Harley-Davidson of Indianapolis Celebrates Fishers Grand Opening
Writer: Jon Shoulders
Photographer: Brian Brosmer
The recent opening of the northside Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership and service center on Reynolds Drive in Fishers signifies much more than a simple relocation from its former Carmel setting, according to co-owner David Dellen.
“We’re doubling in size from our old location in Carmel on 96th Street, and there’s a lot we can do now here in Fishers that we couldn’t do before,” he says. “We just outgrew the old location. We’re excited for the change, and we’re going to have fun with it.”
The new two-story facility spans approximately 37,000 square feet on 3.5 acres and features a service center, an outdoor patio, a customer lounge area and in-house bike storage. Dellen, who has co-owned the 22,000-square-foot dealership on 96th Street with his mother Donna since 2012, even obtained a beer and wine license for special onsite events and parties.
“One of the biggest complaints at the old dealership was that our service department couldn’t store the bikes and had to push them outside everyday and expose them to the elements,” says Dellen, adding that the Fishers store accommodates almost double the parking space he offered in Carmel. “Now, when someone brings a bike in, they get checked in and the bike goes up to our heated, secured storage area and stays there until it’s worked on. The new location will be much better for our service needs and our storage needs.”
The Dellens broke ground in March 2017 with Mayor Scott Fadness in attendance, and Dellen says the mayor and the Fishers community in general have been largely supportive of the new facility from day one. The owners officially opened the Fishers store on January 20 and held a grand opening celebration a week later featuring live music and refreshments.
“Fishers is becoming this fantastic epicenter of community engagement and activities, and we’re excited to be a part of it,” says Dellen, who began working at the dealership at age 17 when his father was the owner, and currently also co-owns Cannonball Harley-Davidson in Terre Haute. “The overwhelming majority of people are saying how excited they are about it. We’ve had some people saying they’re disappointed that we’re moving farther away from them, but you can’t really help that.”
The new facility will also be able to accommodate Riding Academy lessons, through which individuals can learn to ride a Harley and obtain the proper licensing. Dellen says his instructors have been using Sand Creek Elementary School for riding lessons since he began offering the course more than two years ago and is pleased to be able to offer the course at his own facility moving forward.
“We’ll be able to have eight students per class, and we’re hoping to have some weekday classes as well as weekend classes,” he says. “The classes are typically offered April through October, and we have ladies-only courses, classes for military and an advanced course for skilled riders.”
Even the sign hanging over the new store’s front entrance was carefully thought out by the Dellens – they retained a custom fabricator with years of experience in sheet metal fabrication to construct it with fortina, a metal wrapped with a durable composite material that resembles wood, to lend a contemporary appearance to the building’s overall exterior façade.
Dellen’s father and grandfather purchased the franchise 40 years ago, back when it was a Kawasaki dealership at 54th Street and Keystone Avenue. They eventually relocated the operation to 96th Street in the late 1990s, becoming an exclusive new and used Harley-Davidson dealer over the ensuing years – a decision Dellen says led to consistent growth and a steady increase in sales that prompted the current move to Fishers. The Dellens currently employ a staff of 35 at the dealership.
“After my dad died in 2008, my mom and I took a few years to finish his estate and officially became owners by 2012,” he says. “We’ve been fortunate to carry on with the business. It’s been a great experience, and we’ve had a positive response in Fishers so far, which is a good sign.”
Harley-Davidson of Indianapolis is located at 12400 Reynolds Drive in Fishers. For sales info and additional details on repair services or licensing classes, call 317-815-1800 or visit hdofindy.com.
