HISTORY OF BARGER HARLEY-DAVIDSON
Barger Harley-Davidson was established in 1977 by Loretta & Gene. At that time, we also had Sherman Oaks Honda & Triumph on Ventura and Van Nuys Blvd., which was sold in 1982.

Loretta drew the plans and supervised all of the construction of the new buildings, which were started in 1977 and complete expansion in 2002, with the addition of our new showroom.

Harley-Davidson was having a difficult time in the early '80s until they had a turnaround in popularity in the late '80s and early '90s, which continues to the present time. Harley-Davidson was then the only American motorcycle manufacturer and was getting undercut by the Japanese products selling at too low a price. That's when the federal government stepped in and put a ban on the unfair practices of the Japanese imports. From that time on, Harley has taken front and center in the large cc motorcycle market.

To this day, Loretta and Gene still operate the dealership. Gene mainly supervising sales, parts and service and Loretta takes the responsibility of most of the paperwork required, accounting systems, management systems and employment practices. Today there are so many rules and regulations that are imposed on employers and dealerships it takes too much time away from our real purpose and passion of motorcycles.

A bit of nostalgia, in how we got started advertising with our animals. In 1977, a customer gave us an all black kitten, who we named Fatbob. When he was little, he would climb up the parts-man's pant leg to get onto the counter and see the customers. It didn't take long for anyone behind the counter to lift him up when he meowed & a lot less painful! Sometime in 1978 when Loretta was out of ideas for an ad... she looked at Fatbob sitting on her desk, and decided to do a full page ad in Cycle Trader with the cat title "Bob Sez" i,e, Bob Sez we had an Open House; Motorcycle Sale...etc. He advertised for us about 15 years - and sadly passed away in 1998. In the meantime, Loretta bought 3 Siberian Huskies, who were raised at the store when they were pups. All of us took turns taking them for a walk. When they grew up, Loretta decided they could also do ads for the store. This time they would be talking to each other. We all had great fun with the ads and the customers also took part by doing Hi Fives at the counter with the Siberians. Sadly, both Cody & Blue passed away in 2009 we all miss them!

Services:

New & used Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales & service, parts, accessories, leathers, boots, & jewelry. See our website for more: www.bargerharley-davidson.com

Accomplishments:

Many charitable events thru out the year. Monthly Open House & Sales, see our website: www.bargerharley-davidson.com

Associations:

California Motorcycle Dealer Association, Southern California Harley-Davidson Dealers Association, Woodland Hills-Tarzana Chamber of Commerce, & California Chamber of Commerce.

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