Across the U.S., Harley-Davidson dealerships are closing their doors to customers. From San Francisco to Kewanee, Illinois, and down through Titusville, Florida, long-running shops have called it quits, with some stores not giving any reasons whatsoever for their closure. Others who did bother offering an explanation blamed poor management, the worsening economy, or the simple math of declining sales.
A century-old family-owned dealership in San Francisco closed suddenly in 2024 only six years after the business was handed over to new management that couldn’t keep up with the corporate standards. In Florida, a dealership vanished without explanation. In New York City, one fan-favorite dealership folded under economic pressure after being in business for nearly 30 years. It gave away the products in deals up to 75% off in its final days of operation.
The closures are the latest sign of how the brand’s footprint is shrinking. Even with more than 650 dealerships still standing nationwide, the network is thinning, especially in small markets. Dealers talk of thinning margins and an increasingly top-down heavy corporate structure that makes independence difficult. Harley’s image now contends with changing consumer habits and the rise of cheaper, tech-savvy alternatives like CFMoto’s motorcycles. The Motor Company may still be able to make more profits, but the community around those sales is quietly fading.
So what’s the big reason behind these closures?
Harley’s retail network is consolidating into fewer, larger operations, which could indicate that the company is in big trouble. George Gatto, chairperson of the NPDA’s Harley-Davidson Dealer Council, says it’s simply because dealers aren’t making money, as reported by Revzilla. All this started during COVID, when supply lagged in the face of rising demand, and dealerships minted cash. Limited inventory meant that bikes were sold at full price, and discounts all but disappeared.
But soon enough, the pandemic came to an end, interest rates shot up, and demand came crashing down. Manufacturers had expected the boom to last, and kept pushing excess inventory towards dealers, who then had to pay tens of thousands of dollars of “floor plan” interest.
Another thing that didn’t help was dealerships investing in grandiose buildings when sales were strong. This has resulted in increased fixed costs, such as cooling, heating, maintenance, staffing, and insurance, coming back to bite them now when sales are low. Declining retail sales, coupled with Harley’s expanded e-commerce platforms further eating up the customer base, resulted in many dealers throwing in the towel and closing up shop.
Profits up, sales down
Harley-Davidson reported a $377 million profit in the third quarter of 2025, more than triple the same period a year earlier. However, just behind that number lies a troubling pattern. The global motorcycle sales from the company dropped 6%, while in North America sales fell by 5%. What this means is that fewer units are being sold and there may not be enough consumer demand for dealerships to survive long term.
Harley-Davidson’s new CEO Artie Starrs – who took over in August 2025 — clarified this to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel when he credited the company’s sale of its financial services arm for the improved numbers. This netted the company $1.25 billion in cash, which helped to reduce debt and buy back shares.
Still, Harley has struggled with unit sales lately, with shipments reducing by 45% over the last decade. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company is profitable on paper, but its presence on America’s backroads — along with the showrooms that have helped to sustain it — continues to thin.
