Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson is on a roll. The company has two motorcycle dealership locations serving Coconino and Yavapai counties. On I-40 in Bellemont, on Hwy 69 in Mayer & a MotorClothes™ and Accessories shop on Whiskey Row in Prescott.  A second MotorClothes™ shop recently opened in Sedona on May 8, 2006.

Since 1980, Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson has been a landmark for aficionados of the classic motorcycles, first in Flagstaff, then in Bellemont, where the store was moved in 1985. The relocation took advantage of the high traffic volume on I-40, said Dick Doughton, who, with his wife Beverly and son Kyle Rose bought the dealership in October 2001. Doughton worked with IBM and General Electric on the East Coast until 1968 he moved to Arizona to work in the G.E. Computer Division.  In 1974, when the division was sold to Honeywell, Doughton decided to open his own company, Southwest Performance Group, a worldwide sales and marketing training and consulting company serving the high-tech industry. After 25 years, Doughton sold the company to his employees.  He planned to retire – a plan that lasted less than a year – until the business partnership of Beverly, Kyle and Dick became involved in land development and construction.  After a few of years in that business, Kyle came up with the idea of buying a motorcycle dealership.

“In 2001, Dick asked his son Kyle, the youngest of his four children and a longtime motorcycle enthusiast, what he wanted to do,” Doughton said.  Kyle had been Activities Director of the Harley Owners Group of a motorcycle dealership in Mesa for several years, and our construction projects were winding down.  About that time the Flagstaff dealership was for sale, so we decided to buy it.

“It was one family business selling to another family business,” Doughton added.  “Most motorcycle dealerships are big operations.  We bought the one store and completed the construction of the second store at the Mayer location, on the road going north to Prescott from Cordes Junction.” 

The Mayer location is an SRL – a secondary retail location – because the population served isn’t large enough yet to sustain a full dealership, Doughton said, and the company hopes to grow it to a full-size dealership as it serves the rapidly growing population along Hwy. 69, the Prescott area, and the summer visitors who come to Yavapai County.

In April 2003, the company opened an ARO – auxiliary retail operation – in Prescott on Whiskey Row.  “It’s a very small store, about 1,200 square feet, in the center of the main block,” Doughton said.  “We don’t sell motorcycles in our AROs, we sell MotorClothes™ and related paraphernalia.

”Our Whiskey Row store is in a great location for year-round tourist activities,” he added.  “It’s phenomenally successful – constantly busy".  Our new Sedona store, an ARO, is about 1,500 square feet in a shopping plaza on Highway 89A.  It’s a beautiful store, with spectacular, unobstructed views.  Planned as a ‘destination stop’, it already is drawing thousands of tourists and motorcycle riders making Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon their destination.

Sales for all of Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson’s locations have grown steadily, and Doughton credits much of that growth to his company’s focus on building relationships with customers and the communities.  “Customer satisfaction is our big goal because that’s how a business earns customer loyalty and repeat business,” he said.  “And it all begins with having a great team of employees. We focus on attracting and keeping the best employees and our experience in training and development – including management and customer service training – has been very valuable.”

The Doughtons began with 17 employees & now have approximately 52.  Kyle Rose is an owner of the company & general manager of the Bellemont store. Beverly Doughton is president of the company. 
Today, as the company manages four locations and prepares to roll out the 2007 Harley-Davidson models – including many new models – Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson is ready to roll to even greater growth.  And if past performance is any indication for this company, it’s going to be a great ride. For more info grandcanyonhd.com.