Big Dog Motorcycles Incentives

“Wind Chill: 4,000 Below” is a retail incentive program, effective now, for buyers of 2007 & 2008 Big Dog motorcycles. Cash allowances are to help retail clients make Big Dog Motorcycles more accessible, but also, of course, to help dealers get rid of some of the pre-2009 models. Cash allowances are as following: • $4,000: 2008 Pitbull • $3,000: 2007 Bulldog, Chopper, Mastiff, Pitbull • $2,000: 2008 Mutt, Mastiff and Ridgeback, and 2007 K-9 • $1,500: 2007 K-9. Big Dog Motorcycles

39 Responses to “Big Dog Motorcycles Incentives”


  1. 1 Bobfather Jan 9th, 2009 at 1:58 pm

    Still too expensive for cookie cutter customs in my book.

  2. 2 Jeff Nicklus Jan 9th, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    No one understands the slump in sales in this industry more than me so when I ask this question I ask sincerely. How in the hell does a manufacturer justify producing so many bikes, in a struggling industry, for two (2) consecutive year models, that you still have “remaining” 2007 bikes on dealer floors? OK, 2008 I can understand, to some degree, but 2007 ????? Sounds like management missed the cue ball with this one. Just my opinion!

    Over & Out,

    Jeff

  3. 3 Hugh G Jan 9th, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    I hate to say it but I think we are going to see a lot of bike builders go out of business. Easy and reckless access to credit helped artificially build up the industry into what it was a few years ago, now all that is gone, so there is a ton of excess capacity. Many will go under. I even wonder if places like OCC will survive. Did you see that new World HQ they built…to me, they were thinking the party would never end. I bet if they knew this economic crisis was right around the corner, they would have never built that palace.

  4. 4 Jeff Nicklus Jan 9th, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    Hugh G,

    Dude, where have you been over the last 2-3 years? Bike manufacturers have fallen like fly’s in this industry …. there are very, very few viable manufacturers remaining today. This industry today is a mere shadow of what is was even in 2005-2006.

    Now before everyone starts giving me hell about my “viable manufacturer” comment, I am not talking about the guys with the retail shops that build 3-4 bikes a year. I am referring to the guys who are actually manufacturing motorcycles as there only business on a larger scale, I am talking about companies that are in NADA, Blue Book, that are insurable and have an actual Federal Manufacturers License and Product Liability Insurance. I am talking about companies building 50 or more bikes annually. For the most part they are going the way of the Dinosaurs!

    Over & Out,

    Jeff

  5. 5 Gunrunner Jan 9th, 2009 at 8:14 pm

    I don’t need to reverb here, but yeah retail sales have slowed down across the board.

    Consumers have a heightened sense of reality today, so they need that assurance when it comes to purchasing a motorcycle. This industry is not that big, and with a sufficient amount of research a buyer can find out what the best product will be for him or her. With the strength and the experience that Big Dog has established in this industry – it is the essential tool that helps perpetuate sales for Big Dog dealers.

    Jeff you said, “No one understands the slump in sales in this industry more than me” – with all do respect, the top Big Dog dealers have a better pulse on retail activity, and it is not that bad out there. People are still buying quality products with confidence that this manufacture with be around for years to come, and they don’t need the TV to tell them that motorcycling is still cool.

    It is great to know that Big Dog is healthy enough to support such an expensive program for there dealers.

  6. 6 Troy Jan 10th, 2009 at 10:47 am

    Manufacturers like Big Dog and Ironhorse had investors that insisted on sales growth. The projections and expectations aren’t met but you still produce the projected amount of bikes so the investors don’t get rid of you and thus have 2007 bikes for sale in 2009. This was the same path that Ironhorse followed and we all know what happened there. I met a guy the other day trying to sell a Big Dog with 8K miles for $8000.00 and had no takers. If people are still rolling into the dealers to buy them, why do they have 2007 models?

