The American Repossessor

Run off the road in a bad economy, scores of Harley-Davidson motorcycles are being sold through auctions and occasional tent sales.

Many of the bikes are from Harley-Davidson Financial Services, the motorcycle company’s consumer lending arm. It uses multiple auction services to resell motorcycles after the owners fall behind on payments and are forced to turn over the keys.

Several million dollars worth of repossessed Harleys are coming from Navigator Remarketing Group. It’s having a tent sale Thursday in Indianapolis to sell about 120 motorcycles at near-wholesale prices.

Only a few years ago, someone selling a late-model Road King, Fat Boy or Softail could get nearly the same price they paid for it.

Some people traded bikes every year, knowing they wouldn’t lose money on the deal.

Tent sales and auctions weren’t on these sellers’ radar screen.

“The biggest thing driving the premium prices for used bikes was the waiting period for new ones. In was up to about 14 months,” said Jeff Haig, an Electra Glide rider and member of the Kettle Moraine Harley Owners Group chapter.

Now, Navigator has a $130 million motorcycle loan portfolio, mostly for Harleys, from a Colorado lender that fell on hard times.