A LEGENDARY Harley-Davidson dealership that has been in business for three-and-a-half decades is just days away from shutting its doors for the final time.
The closure was announced earlier this month, with the owners opening up about some of the difficulties in running the business while explaining their decision.
The Vreeland brothers’ Harley-Davidson dealership[/caption]
The Vreelands have been riders themselves since the 1980s[/caption]
The brothers made it their mission to introduce others to motorcycle riding in as friendly a way as possible[/caption]
The Vreeland brothers’ Harley-Davidson dealership in Pennsylvania, just hours outside of Philadelphia, is set to officially close on September 30.
Despite the business being a thriving one that served as a hub for the local Harley community, the brothers chose to retire of their own volition.
“Winters are tough on the Harley business, all our friends go away, and they don’t come back until March, and we just decided that we didn’t want to do another winter, so that’s why September 30 just worked out perfect for us,” Rich Vreeland said of his and his brother Ray’s decision to close up shop to local ABC affiliate WNEP.
The brothers emphasized that they’ll miss the relationships they’ve built with customers and other enthusiasts over the year the most.
“Our mission statement was always to make motorcycling fun for everyone, and so I hope we achieved that,” said Vreeland, adding that he hopes “people will remember [them] as a family-owned business and [they] actually cared about [their] customers.”
The brothers first got their idea to open a dealership while on a cross-country trip that began in central Pennsylvania.
From there, they began the “9,700-mile ride” to Daytona Beach, Florida, and then to San Diego, California, discovering their connection to the brand along the way.
“We started collecting Harley-Davidson t-shirts at all the different dealerships along the ay. We had quit our jobs to do this trip, and we were like, ‘we don’t have anything to do when we get home, let’s see if we can open a Harley-Davidson dealership,’” explained Vreeland.
That trip took place in 1989, with the brothers opening their dealership a year later and personally running it ever since.
The brothers also expanded on how the culture and technology has changed over that time, calling the modern bikes “so technologically advanced.”
“They have digital screens, and when we started, we were lucky if we had a speedometer and a blinker,” joked Vreeland.
The brothers added that this decision was 12 years in the making, and did not comment on the recent turmoil at the brand’s highest levels of leadership while explaining their decision.
Following a proxy battle in the company’s board earlier this year, it was announced that current CEO Jochen Zeitz would be stepping down.
He will be replaced by Artie Starrs, former CEO of Topgolf, at the start of October. Zeitz will stay with the company in an advisory role through February 2026 to ensure a smooth transition of leadership duties.
Harley-Davidson closures in 2024
There are over 650 Harley-Davidson dealerships across America.
However, multiple stores have closed for various reasons throughout 2024 – if they give any explanation at all.
Below is a list of some Harley-Davidson locations that have shuttered this year and why they closed their doors:
A San Francisco location closed in June 2024 after 110 years due to ‘chaos’ brought by new management.
Miracle City Harley-Davidson in Titusville, Florida, closed in September 2024 with no reason given.
Harley-Davidson’s legacy location in New York City closed shop on September 28, 2024, with the owner citing problems with the economy.
Reiman’s Harley-Davidson dealership in Kewanee, Illinois, closed its doors in October 2024 after the owners sold the business to the Walter Brothers Harley Davidson dealership in Peoria, Illinois.
Another Illinois dealership closed in November 2024.
Plus, the dealership in West Bend, Wisconsin, is temporarily closing for the season from November 2 until April 1, 2024.
In 2025, Hideout Harley-Davidson in Missouri announced it would shutter at the end of March.
It also resulted in the departures of longtime board members Sara Levinson and Norman Thomas Linebarger earlier this month. The former was the board’s first female member and joined in 1996, while the latter joined in 2008.
They will be replaced by Matt Reintjes, President and CEO of Yeti since 2015, and Daniel Nova, a general partner of Highland Capital Partners since 1998.
In addition to their Board of Directors duties, the pair will also be joining several different committees suited to their respective expertise.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON DEALERSHIPS DYING
While the Vreeland brothers’ closure of their dealership seems to be voluntary, other dealerships haven’t been so lucky, with many owners blaming top leadership and their choices.
Other dealerships are being absorbed by larger auto groups or Harley-Davidson entities in order to continue serving local communities.
While some are skeptical that Starrs can right the brand’s ship due to his lack of familiarity with the product and community, the incoming CEO has already taken impressive steps to rectify this.