  7. 7 Jeff Nicklus Jan 10th, 2009 at 12:49 pm

    Gunrunner,

    From the flavor of your comments you are obviously a Big Dog Dealer. Wake up and smell the coffee …. it is that bad out there and then some! If it weren’t Sheldon Coleman wouldn’t be dropping employees like hot potatos, Nick Messer would still be President of Big Dog, Big Dog would not have had to lease another building to store unsold motorcycles and Big Dog Dealers would not have 2007 models on their floor.

    What is the old saying …. First you have to admit to the problem before a solution can be found.

    Over & Out,

    Jeff

  8. 8 jspfc Jan 10th, 2009 at 1:26 pm

    Jeff

    You are right on with this one. I mean how can someone possibly say things are going well and people are buying when dealers have “brand new” 2007’s sitting on the show room floor. The other thing that floors me is how are the rebates less for the ’07’s than the ’08’s? In my opinion, the ’07’s should easily be discounted $10k if they want to move them.

    And let’s not kid ourselves, even the guys who build 2 or 3 bikes a year are few and far between right now. Just wait, it is still going to get worse. Unemployment will rise above 10% and consumer spending will continue to slide. A lot of people keep spending, relatively speaking, until about 2 months after they have lost their jobs and then the real belt tightening starts. If you look at the stats, unemployment really started to increase October and November so that coupled with the people in retail who are about to get the ax should make for an even worse economy. And we won’t feel anything that Obama puts in place til at least the end of ’09.

    Just my opinion.

  9. 9 Blue Sky Rider Jan 10th, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    Scary as hell!

  10. 10 Jeff Nicklus Jan 10th, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    jspfc,

    Unfortunately I fear you are correct.

    As most of you are aware I am based in a suburb of Houston, Texas. In recessions of years past Houston, and Texas for that matter, have been for the most part insulated from the effects of the economic downturns of the rest of America primarily due to our huge petro chemical industry here. That does not seem to be the case with this recession ….. chemical / oil companies are laying off workers and filing Chapter 11 Bankruptcy at record rates, the unemployment rate, while still significantly lower than the rest of America, at 5%. I did more in gross sales my first 3 months in business, almost 14 years ago, than I did in total sales for our last fiscal year …. but Big Dog is rocking on down the road …. PLEASE!!!!!!
    This is truly interesting times we live in!
    Over & Out,

    Jeff

  11. 11 Cade Jan 10th, 2009 at 2:19 pm

    jspfc ,
    Get the vasaline ready cause Obama is going to put it in place for sure.

  12. 12 Slag Jan 10th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    It’s my understand that Bourget Bike Works is moving right along also. I hope all the American bike makers (American owned) can hang in there and pull through this mess America is into.

  13. 13 cooldaddy Jan 10th, 2009 at 6:52 pm

    Interesting reading. Being a BDM dealer since 03 I experienced fantastic growth as did BDM in those ,as I call them “ballistic ” years. Sheldon Coleman is a smart businessman he realizes now that he did not need 350 people to do a hundred million a year.He could easily do it with the 100 employees he has now. As for troy mentioning he had to satisfy his investors.Correct that with he has no investors ,is not a public company and has no intentions of doing so. Commenting on 07’s on the floor we have one the rest are 08’s . Have any of you visited a Kawasaki ,Yamaha etc dealer recently? They have 06’s on the floor and are dumping them at Auctions. What is real pain for Big Dog Dealers is the tough flooring charges on $30,000 bikes. Its a real blood letting every month!
    Big Difference from a sixthousand dollar Yamazuki. We just have to stay lean and mean in these months ahead.

