Why Buy A Harley

Rite-on.

The plate SECVO = Screaming Eagle Custom Vehicle Operations...probably shouldnt openly admit this on here but it gets too expensive plating that many bikes so, aside from the Kaw, I plate one and move the plate around as I need to. The Kaw never sees the street anymore. Really, I should be selling that, as my eldest son is the only one who ever does anything with it these days, and I make him trailer it.

Yikes! Yeah, here in Indy they just write an improper registration ticket, which you can beat if you show-up for court at the clerks office with the proper and current registration for the scoot...the ticket still ends-up being less than the 7 and 800 dollars per bike for plates. They DO run the VIN of course, which whatever with that...I usually carry the title and a Glock with me. Going out of town I always just put the plate back on the Softail, which is where it belongs...that's my, "Out Of Town" bike. Still flawless and looks brand-new, but it sure does have 22,000 miles on it already. The RK has a whopping 1,800 on it. The Heritage has just over 10,000. Any Sturgis or Deals Gap photos I post will always be on that Softail, for that very reason. When I come to Daytona, it will be with or on that Softail, to be sure of it. Rite-on with the heads-up tho, for sure. They have those same type patrols at Sturgis...walking around randomly writing down vins and keying them in on a hand-held. I caught em' outside Full Throttle Saloon keying mine in...plain-clothes fella looked like he might BE the bike-thief! Asked him he wanted to take it for a ride. Couldn't help but notice that Glock 27 print in his jeans pocket...he tripped when I guessed his sidearm by it's shape and size! I could even make-out the grip extender.

Good idea to always carry the correct registration and insurance around here. That's what they check most often. I've never lived in a place where they set up so many roadblocks trying to catch drunks. You ever pass through N.C., ride sober and have all your ducks in a row.
The cops have stopped me so often that sometimes they'll just wave me through. They like my bike .

Yep, the RK and Softail are essentially the same color...crimson sunglow, so unless the cop happens to know bikes, that usually suffices on a pull-over. Truth is, I NEVER get pulled over these days, and I never drink...watched too many of my family members die from it. We're pure-bred Germans...probably only Russians have alcoholism more encoded in their genes. Obviously the sensible thing to do is just keep the bikes plated, but believe me when I tell you, I'm working on a tight budget over here! Some folks look in my garage and assume I have money, but what I really have is bad expensive habits and irresponsibilty like a 12 year old kid...my most impressive piece is my wife, and not just because she's hot, but because she's been able to endure my ass for 30 years now! I have a 20 year old smoking Craftsman lawn tractor that breaks-down every other cut, mid way of yard, but by-God, that Heritage needs a set of Edge-Cut mirrors...guy gotta do what a guy gotta do!

and by-the-way, I LIKE YOUR BIKE, Josh, and if the police do too, well that just tells ya something. I want to eventually do me an cool old-school bobber one day; I miss the days of the carbureted kickers half out of tune with no compression releases on a big-bore that nearly broke my legs (yes, legs, cause after I wore one leg out trying to start it, I'd walk around and beat the life out of the other leg too!) or launched me to the moon! Guy came in on the circle last-night here in Indy on one that was cool as hell - loping and front-end bouncing like a beech-ball, and not two parts on his bike matched, but somehow was a fine-tuned work of art. He had knurled half-inch drive ratchet handles for foot-pegs, and a pair of vicegrips holding a bolt for a shifter, and I wanted his bike real bad!

I just paid $95 for my 98 RK for this years CA registration.

...per bike, for the CVOs, and I think like 400.00 or a little over for the Heritage.

ok, the wife just chuckled at me and said maybe I should consider the fact there were going to be penalties for not properly submitting the titles to the state of Indiana in a timely manner, and some other factors that were above and beyond simply plating the bikes, and I was way off on the Heritage...it was considerably more, but that and the Road King were new purchases where some tax hadn't been collected yet by a dealer because of the way I bought them from the owner of the dealership and not the dealership...he was still holding the MSOs on those bikes, which is what I have for titles until I go to the BMV and plate them, which isn't likely to happen. The Softail plate which is the only-one actually on board where it's supposed to be just cost to 600.00 to renew, but the tag had lapsed because I had a double discsectomy and couldn't ride last season, so there was a penalty on that one too...way too confusing for me...thats what I have her for! So I guess when/if I ever go to plate the RK, I get to pay some ugly sales tax on that sucker, so the first registration will likely be WAY more than what I was guessing would be 800.00. More than I want to pay for something I bought mostly just as a collector piece, for sure.

Yearly registration here is $28. But I paid $265 for the plate & title transfer, which I used to think was outrageous until I saw what you paid.

Yep, that title transfer is part of that crap too, so not sure exactly what the recurring/renewal actually is but I'm sure next year when it's time the wife will remind me by way of complaint, plus there's an amount difference if you just want to finish a particular year's tag, or add the next year too, which is what we just did on the softail due to the lapsed registration, so I guess that kinda jacks it up too. Whatever the case may be, folks in indiana often plate their vehicles to an out-of-state address just for that reason...heard of people plating TO Illinois, if that tells ya anything. We DO have pretty forgiving property tax in comparison though, so I guess that kinda offsets the ransom for vehicle registration.

Agree Josh, to each his own..

Glad I could put a smile on your face, Mr Ramstein. As a Harley owner (with much shallower pockets than your listed garage), I do not mean to bash the product I have worked hard to pay for, I merely was pointing out what the competition was throwing out on the marketplace. I ride my Sporty. I like my Sporty. Does it have some flaws? Yes. Does the Bolt address all these? No.
Anyway, glad your readin, glad your ridin, welcome to this forum. Make sure to send up some photos to the Showcase section with listed mods. Looks like you have some very nice bikes to add!

Man, those costs are high. NC started adding property tax to registration, my last regular reg for 01 softail was $18...

Josh, that is weird, must be by county here, just pulled my reg out again to look at it, says total fee $18.

Everything in Halifax County is high except the wages. My truck registration is $28, bike is $25.