Would shipping and handling normally be included in a unit price for an instock motorcycle?
No. If you walk into a show room, the price you see on that tag hanging on the handlebar is likely the price before the addition of taxes and fees. And yes the dealer had to pay to ship the bike. Then they had to pay their techs to take it out of it’s crate and ready it for use, which includes the addition of fluids, the installation of the battery, airing up tires, mounting handlebars and mirrors in their proper positions, and other tasks like that. Yeah, they’re gonna mark all that up, and except for taxes you will certainly pay more than it cost them… But that isn’t a surprise, right? The dealership is a business, and they need to make money. If they don’t turn a high enough profit (a number that is not necessarily up to the dealer) they will eventually be shut down by the manufacturer.