    Cooldaddy

  14. 14 rodent Jan 10th, 2009 at 11:18 pm

    Once upon a time a big motorcycle company couldn’t build motorcycles fast enough to supply the demand. So some individuals said. “If I can build simalar looking bikes and get them to waiting customers of the big motorcycle company I can fill a need and my pockets.” Soon there were more forward looking individuals who said” Gee wiz, I can jump on the bandwagon and built motorcycles to fill the need also.” Pretty soon everyone who wanted a motorcycle bought one. The big motorcycle company filled the pipeline with motorcycles. And what happened to the individuals who jumped in to fill a need. They didn’tjump out when the jumping was good. Shit occurres

  15. 15 burnout Jan 11th, 2009 at 12:47 am

    Rodent has a good point, shit also won’t run uphill……………….unless a pump is used! peace

  16. 16 cooldaddy Jan 11th, 2009 at 9:06 am

    Rodent,
    The big Motorcycle company and the need filler Also known as HD and BDM are in this for the long haul. Or as long as they can afford it. HD was trying to get back to the limited availability scenario that worked for them in the past but now they have to contend with another serious player like BDM.
    Although nowhere near having the marketshare of HD, they still did steal some of HD’s limelight .This is not just a thought on my part but a fact that my customers or potential customers tell me every week. The companies that did fail due to poor management and greed ,read that as Indian Motorcycle ,Quantum, Titan,Ultra etc I say Good riddance . You came in like you were going to set the world onfire established a dealer network and then took the loot and beat feet, leaving your dealers to fend for themselves.Once this whole economy thing plays out It should be interesting what new marketing strategies the manufacturers use to reestablish a foothold.The playing field will be cleared of all the fly byes and there will be a new set of rules to establish your business model. Interesting times.

  17. 17 Hugh G Jan 11th, 2009 at 10:38 am

    I just wonder how long OCC stays in business. That company has got to be leveraged to the hilt with that huge new World HQ. And although people are probably still buying their t-shirts and hats, is anybody buying their expensive bikes? And how many companies are now going to pony up big $$$ to have a theme bike built when they can barely make payroll. All good things must come to an end unfortunately.

  18. 18 Sheridan Jan 11th, 2009 at 11:27 pm

    Hugh G, so OCC was a good thing???

  19. 19 Larry Jan 12th, 2009 at 8:19 am

    The scenario of left over bikes in inventory is one of the same reasons the “Big Three” are hurting, manufacturing continues as sales disappear. I hope BigDog makes it too; they truly tried, in my opinion, to put out a good bike. I searched for a long time and liked the back-up of the “factory”, but more importantly, really liked the bike and its design. I still have my 2004 Chopper and it looks as good as any one built today. That said, I prefer to have a fairly simple look, as I did when I had my Chopper back in the 70s!! It is the same in all industries, even all the housewives that jumped into real estate again are leaving again and some of the other “manufacturers (named above) have gone … good riddance. I say BigDog should apply for a bailout too. lol When I have the chance, I am laid back with pull backs!!

  20. 20 Buzz Kanter - American Iron Magazine Jan 12th, 2009 at 8:57 am

    OK, we are all facing serious challenges. So what’s the solution?

  21. 21 Jeff Nicklus Jan 12th, 2009 at 11:42 am

    Buzz,

    The solution is that we all keep our noses to the grindstone, keep a positive attitude, keep moving forward and get back to the days when we all worked together instead of this petty infighting that has taken over this industry in the last 8-10 years.

    When I first started out in this business, many years ago, if I needed to know anything I could pick up the phone and call six people for a trustworthy answer …… Don Baumunk ( Fat Katz ), Arlen Ness, Donnie Smith, Nick Messer (Big Dog ), Jesse James and last but not least Cyril Huze ….. never once was I ever lead astray with advice or answers received from these guys.

    With the “new breed” of builders that all stopped. The era of what I call the “If I throw enough money against the wall I can become a big time bike builder and have my own TV show” group. I believe we all know how that has worked out.

    I personally believe the pendulum has swung a full stroke and we are getting back to an industry and its members that are here for all the right reasons ….. the love of motorcycles. In my opinion this is a great thing!

