Elyria Harley-Davidson goodbye

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Mar 29, 2008 | 08:35 PM

eglidebob

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Elyria Harley-Davidson goodbye

Anyone who lives in northern Ohio has probably been to Elyria HD. Bunch of good folks over there. Today they had their last bash party at the dealership. They are closing their doors Monday to move to their other dealership across town. I am going to miss them. Their service department was great and the sales and parts people very freindly. If I had a minor problem or something I wanted them to look at I could ride in on a Saturday morning and they would take my bike right in and look at it. Their other store, Lake Erie HD, is much bigger and modern and just doesn't have the feel and atmosphere as Elyria. They have been in business for 70 years. I am in no way bashing Lake Erie HD, but I will miss the old place. Thety had a much bigger turnout today than they ever imagined. Snapped a few photos:

[IMG]local://upfiles/14082/EB818AAEDCC340AE8A658D891B862B7C.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/14082/E0A6C37AD6194AEDB9F4F2E2DD0DEE88.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/14082/555A957BDA6D4A9094D4F1AA694D514E.jpg[/IMG]

Mar 29, 2008 | 08:37 PM

eglidebob

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RE: Elyria Harley-Davidson goodbye

And a few more:

[IMG]local://upfiles/14082/62079FB34984485BB35A30DC09A00475.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/14082/5D07C024834C4A458D52B37F2E45EBD2.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/14082/8434BCC2AF6E42A3852A4BC60FC49722.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/14082/AE85E40054544ECEBD8F81EA6DC9416A.jpg[/IMG]

Mar 29, 2008 | 08:42 PM

skltr

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From: SoFl

RE: Elyria Harley-Davidson goodbye

As long as the employeesmove over you should be good as the people make the dealership

Mar 29, 2008 | 08:50 PM

Gadgetech

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From: GA

RE: Elyria Harley-Davidson goodbye

I would imagine the "old" location is in an area maybe slightly off the beaten path or maybe not so close to interstate access? I know the dealerships in Spartanburg, Greenville and Anderson have moved to more prominent locations,recently, with the "modern" look and heard grumblings of HD Corporate pushing one location in particular stating that if they didn't move closer to the interstate, they would sell a franchise to someone that would. They definately have lost the "intimate" (I know, not a manly word but it works) feeling the older dealerships had.

Mar 29, 2008 | 09:14 PM

*NIGHT TRAIN*

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From: Southern Ohio

RE: Elyria Harley-Davidson goodbye

I'm way down south on the river, but hate to hear of the closing up that way...I was only there a couple of times, but like you said, people treated you real nice from the time you walked in the door...shame...

Mar 29, 2008 | 11:52 PM

Tmoney

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From: OHIO

RE: Elyria Harley-Davidson goodbye

Yeah I stoped in actually got my bike out of storage today lake erie H/D and road over to the party had a good time

Mar 29, 2008 | 11:54 PM

KBFXDLI

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From: USA

RE: Elyria Harley-Davidson goodbye

They aren'tgoing out of business......just moving to their newer location that is 2-3 times the size and no doubt has newer facilities just off I-90. They have probably realized that all their established customers will travel there for service/parts/new bikes and the new place gets way more traffic than the one buried from sight in Elyria. I'm sure they figured out keeping double overhead probably didn't make much financial sense especially the way the market is currently.

The MoCo wants dealerships adjacent to Interstates for3 reasons:

1. Easier for existing customers traveling to find for parts/service
2. Easier/cheaper to ship bikes/parts to.
3. Better brand promotion to the general public by high visibility franchise placement= free advertising=more bike sales & WAY MORE TSHIRT SALES