They have never been as valuable as they are today

The motorcycles with the lowest depreciation come from Harley-Davidson

• Schwacke analysis confirms
Harley models have the highest resale value • Fat Bob and Forty-Eight are the bestsellers with the most stable value in Germany

The 10 best Kama Sutra positions, the 20 biggest errors about Hitler, the 30 most popular dams in Germany - our media is overflowing with (rarely) more and (usually) less clever ratings and rankings, which are also all too happy to be manipulated by their authors.

The information service provider Schwacke, on the other hand, recently published an extremely useful and guaranteed not falsified ranking list. The Hessian fact-checkers are very familiar with vehicles: for almost sixty years, they have been regularly collecting market data and creating analyzes as well as the “bible” of used vehicles , the famous Schwacke list.

Now Schwacke has once again found that the motorcycles with the lowest loss of value have the Harley-Davidson logo on the tank.

The basis of the study was the evaluation of the used prices of the 25 most popular machines in Germany from 2012 - among them: two Harleys. Such three-year-olds now have an average of 25,000 kilometers on the clock and are still worth around 62 percent of their new price. The two outliers come from the USA: The residual value king among Germany's most registered motorcycles is the Dyna Fat Bob. After three years it still has a residual value of an impressive 75.2 percent. The Forty-Eight holds its own in second place in the ranking with a residual value of 74.6 percent. The next-placed competitors from Italy, Germany, Austria and Great Britain achieved values ​​between 64.0 and 66.8 percent.

“Quality, reliability and a stable new pricing policy also pay off when it comes to used prices,” says Frank Klumpp, Marketing Director, Harley-Davidson Germany GmbH, happily, “good for everyone who wants to replace their Harley with a new bike at some point!” In most cases the new one comes from Milwaukee , USA, because once you have decided on a Harley, you usually stay loyal to the brand.

Of course, the customer can always rely on tested and guaranteed quality if they are interested in a used machine. For this purpose, the company has developed the “Harley-Davidson Originals” used vehicle seal. Motorcycles with this seal were put through their paces by the authorized dealer using a 99-point check. If all tests are passed, the dealer also issues a one-year used vehicle guarantee.

All you have to do is select the motorcycle - and ideally create a very personal ranking of the possible desired bikes from the Harley portfolio. On the website www.Harley-Davidson.de you will find decision-making aids for new machines and at www.HD-Originals.de there are lots of first-class used ones with the “Harley-Davidson Originals” seal from the authorized dealer.

Text & image credit: Copyrigjt Harley-Davidson Germany GmbH