    Over & Out,

    Jeff

  22. 22 just my opinion Jan 12th, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    Times are already getting better. Those that are not hanging in there should change their way of thinking and doing business. Whether it be advertise more or cutting the fat as I like to call it but there is always something that can be done to increase production and cut cost. Some of the bike shops I deal with are having there best months in the history of there shops but these are also the same people that don’t sit around and whine about how bad things are, they change as they need too so that they will not only survive but they are actually doing very well. It does not help your business or our industry when some of you keep saying that things are so bad. One reason this economy is in such bad shape is partly because of people saying how bad things are. When people hear things are tough they tighten up and don’t spend money. Not spending money hurts the economy. If you tell Joe Blow the economy sucks and he stops buying coffee because of your comment then the guy at the coffee shop hears things are tough from someone else and he realizes Joe Blow stopped buying coffee then the coffee shop emplyee stops spending and on and on the cycle goes before long we are all being tight with our money and then soon the housing market hits all time lows and guess what its TIME TO MAKE TONS OF MONEY because all those houses are now on sale you can buy homes now for 40% less than you could a year or two ago. The SMART ONES see this happening and they are already starting to buy up these deals. If you all were smart you would be doing the same and go out and buy up these deals. Oportunity is knocking the only question is will you answer the door or will it be someone else that gets the deals? Life goes in cycles and we are on the way back up, now is the time to increase your wealth. Only one thing is stopping you and that is your own negative thinking. Be positive and go make some money.

  23. 23 HOTROD Jan 12th, 2009 at 2:53 pm

    Just my opinion; You are right there is some great deals not only on homes but stocks as well. before the bail out car manufacture stocks was selling at a fifty year low, They may not go back as high as they were at the peak but if you are buying at 5-8 dollars a share and they go back to thirty or fourty dollars a share you still have cut a fat hog. Some of those stocks were over 100 dollars per share at there best. Looks like opportunity knocking for sure but only for those with cash and or credit. As for our industry if we work hard and smart things will go up from here.

  24. 24 jspfc Jan 12th, 2009 at 8:50 pm

    Buzz

    The solution is different for everyone and for Just My Opinion to say that things are bad because people are talking about how bad they are is just ignorant.

    There are facts out there that you could choose to ignore by not talking about it, for instance unemployment is now at 7.2%(and many say is going to go above 10%), housing prices are down 25.5% compared to November 2007, and the stock market was down 32.8% in 2008. Ignoring those facts and not saying anything about it is not going to make our economy better or convince people to spend money. You have people who were making $100,000.00/year who are now settling or rather having to take jobs that pay $60,000.00/year. If they are taking those jobs even though they are more qualified to be in a higher level position, what are the people who were filling the $60,000.00/year jobs going to do?? Well, they are either going to take a job that pays $30,000/year or go on unemployment.

    With all that being said, who can afford to buy the toys right now if your house is now worth 25 -30% less than what it was, you lost another 30% of your net worth in the stock market and there is a good chance you won’t have a job tomorrow??????

    Many people bought the big house, bought the new car, bought the boat, bought the motorcycle, and did this when they couldn’t afford it but leveraged themselves to the point that if anything happened, such as a housing meltdown or job layoff came along, they would go bankrupt. And that is what is happening all across America now.

    In my opinion, companies, not just motorcycle builders, have to become more competitive and scale back in this market. That means sacrifices from everyone from the workers to the owners. The owners/share holders/investors make less, the employees get less hours, the employees take a pay cut for now, businesses cut production(supply and demand), and businesses renegotiate loans and/or leases(cause something is better than nothing) just to name a few things. In my opinion the companies who will survive are the ones who planned ahead and saved some of the money they made in the boom, are the most creative in cutting overhead, have the best products, have the best prices, and have the best customer service. And yes there are a lot of deals out there, but if anyone thinks we were not living in an overpriced world before and that prices for houses and stocks will shoot right back up, keep dreaming cause trying to make a quick buck is why we are where we are.

