition with neighboring states, which explains the high mark-up. The loophole here would be to register the bike in a neighboring state and be able to "ride" it in CA. However, I am not sure if insurance companies would still offer insurance coverage in this case.
For the past few weeks I have been talking to dealers in the area. The absolute lowest price I was able to get was MSRP OTD. I got this offer from Kolbe cycles in Woodland Hills, CA. They are honest guys that stick to their word. I continued to look for a better OTD price. Every other dealer I talked to said that they could not meet nor beat the deal I already had. Most even thought I was lying just to get them to go lower. A few days ago I talked to Cal Coast Cycles in Ventura, CA. The sales guy told me that they would match the deal and possibly beat it by a little. However, when I got to Cal Coast they gave me the old sleazy sales tacktics. After about 30 minutes of talking to the sales guy, the manager came over and told me that they would be loosing money if the gave me the bike for that price. He then asked me "what is the bike worth to you." When I heard that, I just got up and left. They just completely wasted my perfectly good saturday. To think that I drove over an hour to go talk to them. I was pretty heated, but I just walked it off. Anyway, to make a long story short, yesturday I got a blue 2004 Mean Streak from Kolbe cycles for 10,000 plus tax ($825) and title ($175). CA tax is 8.25% where I live. I also got the four year extended warranty for $385 with the awsome help and advise from bikeaholic! Thanks man! Compared to other CA riders, I think I got a pretty good deal. I know I could of waited 5-6 months to try to get a better deal, but even then, most dealers here in CA are selling 03' mean streaks for $9499 plus tax, fees, and dealer prep. Overall I am very happy. I took the bike out last night for my first ride and I can't seem to wipe the big grin off my face. I am a very happy camper now! Thank you Altapowerdaze and bikeaholic for your help and advise.
Tony
