I, too, have noticed price sometimes being higher in the country of origin. I recall when I bought my BMW R1100R I had a friend in Germany check on price for me. It was almost $1000 higher there than here in the U.S. I really wanted to go to Germany and pick up the bike. Bought it here in the U.S. and haven't got to Germany, yet. Riding in Europe is definitely on my bucket list.