Dealership Closings General Motorcycle Discuss Dealership Closings in the Motorcycles forums; I've been hearing rumors of some dealership closings and just found out that a dealership in my area has closed, namely Roeders. It's been said that Harley Davidson came in ...

[2mchchrome]

I've been hearing rumors of some dealership closings and just found out that a dealership in my area has closed, namely Roeders. It's been said that Harley Davidson came in and cleared all the sales persons desks and basicly shut them down. Has anybody else heard anythind along these lines? Sounds like HD isn't imuned (spelling) to down sizing.

[sgtcowboyusmc]

None that I have heard of in my 2 state area. I do see dealers downsizing and cutting back. That is the way you survive during a long term economic slowdown.

One problem I see is Harley made a lot of dealers change to new locations and expand to fit a model. This probably has caused a financial hardship on some dealers and may cause some of those dealers to close if they cannot make their bills. Harley will survive but I don't see all of the dealers surviving!

[Gas Man]

Originally Posted by 2mchchrome

I've been hearing rumors of some dealership closings and just found out that a dealership in my area has closed, namely Roeders. It's been said that Harley Davidson came in and cleared all the sales persons desks and basicly shut them down. Has anybody else heard anythind along these lines? Sounds like HD isn't imuned (spelling) to down sizing.

Rhoeders is closed. Was there a couple of weeks ago for OBW. The rally was using it as their HQ but the dealership was a ghost town or empty shell.

Here's a few bikes they had sittin in the dealership as show pieces

Capt America replica



Badass Detroit Bros



And another one made for SuperTrapp


Other than that, they had some rally shirt racks setup but the parts shelfs in back and service dept all empty. SAD! One of the nicer buildings too.

[street bob]

Roeders closed due to the owners splitting up. (husband and wife).
Seems they hadn't paid their bills to the tune of a couple million, so H-D came and got their parts and new bikes and motor clothes out before the bank locked the place down.

[09 Classicman]

Originally Posted by street bob

Roeders closed due to the owners splitting up. (husband and wife).
Seems they hadn't paid their bills to the tune of a couple million, so H-D came and got their parts and new bikes and motor clothes out before the bank locked the place down.

I heard the same story about Roeder's. I know the times we have went there they didn't have alot of bikes on the floor so maybe they weren't selling enough to keep up. I know a couple of years ago they gave my cousin a hard time about getting a Heritage Softtail. He wanted one without all the stealer's "extra's" to jack the price up and he was told it would be a month or longer before they could get one in. He went to a different stealer and bought one off the floor.

[1haugster1340]

One problem I see is Harley made a lot of dealers change to new locations and expand to fit a model. This probably has caused a financial hardship on some dealers and may cause some of those dealers to close if they cannot make their bills. Harley will survive but I don't see all of the dealers surviving![/QUOTE]

Very true! One of the dealer closest to me has been in business since 1945. Harley came in during the early 90's and told them to move and build one of their fancy $1,000,000 stores and stock it with $100,000 worth of parts and doo dads and trinkets if they wanted to keep the dealership. From what one of the owners' told me they had paid everything off in five years. So they should be okay.

[Buzz Kanter]

We have all heard about Harley dealers who expanded too far too fast and could not or would not pay their bills.

Well, that is not unique to Harley dealers, it applies to all sorts of people and businesses - especially these days in the tough economy.

I am guessing it is more surprising when you consider how profitable Harley dealers were just a few years ago when there were waiting lists to buy a new or used Harley and often at prices well over MSRP.

But, no matter how strong a brand of product or how high the demand for it is, poor business practices will eventually drag you down.

[tennesseecanefan]

I have seen just the opposite. About 100 miles away is a new building at least. Four Rivers HD in Paducah KY. It looks like a steam boat from the outside and has two stories of bikes. Went up there on Friday July 3rd and it was packed. Every type and color of bike you would want, except the rocker. One neat thing they had was a overlook on the 2nd floor for the service area, so you could look at the mechanics when they service your ride.
They had couches and a big screen TV in the same room along with a computer setup with internet service for the customers. I used the computer to look up the address of a local Indian dealer I wanted to go to. Real nice and the advertised prices for service were quite a bit less then my local dealer. I live 15 miles away from the nearest walmart, so my nearest HD dealer is 45 miles. I bought my bike from a dealer about 90 miles away so I'm glad I like to ride.

[shovelmike]

It sounds like Four Rivers came up with a unique style for their building..something for me to take a look at when I'm in the area. Wow, I've got it easy...5 miles to Wal-Mart and 12 to Gail's H-D.

[myt evo]

The wife and I stopped at Rhoeders about a week and a half ago on our way to Milwaukee and there weren't any bikes at all. The only thing for sale there were Ohio bike week t-shirts. Didn't hear anything about the husband and wife team but the fella behind the counter said because of the strong manufacturing base the area was devastated due to the economy. Could have fooled me. We got hit a HD for a room because it seems to be a big tourist area probably due to the fact that Cedar Point is located near by.