Milwaukee Harley-Davidson Closing Temporarily
#41
01-19-2017, 04:20 PM
Stellar HDF Member
#42
01-19-2017, 06:24 PM
#43
01-19-2017, 07:30 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
Several years ago, the dealer I bought my first new Harley from was 'forced' to sell to a group of investors because he would NOT locate to near the interstate and invest in a 3 million dollar store.
I bought a couple more bikes from them at the new location, but it wasn't like being "one of the guys" that I was at the old store.
So I moved on..................
I bought a couple more bikes from them at the new location, but it wasn't like being "one of the guys" that I was at the old store.
So I moved on..................
#45
01-20-2017, 08:17 PM
Road Warrior
Yeah the Harley Studio Crap Dealers now in Vogue are a joke. You walk in and it's a marketing fake world. You can't smell fresh paint, tires, fuel or oil, not even leather. If it was not for the over priced t-shirts it would be neutral. I really wanted to enjoy buying my new RK. No way that could happen. I was not going to help pay for all that stupid marketing crap and a building so otherwise useless. So it became a very mean and to the point business deal.
When I went to the right dealer that wanted to really sell a motorcycle. Made the deal and they pushed it right out the front door for me so I did not have to spend my time with my new bike in there little studio Harley part of the dealer. They are a multi-line dealer. You go back to the part of the dealer that has the other lines of bikes you can smell paint, tires, a wiff of fuel here and there. It smells, looks and sounds like a motorcycle dealer. Walk around a corner and your back in Harley fantasy land... And everything cost twice what it does around the corner.
When I went to the right dealer that wanted to really sell a motorcycle. Made the deal and they pushed it right out the front door for me so I did not have to spend my time with my new bike in there little studio Harley part of the dealer. They are a multi-line dealer. You go back to the part of the dealer that has the other lines of bikes you can smell paint, tires, a wiff of fuel here and there. It smells, looks and sounds like a motorcycle dealer. Walk around a corner and your back in Harley fantasy land... And everything cost twice what it does around the corner.
#46
01-22-2017, 03:34 PM
In Know the new bike manager at Hals is the old one from Milwaukee HD. The new GM at Hals is from the twin city's. The Gm that was at Hals is now at Schlossmann's bike store on silver spring. I'm new to Harley's bought two new ones in 6 months. If you want performance I heard suburban has the best in the area and word on the street suburban is the best in the area
#47
01-25-2017, 11:50 AM
Road Master
At least around here, motorcycle dealers were always something of a low-rent operation. They'd come and go over the years, but were generally located in fairly modest parts of town, in fairly modest buildings. 1500 sq ft of showroom was a lot.
Then the boom years happened and the MoCo was able to demand that their dealers build these cathedrals to consumerism. 40 years ago, motorcycle stores were just motorcycle stores. Small. Functional. Utilitarian.
Anyway, the MoCo has built a ton of overhead into their distribution channel. All those dealers who built those cathedrals need to sell a ton of bikes to make their nut. When sales drop hard like they have in the last couple of years, those guys get pinched hard.
40 years ago, Omaha had one HD dealer in a crappy building in a crappy part of town. Today we have three, two of which are the latest generation cathedrals, and one of which is the previous generation cathedral. I wouldn't be surprised if five years from now we are back down to one. In a crappy building in a crappy part of town.
Then the boom years happened and the MoCo was able to demand that their dealers build these cathedrals to consumerism. 40 years ago, motorcycle stores were just motorcycle stores. Small. Functional. Utilitarian.
Anyway, the MoCo has built a ton of overhead into their distribution channel. All those dealers who built those cathedrals need to sell a ton of bikes to make their nut. When sales drop hard like they have in the last couple of years, those guys get pinched hard.
40 years ago, Omaha had one HD dealer in a crappy building in a crappy part of town. Today we have three, two of which are the latest generation cathedrals, and one of which is the previous generation cathedral. I wouldn't be surprised if five years from now we are back down to one. In a crappy building in a crappy part of town.
#48
01-25-2017, 12:28 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
Harley's dealer development folks are driving operational similarities between selling cars and selling bikes on its dealerships. I don't mind the mega showrooms. What I miss is the personal attention I received from the old school shops.
Riders from the 70s remember these shops. They smelled like solvent and oil, not clothing stores. The person who sold you a bike really knew his stuff. You might see a friendly dog sleeping in the corner. Best of all, they remembered your name.
Riders from the 70s remember these shops. They smelled like solvent and oil, not clothing stores. The person who sold you a bike really knew his stuff. You might see a friendly dog sleeping in the corner. Best of all, they remembered your name.
#50
01-25-2017, 02:56 PM
Stellar HDF Member
"My" dealership is not one of the cathedral dealerships at all, which is fine by me. Dekalb Harley (now Barbed Wire Harley-Davidson) is the smallest dealership around, square footage wise. I'm still hoping Windy City doesn't screw it up.
When a buddy and I rode to and around Colorado last summer we visited some of those cathedral dealerships, with huge clothing sections, a diner, a coffee shop, a museum, and things like that. Definitely some wow factor there, but it does add to the cost of the everything. Of course if the added cost bothered me that much I could ride a Honda.
When a buddy and I rode to and around Colorado last summer we visited some of those cathedral dealerships, with huge clothing sections, a diner, a coffee shop, a museum, and things like that. Definitely some wow factor there, but it does add to the cost of the everything. Of course if the added cost bothered me that much I could ride a Honda.