At the same time, there's a Chicago area dealership (near Palatine) that recently broke ground on a new dealership, I'm sure it will be a showplace, but I'm scratching my head on how economically viable it will be.

 

Imagine my shock when I walked into a local dealership and the first thing I saw after walking in the front door-was a row of...... scooters!!!!! Guess they figure if they offer something most folks can actually afford perhaps inthe future those riders will step up and get an HD????? Weird times. And when I was in Indianpolis this summer the big dealer there actually says Honda, Hd etc on their building signage with Honda getting top billing??

 

I feel for people who are losing jobs as a result of dealer closings.

On the other hand, dealers who priced gouged during the days of limited supply might want to reflect on how this could have affected customer loyalty and retention.

 

Legends was a pretty good dealership,sales people were always nice and they tried to work with you and if they couldn't get the deal done with you they still treated you ok.Last year when I was shopping for my Ultra,I stopped in and the best they could do was a grand off sticker,Kosco and Bergen were offering over 2000 off but saleperson still treated us good and was answering questions after he knew he wasn't making a sale
Heard Kosco is next to go out,there delivery's are C.O.D.,they were a bunch of ****** anyway but with all these dealers going out the last ones standing don't have to deal anymore

 

It's just business survival, and the fact that Harley's are just a motorcycle. Maybe it would help if they put snotty signs up that said, "The Only Motorcycle with Soul" or "If you have to ask, you just wouldn't understand"....that would help.

 

Good!! Im glad there are dealerships closing. H-D will never fold but the dealerships that screwed ppl will. It just leaves more work for us honest Indys here

 

But Texas S F, where will the Harley faithful get their MoCo beer mugs and assless chaps with HD logos?

 

S**T close all the dealerships. Ive build onto my shop and have a special Yuppie section...

 

And that's exactly what one of the local indy's did...better prices for gear, better quality, and you don't have to buy sh*t that makes you look like a damn HD fanboy. And the owner is happy to give good mechanical advice to those of us that like to do a bit of wrenching, because he knows that when something serious needs to be done you'll bring it to him (the bikes he's working on sit right on the tables...in the shop...none of those bs dealership signs that say 'employees only' at the shop door). Plus whatever you order through him comes with an automatic 10% discount, and free shipping to his shop. The biggest problem is that he'll talk your arm off about motorcycles.

 

It's a shame Harley made a lot of their dealers move into/ or renovate their current businesses a few years back when business was booming. Trenton Harley had a nice little place to work from. The franchise got sold to a guy who renovated an old Kenworth Dealer. Out of business now. Too much overhead and the owner was an older guy with no family interested in keeping the family business alive. However I don't miss seeing all the overnight self-proclaimed "Chopper Builders"!!! who went under. I rode to Daytona a few years ago. It looked like I was passing a continuous line of trailers, "bad guy Choppers", "tough guy choppers", "hard-core choppers".....etc...etc. Anyone who could bolt together a Rev-Tech bike in a box kit felt he was a proffesional chopper builder.