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\tAnn Friedman, Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/p>\n
\tThough Harley-Davidson first arrived in Las Vegas in the mid-1940s, their motorcycles, clothing and accessories just recently rode onto the Strip.<\/p>\n
\tThe 65,000 square-foot location, at 5191 Las Vegas Blvd. South, opened Sept. 30. The new locale is home to a rental department, motorcycle sales, parts and accessories, services, as well as clothing and other licensed products.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe have about 30 or 40 different models of motorcycles as well as accessories, which is one of the things that makes Harley-Davidson the way it is, because of our customer\u2019s desire to express themselves,\u201d said Co-Owner Tim Cashman. \u201cWe also sell a lot of riding gear, boots, helmets, T-shirts \u2013 you name it, we have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHarley-Davidson\u2019s newest location, adjacent to the \u201cWelcome to the Fabulous Las Vegas\u201d sign on the south end of the Strip, gives locals and tourists with a valid motorcycle license the opportunity to rent bikes for half a day, full day, week or month.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019ll ask you to demonstrate your ability by having you drive around our back lot to make sure we\u2019re doing our due diligence,\u201d Cashman said. \u201cAfter you sign up for how long you want it, we\u2019ll provide rain gear and a helmet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tCashman said the company broke ground on its Las Vegas Boulevard store last December and worked with several architects to design the interior, exterior and floor plan.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe started moving dirt here in the middle of December and the building was built in nine months,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Las Vegas sign is a great attraction and we wanted to do our part for this part of the Strip to get some action going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAside from sales and rental services, Harley-Davidson also offers a riding academy where new and veteran riders can train and learn about motorcycle safety.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cOne of the things they teach you in class is constant threat assessment so you\u2019re aware of everything around you and the possible things that can go wrong,\u201d Cashman said. \u201cThat\u2019s what is taught in safety schools \u2014 how to anticipate what a car will do and how to avoid being harmed by something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe new Strip location is a continuation of Harley-Davidson\u2019s presence in Las Vegas for decades. According to the Las Vegas Harley-Davidson website, Earl West opened a Harley-Davidson shop on Ogden Street during the 1940s and oversaw it for nearly 10 years. Jack Willows took over ownership before Bob Knerr, who moved the dealership to First Street prior to selling it in the late 1960s to R.R. Wilkerson who operated the business until it closed in 1973.<\/p>\n
\tThe company reappeared in Southern Nevada in the late 1970s before Neil and Alana Nelson purchased the dealership in 1980. In 1991, Neil moved the dealership from East Fremont Street to 2495 E. Sahara Ave.<\/p>\n
\tCashman and his business partner Don Andress bought the local company in 1995. After closing the Harley-Davidson store on East Sahara Avenue, they saw an opportunity to reach more people by adding a site on the Strip.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe had the franchise and business was good so the strategy was to move,\u201d Cashman said. \u201cThis store is significant step forward for us because of its location and we\u2019re trying to bring the brand of Harley-Davidson to a lot more people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tDespite the excitement of the company\u2019s new location, Cashman said the recession hit Harley-Davidson hard.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cOur revenue dropped almost in half and we had to take steps to control costs and be able to manage the recession well enough so that we were able to continue to invest,\u201d he said. \u201cThough overall economic activity seems to be picking up a bit, the industry is still essentially flat here in Southern Nevada because motorcycles tend to be for recreation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tCashman said he\u2019s hoping customers who aren\u2019t normally exposed to the Harley-Davidson brand will enjoy the new store. He also wants the store to become an attraction on the Strip.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe want to provide a great experience to enthusiasts who come to Las Vegas and give them a place to go, things to do and see while they\u2019re here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want you to really enjoy your motorcycle but the experience we provide as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Ann Friedman, Las Vegas Review-Journal Though Harley-Davidson first arrived in Las Vegas in the mid-1940s, their motorcycles, clothing and accessories just recently rode onto the Strip. The 65,000 square-foot location, at 5191 Las Vegas Blvd. South, opened Sept. 30. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8155\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}