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A MAJOR Harley-Davidson dealership has announced it is closing this week at short notice.
The dealership of the iconic motorcycle brand will shut on November 2, just days after it was announced another nearby dealership is closing for good in January.
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On Monday, it was announced that the Harley-Davidson dealership in West Bend, Wisconsin, around 30 miles northwest of Milwaukee, will be temporarily closing this week.
That followed news that Triton Trailers in nearby Hartford, Wisconsin, will close in January 2025.
The closure puts 113 people out of work.
An email was sent to Harley-Davidson customers about the closure in West Bend.
READ MORE ON STORE CLOSURES
“Harley-Davidson Motor Company and Windy City Motorcycle Company, operators of Harley-Davidson Dealerships in the Milwaukee market, are announcing an upcoming seasonal change with the Harley-Davidson Dealer network,” it said.
“West Bend Harley-Davidson will be seasonally closed for motorcycle, parts, and merchandise sales on November 2, 2024.
“Subsequent to this, the West Bend store will reopen as a full-line dealership in the Spring on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
“Over the winter months, loyal customers of West Bend Harley-Davidson will have Windy City’s nearby Milwaukee Harley-Davidson dealership available to serve them, located less than a half hour away at 11310 W. Silver Spring Road, Milwaukee, Wi 53225, (414)-461-4444.
“These changes will not affect any customers who currently have a motorcycle in for service at the West Bend location.
“All current in-progress service work will be completed at the store to which it was delivered, and the units will be returned to customers from that same store.”
It follows the sale of another Harley-Davidson dealership in the neighboring state of Illinois.
Only merchandise was for sale on the final day at the dealership in Kewanee and all sales were expected to be cash-only.
The owners of Reiman’s Harley-Davidson dealership have kept the small business in their family for more than a quarter of a century.
It is being sold to Walter Brothers Harley Davidson dealership in Peoria, Illinois.
They said on Facebook they had made the decision to sell up over the summer.
What to do if a dealership closes
If you recently bought a car or motorcycle from a dealership that suddently closed, you may feel anxious about how that affects you.
When you finance a new car or motorcycle or need warranty repairs done at an authorized dealership, a sudden closure can make some people think they’re out of options or worry their car will be repossessed.
If you’re in a situation that sounds like that, here are a few things you can do after receiving an official notice:
- Notify the bank hosting your loan of the closure to make them aware. If the financing is done through the dealership itself, it’s important to contact the dealership or your salesperson to ask how to keep up your payments. Many dealerships will send the lien (the title and registration that will only be released to the buyer after the debt is paid) to a financial institution to keep.
- If the dealership cannot be contacted through traditional means, most states allow drivers to apply for the title and registration through the DMV.
- If you leased a car from a dealership that went out of business, instructions should be sent as to which dealership to bring your vehicle to when the lease expires. If not, contact the dealership.
- A factory warranty through the manufacturer will be honored at any other authorized dealership. However, an extended warranty through the dealership may not be honored at other repair shops, so it’s important to seek that information from the dealership as soon as possible.
Source: Consumer Law Group
And last month, a Harley-Davidson dealership in Long Island City, New York, confirmed it too was closing.
The shop offered a slew of sales in its final days – including deals of up to 75% off.
Harley-Davidson has over 1,400 independently owned dealerships across the globe.
But several closures similar to New York have been announced in recent months.
The Miracle City Harley-Davidson in Titusville, Florida shut for good on September 1.
The closure leaves only two dealerships for the 600,000 residents of Brevard County.
And weeks earlier, San Francisco’s historic Harley-Davidson dealership shut after 110 years in business.
