Yes, it is "suggested", but it gives dealers a really bad reputation when they pull crap like that. A franchised dealer is ethically obligated to sell at MSRP. They can ask whatever they want for a used bike, but new ones are supposed to be sold for the same price everwhere. All dealers pay the same price for them. What goes around comes around. Harley dealers did that for years, but now the Harley market is saturated, and dealers that used to sell way above MSRP are hurtin bad, they are actually having to advertise, and sell BELOW MSRP. I would never buy a new Honda, when there are better brands like Kymco, TGB, and Genuine still selling at MSRP. I hope that one day these brands put the Japanese companies out of business. Peace. Jerry.