  25. 25 hounddogjake Jan 12th, 2009 at 9:12 pm

    I’ll be the third person(dealer) to stand up and say” things just are not that bad in the Big Dog World”. Yes sales are down from 2 years ago but Big Dog has managed their inventory and that of their dealers to let us get rid of excess product so we can compete in todays market. I have been in business for over 30 years and if you have 2 year old product in stock it is your fault not the economy or the manufacturer, get off your ass and sell it ,at any cost and move on, times change !

    With the new product Big Dog has announce for the comming year I am very thankful for being affiliated with Sheldon and the rest of the Big Dog crew.

    Black Dog Mike

  26. 26 A$$HOLE Jan 13th, 2009 at 12:44 am

    You can bash BDM all you like, but when I drove by tonight, after reposessing a doctor’s $60k SUV, there were 3 semis backed up to the Dog House loading up bikes at 10:30PM tonight. Must be working OK for them. Who else had 3 semis of bikes picked up today?

  27. 27 jspfc Jan 13th, 2009 at 9:37 am

    A$$HOLE I dont think anyone is bashing Big Dog. But just because they are loading (3) semi’s doesn’t mean they already have buyers. They may just be going to some showroom to collect dust.

  28. 28 just my opinion Jan 13th, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    jspfc

    You come on here and call me ignorant but then go on to say basically what I said; save during good times, cut the fat during bad times and work harder. The only differance was I said and will repeat it does nobody any good to go around whining about how bad times are. And I am sorry if you can’t see that house’s costing 30-40 % less now is not a great opportunity. If history has taught us anything it is that housing is one of the best investments you can make long term. Nobody could believe 50 years ago that a house they bought for 5000 would now sell for 300,000 if you can’t see that then who is the idiot. And as I said above the stocks may never go back as high as they once were but if they go back to half that you can make some serious cash but don’t take my word for it after all I am just IGNORANT

  29. 29 A$$HOLE Jan 13th, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    JSPFC…You might need to go back and read the string of posts again. You cannot deny there is a bit of baggin on BDM for having excess inventory and such. No biggie, I was just making a statement. As for the 3 semis loading bikes, rest assured that these were not the only 3 semis to pick up bikes that day. It says quite a bit about the number of bikes being picked up, with the fact that there were employees there at 10:30PM loading semis, since the barn closes at 3:45- 4PM. They would not be there for just a bike or two. Dealers would not be ordering dozens of more bikes if hey had not been selling any. It wes a simple statement referring to the fact that these incentives must be working to help get rid of some old inventory. You do not just send millions of dollars of inventory out to dealers that already have excess inventory in hopes they sell. You send ealers replenishment stock to replace the bikes they have sold, and based on the dealers requirements to keep selling. I read this blog because it is informative, and I like reading about new products. Apparently some people like to read it to just pick an argument with strangers, and measure dicks with them. Cut back on the caffiene man!

  30. 30 just my opinion Jan 13th, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    jspfc
    Jan 12th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
    Buzz

    The solution is different for everyone and for Just My Opinion to say that things are bad because people are talking about how bad they are is just ignorant.

    If you had bothered to read and understand my comment ,than you would have noticed I said ONE reason not the only reason for this economy. And that reason may be a very small part but it is one part of the problem. So before you go and flop those jaws of yours you should know what you are saying. If you don’t agree with what I say fine but that does not make me ignorant but calling someone ignorant when you don’t even know what your speaking about is questionable at best. Im gonna believe you just had a bad day and leave it at that but in the future think before speaking in other words USE YOUR HEAD FOR MORE THAN A HAT RACK

  31. 31 Hugh G Jan 13th, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    I think OCC bikes will still sell because they are some of the nicest on the market. And you can get shirts, hats, jackets, and other stuff with the cool OCC logo that will match your bike. I even saw the shirts at JCPenneys on clearance for $10 and bought 5 of them.

  32. 32 Jeff Nicklus Jan 13th, 2009 at 5:43 pm

    Hugh G,

    I am speechless!

