I spoke to two dealers. Apparently Big Dog charges dealers $1000 to "Canadianize" the bikes. Includes different brake lights & daytime running lights. I can't believe they would do that. What business sense does that make? Coming to a new market would allow them to build more bikes to lower overall costs.
They do this because Canada makes them do this. The Canadian regulations force Big Dog to change the bikes from the standard way they are produced. So after a bike is built, someone has to go back, take it apart, retro-fit it with "canadian acceptable" parts, so it can be brought into the country. These parts are different from the standard parts...so they don't get a quantity discount on them, hence they cost more. All of this extra labor and special parts drives the price of the bike up...and that has to be covered. As far as what business sense it makes? They dont lose money on the bike, which is pretty smart if you ask me.
The problem is not Big Dog...it is the regulatory authorities in Canada who are restricting imports with these "Special Parts".