>>What happens when a dealership dies?<<

I show up in a red dress . . .

 

Yep, That would be my dealer HD of Indianapolis Nice folks.

 

Happy New Year

 

This is off the topic a hair but when was the end of the last cycle boom? Early 80s? I remember my dad getting a really good deal on a 84 kawasaki 550 ltd. I can't remember if that boom busted over oil prices or the S&L mess. Either way it seems like it took over 10 years to recover. I'm reading that the housing mess wont bottom out till this summer so we could be in for quite a slump, or like someone else said it will turn into a buyers market for used bikes.

 

It was early 80's. I was seriously looking to get a brand-new HD XLX in the spring of '84 when they partnered with Ford Motor Credit for reasonable financing, and then came across some phenominal prices on brand new 81 jap bikes. Ended up buying a Suzuki GS650G for less than 2 grand. It came down to that or a Yamaha 650 Seca for the price of the just-introduced RZ400 bumble-bee. I would have got my Triumph put back together quicker if I didn't buy the Suzi.

 

You unspeakable cad, don't you know it's a black-tie affair? Geez......

 

Around here our dealer is a dependant of Las Vegas HD, which owns three other stores. Our dealer is building adjacent square footage to beef up the service department and parts. Then they will expand the showroom and clothing departments. Nearest HD dealer IS Las Vegas. I don't think they will have a problem subsisting in a slower market. One reason is their proximiity to popular National Parks here in Utah. You have to ride right by their location, and they have a powerful magnet that compells everyone to stop in.

Recently, the GM left the store to open up an independant bike shop featuring Big Dawg custom choppers, and hardly used Harley's that had been specially painted. The money behind that enterprise comes from Las Vegas also, a printshop. He was let go after just two months. It will interesting how that ends up.

 

Well I remember in the late 60's and early 70's when car dealers and bike dealers were dropping like flies. Even our local Honda motorcycle dealer went under. They have big overheads and someone has to pay those bills.

Some of that happened again in the early 80's. Just for me, I smell some more of that coming. Things just aren't the same for these Harley dealers as they were a few years ago in two ways. They don't still have the frenzy of buyers and many borrowed really big bucks to build new facilities. That's a possible recipe for disaster for some of them.

The irony is that a lot of them still act like theirs doesn't stink instead of learning that the customer comes first or they go out second.

Just my $.02...

 

Eagle HD of Lafayette, IN just opened (I believe it is now open) a new dealership at I 65 and St Rd 28 near Frankfort, IN. They named it Spyke's HD, after a grandson I heard.

 

In 84'I bought a new 82' Suzuki GS750 at a very good price. It's hard to imagine bikes sitting on the floor that long, but we may be seeing that in the near future. Some of the custom chopper shops have "old" new bikes on the floor now.