In Akron, during the 60's, there was Son's Harley Davidson Sales. Side street in the downtown area, located just a block from the last steel trolley diner in the area, it was a small, out-of-the-way shop with just room for a half dozen bikes, including the Topper scooter and the Aermacchi line. A fine little bike shop indeed.
Urban renewal and time marched on. The family that owned Son's left the area, and the franchise was picked up by a new owner. Located the new shop in a less-than-desirable part of town, where bikers go without care but proper folks with built-in social prejudices feared to go. Plenty of space compared to the old Water St. shop, but not really set up to lure in the masses.
Fast forward a few years. The Motor Company steps in and wants the dealer to move to a more "people friendly" (read: out of the hood) location. The owner, getting up in years, decides to cut and run. The new owner, a businessman, agrees with the the MoCo's edict, and locates next to the freeway in a largely retail section of town, where the proper folks won't be afraid to go.
So now we have a Harley "superstore", where rows and rows of bikes are displayed (and sold), chrome bits adorn the walls, and cute girls sell branded clothes and trinkets.
Stealership ? No. An overused and unfair branding. It's just business. And progress. Around these parts, if you don't like it....buy a Honda. If you can find a dealer still in business.
Just my take,
ed

 

Same story everywhere. Move right onto a major highway. It's about volume and accessibility not prejudice.

The dealers didn't have that much to say about the new boutiques other than "yes I have financing for a multimillion dollar project and I'd like to keep my shop" then pick a floor plan. Of course,when everyone had to have a harley in the early 2000's, a lot of the old shops didn't have the space to display or service the increased volume of bikes either. I watched Perry's of Kalamazoo go from a really small shop from who's parking lot you could throw a stone and hit the titty bar or a hooker to a Boutique on I94 that has to be 5 times the size.

It used to be an adventure finding some of the shops and they were worth finding. Now I won't even pull off the ramp to stop at one.

 

hey Eddy there is alot of honda dealers left in akron/canton area. State 8 and Park Honda still going strong.

 

Remember the Harley Dealership that used to be in Brunswick, on Pearl Road?

Many bikes were bought from that dealership by my family.

 

Eyeball I know that one too....there is still tons of them. I remember when I was a kid my dad bought a bike at youngstown harley and they sold guns as well. Never forget it.

 

was just there yesterday, seems they are all the same...

 

I remember the dealer in Canton on Cherry St. My brother rode with the Chosen Few back then and was a mechanic there. That place had character.

 

You have to admit that it is a much better dealership now than when that sh*t Passeos owned it. New owners fired all but about 2 of the employees because nobody could pass a drug test. Ernie had a total of 1 person that could test ride bikes because nobody had a valid license. With the new store, you can actually see and buy every model and have a choice of color without ordering and you can go up to the parts counter and get what you want without having to suffer through attitude and snide remarks. I'll take the new dealership over the old any day. I do have fond memories of Sons though. Ernie, not so much.

 

I live out in the PNW and have seen the same thing here. There was a place that I used to go to that was down by the train tracks. It was an old building and the people that worked there actually rode and knew what they were doing. Years later, it moved to a different location that was closer to the main road into town. I guess change happens whether we like it or not.

 

I live in Napa. When I was a kid, the Harley dealer was in town and also sold Schwinn bicycles. I fell in love with Harleys when I went to by bicycle parts as a kid.

Fast forward with "progress"...when I bought my 2006, I had to drive 20 miles to Vallejo, which the MoCo subsequently closed. That town still has dealerships for most of the Japanese manufacturers. I now have to go twice as far to get to a Harley dealership where I bought my 2011. The vaunted Harley dealership network is now just as far or farther than my Ducati dealership, which also sells Triumphs, or the BMW dealership, or even the Victory dealership.

I'm not sure I'm a fan of this strategy.