What were they like?
Bikes were expensive? Check!
High & mighty attitude? Pretty much, but at least they had some credibility when talking about motorcycles.
Over price accessories? Sure, I guess so.
Bad repairs? Nope, not a chance.
Ripoffs? Only to those that gave the boss 'tude.

Above all, the boss knew how to ride a motorcycle, and did so, on a regular basis. The boss was also the mechanic, service writer, rental fleet operator, new sales mgr, used sales mgr.

 

i rode past there tonight. I was in the dealer on 51 once when i was looking at getting a bike and i always forget about the donora shop. Its a neat piece of history in that sad river valley. Alot of people dont know the lewis and clark expedition started in elizabeth. Alot of history went on along that river.

 

Back in the late 1970's I had no issues with HD dealers. I shopped for 6 months for my sporty and e-glide in SoCal. I rode up on bikes from a Ducati 250 single club racer to a Norton Dunstall, to a Honda 750 or my fav a RD-400. Worse two bikes I ever owned where those two Harleys I bought in 1979. And as much as I hate it. My third Harley the 2017 King is the third worse motorcycle I've ever owned. But all the Harley dealers back in those days were great! I had a ton of warranty work done on those bikes all over SoCal and no issues or tude. BUT when working the deal on those old AMF Junkers not one of the dealers I worked with were like today's dealers. Everybody was a enthusiast! They rode and wrenched. The service dept's treated everybody as if they were a traveler. It was not about what Milwaukee thought or the marketing people. That root never left me.

Then I went to buy a new King. What a cluster ****! The new dealer model and operation was insane. Several times over the years I would wake up and tell the wife. " I'm going to go buy a new Harley today,,, want to come with? " She always replied with a strange look followed by " call me if you need me to drive the car/truck home or arrange for the bike to be picked up. " And I came home without for one reason or another. But in late 2016 I wanted a King. Thought maybe HD got the M8 right. Of the four dealers in the area I shopped it became they were all idiots. And the two Tulsa dealers were the worse. A basic question escaped there retarded ***'s. Pick a bike on the floor, in my case a black and chrome King. How much OTD,,, no extended warranties or service plans. No Stage Kits, no adders. How much OTD for that bike? You would have thought you poured pcp right down there throats. They lost the ability to speak. They run off like giddy school girls just to return with a boss salesman or finance manager. I could not get a answer,,, how much OTD for that bike?

Wife did not believe me. So we jump in this truck and go to Tulsa as shes asking they don't want our money?

Thought maybe if we were in a HD F-150 they would take me serious. Before I had been driving my Civic Hybrid. Had to try. Parked front and center I could not get a OTD price on a new M8. Wife was blown away. She looked at the dealer idiots and told them,, cash, wire transfer how much,,,, no answer. Both of those Tulsa dealers look like mall food courts with Harleys.

We have bought our last new Harley. The bikes are not worth the money and the dealers over all are not worth a beer. BUT the owners,,, the community less the HOG Chapters is fantastic! It's a amazing cast of characters. From the 1%ers to the right wing christians, cops to doctors, engineers to pipeliners,,,, all these great people. All it takes is a Harley. Wish the bikes, dealers and HQ was half as good as the owners.

 

Pretty much the same idiocy I dealt with, after the second dealer I skipped the floor gomers and literally had to corner the sales managers even then they acted very put out I was trying to get a straight answer and kept trying to steer me back to some clueless 20 something chirpy. One place I called because I wasn't doing the drive up that side of the bay was up front about price and no availability, same one who gave me a return call when the bike I wanted showed up a few months later, was also the only one to do any follow up calls. Too bad they sold out a year later to conglomerate who owns 3 other dealerships.

I have no issues with the bike possible future problems or not, it will be only new one I'll ever buy.

 

Ooo yeah, that's why I included it there. So even some of the folks from up the great white north there would know what the heck I was talkin' aboot, eh.

 

Notice the bicycles in the window? I'd like to have one of those now if they are Harley bicycles.

 

Definitely.

 

@psyshack: I had a similar experience when looking at a metric bike years ago. I asked for a price. The salesman stated a price but didn't say if it was OTD. I mentioned there's prep, tax, etc. His response was to state a number. He wouldn't tell me if it was OTD.

When eying new Sportsters, I asked what the freight/prep charges were for two 883s I looked at. Salesman wouldn't say other than they vary.

 

This is for the tough guys riding Harleys and Sh#t

 

Man I loved that video!!!! Too cool.

True stories are always the best. Work when you have to quit when you can live your own life and be your own man.