05-08-2013, 08:25 AM
(04-14-2013, 05:03 AM)Guth_imp Wrote: My dealer here in the Portland, OR area sold both of the bikes that they were allocated in the first week. One with a deposit (mine) and the other sold off of the floor. I know that at least as of Friday, there are others available in the area that are not yet spoken for, both non-ABS and ABS models alike.
I would be curious to know how the bike is selling where you live? Hoping this model does well, both for Honda and for the sake of seeing more standard models showing up from other manufacturers in the future.
I stopped by the large Honda Dealer (former southeast & middle third of U.S. - distributor) "G N GONZALES" here in Baton Rouge this morning. They still have two non-abs bikes (#681 and #940) on the showroom floor. They told me they had a lot of lookers, even passing through from out of town, but no takers. They're holding tight on MSRP price even after a month....
I'll be getting mine later this year after my retirement. I feel confident I'll still find one, maybe even get a DEAL! I studied the bikes and sat on one with the centerstand to get a true feel for size.
Off topic> Here's 2 interesting videos on the late Mr. George Gonzales "worlds' largest seller". As a distributor, he had eighteen wheelers loading up from as far as Wisconsin getting bikes, up until the mid '90s.
G N GONZALES HONDAs' 2 super warehouses take up an area nearly equivalent to 4 city blocks. Mr. Georges' large house was designed in the construction, in the back of the showroom warehouse complete with a large swimming pool which can be seen from the air. He lived on the premises. That made it easier for him to be at work each day. I was given a tour by one of my mechanic friends a couple of years ago. I remember seeing over a thousand crated bikes. Many were left over from previous years - unsold.
A coworker of mine and his friend bought 4 NOS 1974 Elsinore-125s (crated) about 10 years ago @ $850 each. Three years ago, Mr.George sold me a crated CT110 engine for $125. I still need to finish that project.
My mechanic friend told me a Honda Dealer from Texas bought out all the new non-current bike inventory, including NOS parts, a year ago. This also included several hundred used bikes taken in on trade over the last 30 to 40 years, and didn't even try to resell. I saw those used bikes many times over the past few years. And Mr. George had a personal collection of NOS bikes. Many could be seen in his personal South showroom - marked not for sale. Almost one of each model he ever sold. Unbelievable!
Interesting video links on Mr. George here....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB2BWP-UhyI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghH8Awxz_ow
Eric