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Cedar River Harley-Davidson celebrating 20 years

Cedar River Harley-Davidson celebrating 20 years
The staff at Cedar River Harley-Davidson are, from left, Guy Minert, sales manager; Brian Lumley, service manager; Danielle Sestina, Motorclothes; Ronald Minert, owner; Mike Chodur, service technician; Rhonda McLeland, owner/general manager; Jimmy Jilek, facility manager; Justin Schweizer, master technician; Zeke Nelson, parts manager; and Steve Minert, owner. Press photo by Bob Steenson
By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Cedar River Harley-Davidson Shop is celebrating its 20th anniversary Saturday, and it’s inviting the community to a party.

The company, located on Cedar View Road a little more than halfway from Charles City to Floyd, is holding a hog roast with live music, refreshments and – if the weather cooperates – the Harley train for kids rides.

The open house will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 10, and will also include discounts on Harley-Davidson merchandise.

Brother and sister co-owners Rhonda McLeland and Steve Minert talked about the history of the business located just east of the Avenue of the Saints.

Originally Superior Sports, a Honda, Yamaha and John Deere dealership run by Bill and Dee Burns for many years until their retirement, the property was purchased by brothers Ron and Tom Minert in 2001 as a satellite location to their big Harley-Davidson dealership in Mason City.

The exposure along the Avenue of the Saints – which was then being constructed – was the main reason for buying Superior Sports, Steve Minert, Ron’s son, said at the time.

“It is exposed to interstate traffic from St. Louis to St. Paul. There is already a large customer base, but the final decision was made because of the Avenue of the Saints,” he said. “People will travel hundreds of miles to get a Harley-Davidson.”

After a major site overhaul, Cedar River Harley-Davidson opened in 2002, offering a full line of H-D motorcycles, parts, accessories and service, and Harley-Davidson clothing.

Tom – widely known as “Hawk” – ran the business until 2018, said Rhonda McLeland, Ron Minert’s daughter. Tom Minert died this year in May.

Ron is now 80 and semi-retired, but still enjoys hanging around the dealerships and overseeing everything.

Steve said the Charles City business has been continually changed and updated in its 20 years, just like the Harley-Davidson line of motorcycles.

Over the years the sales trends had been moving toward older riders who were more interested in the more comfortable cruising models like the Touring line, Steve said. When Harley-Davidson began to sell its own company-built three-wheel trikes, that attracted even more older buyers.

“But lately, the last three years or so, the interest has really come up from younger people. The kids want the more traditional models, like the Sportsters and Softails. That demand was unexpected for us,” Steve said.

“Customer loyalty is huge with Harley-Davidson,” he said, so that interest from younger buyers is exciting. Once people become Harley riders they seldom switch to other brands, and many customers have bought multiple bikes over the years. Many families have multi-generational Harley ownership.

Rhonda said she used to work at the Mason City dealership, but she loves it at the Charles City shop, calling it a special place with special people.

She said her own personal mission statement is, “Doing what we’re doing, on the bikes we want to be on, with the people we want to do it with.”

One of the things that keeps bringing people back to the Cedar River shop is its service department, Rhonda said.

Its two primary mechanics, master technician Justin Schweizer and service tech Mike Chodur, have more than 40 years experience, and many people who have purchased their motorcycles elsewhere come to the Cedar River dealership for service work, she said. The service manager is Brian Lumley.

“It’s a difference in culture, in relationships. These guys in the back are the guys they navigate to. It’s an old school Harley shop,” she said.

Schweizer said the directions the Harley-Davidson company is going are “awesome,” keeping the traditional Harley feel while using modern technology like anti-lock brakes, LED lighting, fuel injection, security, navigation.

Steve Minert said a lot of people don’t realize Mason City Harley-Davidson and Cedar River Harley-Davidson are part of the same family.

Rhonda said having the two dealerships a short drive from each other is beneficial for both, because it expands the number of motorcycles they have for sale, and doubles the chances that one shop or the other will have a needed part or other item a customer wants.

Steve said the current construction on Highway 18/27 to build an overpass at the Floyd intersection makes it a little more difficult for some people to get to the dealership, but it’s still an advantage to be located so close to the Avenue of the Saints.

The business gets a lot of transient customers who are just driving by and see the sign, he said. A lot of riders stop by on their way to or from the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.

“We get them as transients, and keep them as customers,” Rhonda said.

She said the open house Saturday is just the first of many events they are planning for this 20th anniversary year. Future events will likely include bike nights, motorcycle rides, swap meets and other fun activities in the weeks ahead.

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