Iron Block and now FX have been going since '85 I believe,
From what I remember growing up here, there used to be Jack's Harley Davidson circa '60, out on Bradley St. I think the village of Black River at one time in the '70's had Briertons which I don't think was a full time H_D shop, the building is still there.
I can also remember late 70's outer Washington street seeing a Harley MX250 they only build them like 77-78 I don't remember wasn't around for anything else.
I would like to research it sometime in the local Library here
Thanks. Here in Syracuse we have Performance Harley. There is a tiny little building right on the street, in front of what is now the dealership. If I remember correctly, that tiny little building WAS the dealership, before they built the big building.
When I had my Ironhead, I used to get parts from a place called V Twins (no relation to Taiwan Ted) on Leo Ave in Eastwood. The owner was Harley John Cunningham, who was a great guy.
There was a front counter/display case, and the few items in the case were so old they were all yellowed from age. There were a couple round racks with assorted T shirts, and a couple leather jackets hanging on them. He always had a couple shovelheads sitting in the front.
Behind the counter were homemade wooden shelving and parts cubicles. You'd go in and tell John what you neded, and without looking at the ancient parts catalog on his counter, he would disappear in back for a minimum of 5 minutes, and eventually come out with exactly what you asked for.
John would then proceed to tell you in excruciating detail how that specific part differed from the same part from previous years.... John was a great ******. You always needed to allow at least 30 minutes every time you went there.
Last I heard, John had a stroke and was in a nursing home, I don't know if he's still with us. There was an auction at his shop after he went to the nursing home, but I didn't get a chance to go.
I miss that place and John.
Last edited by North country; 01-17-2019 at 02:47 PM.
I remember going to PHD when it was also a BMW dealer, the old building was were the front parking lot is now. I seen a brand new XLCR on the floor, all I remember cause 15 year old me loved that bike.
utica HD was on the long drag going up route 12 next to Utica Peterbilt,all new buildings there now.
Dick’s Harley in Rome is now a Indian dealer in the same old small store front, he told the corporate HD to pound salt for years and wouldn’t put the boutique $tore they demanded, he was always known as the place to get deals having normal overhead, his whole floor plan was just a handful of bikes about the size of just the lounge area at FX.
The last place up north here was Sovie’s in Potsdam, another non conformer and did a massive Canadian business, he was also a old school multi franchise with Yamaha and Honda in a older building, HD forced him out because of the building and having other lines, they are also still open and doing fine in the biggest by land area county in NYS.
side note I still have a vintage Iron Block, T shirt “Home of the Block Heads” nick name for Evo that never gained a lot of traction cause ya know it’s a Evo!
Last edited by Paintslinger16; 01-17-2019 at 03:29 PM.
Dick’s Harley in Rome is now a Indian dealer in the same old small store front, he told the corporate HD to pound salt for years and wouldn’t put the boutique $tore they demanded, he was always known as the place to get deals having normal overhead, his whole floor plan was just a handful of bikes about the size of just the lounge area at FX.
I drive by that indian dealer all the time during this time of year... it still looks like an old school shop. I wish it was still an HD dealer though, I didnt know they used to be. I wonder how hes doing with indian?
I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed this thread and how it struck a chord with me. I’ve been riding since the sixties but didn’t own a Harley until last year. In the seventies the closest motorcycle dealer for me was Biff’s Harley-Davidson in New Cumberland, PA. I dealt with him for state inspections, riding gear, oil, etc. Just like everyone has said, motorcycle shops smelled like gas and oil and they were places where riders could hang out and kick tires. He even had a black Newfoundland dog named Sturgis that roamed the shop (when he stretched out he took up about half of the showroom). I got my first ride on a Harley from him back in the eighties.
Biff's
I retired last May and went shopping for a new bike. At this stage of my life I knew I wanted a Harley-Davidson Deluxe and went on a quest to see which of the three dealers in my area I wanted to work with. The first two I visited in the Harrisburg area looked like shopping malls with in-door parking for bikes. The sales people were young and seemed knowledgeable, but not real interested in spending much time with me. The third dealer I visited was in York, PA and only about a mile from the factory. This was an old dealership with about a third of the floor space as compared to the other two. I was able to work with a “seasoned” sales person who invested all the time necessary to answer my questions and show me the parts and service areas of the dealership (they even have a small museum). The man busted his hump for me and was rewarded with a sale. A month later my wife and I returned and bought a Freewheeler for her. I suspect there are very few of the “old time” dealerships surviving, but if you’re lucky, you can still find a few staffed by enthusiasts.
Once upon a time, the Harley dealer was there to help out his customers. As an honest businessman or women. Far from what we have today, they are in business now to sell you something you don't need or want at prices that are impossible to believe. Last time I was in one I just looked at a quart of oil regular oil they wanted 10.95 a quart. My buddy had his Harley full serviced oil changed the motor, primary, trans. They had the bike 45 minutes and charged him $262.90 when he asked if they changed the primary gasket or the drain plug O rings they said NO. I can do mine with changing all the O ring and the gasket and all synthetic oil for $110.00 so they charged him $152 labor and did not use synthetic oil. You figure out what is wrong with most not all just most dealers. When I was younger our Harley dealer also sold BSA and Nortons yes back in the day.
01-17-2019, 11:20 AM