    Nicker …. A little help here before I go crazy!

    I need to go find my Thorazine!

    Over & Out,

    Jeff

  33. 33 jspfc Jan 13th, 2009 at 7:35 pm

    Just my opinion

    I guess you should learn to read because I didn’t call you ignorant. Just your statement.

  34. 34 just my opinion Jan 13th, 2009 at 8:00 pm

    even the statment was not ignorant. You may not agree with the statement but that alone does not make it ignorant. Whining about times being bad does not help any one or the economy. But the other side of that coin is it can cause some to not spend. FACTS are not ignorant

  35. 35 jspfc Jan 13th, 2009 at 8:29 pm

    Just My Opinion

    Please show me any fact or statistic that shows someone did not spend money because they heard someone “whining” about the economy. They may have heard all the stats I previously stated but that is not “whining” that is reporting facts. Now someone may have said well since I lost my house to foreclosure, lost 30% of my retirement in the stock market and have a good chance of losing my job, then I will make an educated decision not to spend money right now.(But then again in the world today, there are a lot of cattle out there.)

    Also, for you to say that people should buy houses(meaning multiple ones) is a big reason why we are where we are today. I know many people who bought houses to flip or owned multiple houses and couldn’t sell them, now look where they are, they are bankrupt. If you have the money to buy 2 or 3 houses as a really long term investment, such as 20 to 30 years then yeah there are definitely some deals out there. But if you think you will buy a couple houses hold onto them for 2 or 3 years and make a killing, think again. A persons house should be bought first and foremost as a place to live. If you make money off of it then great. But nothing is guaranteed, ask everyone who is “upside down” on their house and letting it get foreclosed on.

    In terms of stocks, well i guess people on here say that just because you watched OCC doesn’t mean you can build a motorcycle. I am sure people on Wall Street would say just because you watch MSNBC all day doesn’t mean you are stock analyst either.

  36. 36 jspfc Jan 13th, 2009 at 8:33 pm

    A$$HOLE

    Re:

    “You do not just send millions of dollars of inventory out to dealers that already have excess inventory in hopes they sell. ”

    Isn’t this what the big three and Harley have been doing??????

    I am not trying to pick an argument

    Just Sayin

  37. 37 just my opinion Jan 14th, 2009 at 2:00 pm

    .(But then again in the world today, there are a lot of cattle out there.)

    jspfc
    these are exactly the kind of people I was speaking of that will be influanced by you or others continually talking bad of the economy. And it does have an impact whether you see it or not. But just for the sake of arguement we will say you know everything and the rest of us that are making money in these tough times are the idiots. Just so you understand though I never said you should buy a home at the peak of pricing two years ago I said there are great deals NOW at the low side of pricing. BIG DIFFERANCE one will make you lots of money the other won’t but don’t take my word for. Now I will ad that those that did not bother to save any money in the good times will not be able to take advantage of these deals ,but for those that did think about there futures, great time too make money.But again lets just say for the sake of argueing that you are the genious. I will be looking for your advice on MSNBC or CNN

  38. 38 Biker Bob Jan 17th, 2009 at 10:55 pm

    Amazing, just amazing.

  39. 39 CYCLE CITY DUANE Jul 16th, 2009 at 8:56 am

    Sounds like a bunch of cry babies to me, I think Black Dog Mike said it best… Get off your ass and sell it !!! With All the time you spent here complaining about how bad things are you could have been doing something productive. The whole world may take a crap tomorrow… Obama seems to be loading the gun right now, but as for us we are very busy right now, still selling and servicing. Ten of those bikes being loaded in trucks at BIG DOG were mine and half of those were pre-sold. If you work hard and treat people right the business will come. and by the way Sheldon Coleman knows how to run a comapany. BIG DOG MOTORCYCLES IS HERE TO STAY. “sell on seller”

Comments are currently closed.
Cyril Huze