Motorcycle enthusiasts on the east side of Tucson will no longer need to trek across the city for their Harley-Davidson bikes, parts and apparel.
A new dealership, dubbed Old Pueblo Harley-Davidson, is under construction at 7503 E. 22nd St., just east of South Kolb Road.
Owners hope to have the full-service facility up and running by July, with a grand opening scheduled for Sept. 18, said regional marketing manager Michelle Hains.
The new location will have 12,000 square feet of retail space, and will employ 40 full-time workers when fully operational.
It will be the second Harley shop in Tucson. The first, Harley-Davidson of Tucson, is at 7355 N. I-10 Eastbound Frontage Road, at West Ina Road and Interstate 10.
Tyler Steimel, who owns both locations with his business partners William Nash and William Coulter, said Harley-Davidson corporate was hesitant at first to allow a second dealership for the Tucson metro area.
“When you have a million residents, you are right on the edge of what they require for a second location,” said Steimel, who also owns Harley dealerships with his partners in Sierra Vista and Tombstone. “They don’t just throw out locations, especially coming out of a recession.”
Steimel had to fly out a half-dozen people from Harley’s corporate offices in Milwaukee, put them on motorcycles, and lead them on a ride across the city to show them what he called Tucson’s “less-than-awesome infrastructure.”
“On MapQuest, it doesn’t look very far,” he said. “But we wanted them to see how difficult it was to move east to west in Tucson without easy freeway access.
“It is more than a 45-minute drive from Ina to that side of town.”
Once the dealership was approved, they looked at several properties, including lots on East Speedway and East Tanque Verde Road, before deciding on the 22nd Street site.
“There is not a lot of proper zoning for a motorcycle dealership out that direction,” Steimel said. “That spot was wildly in our favor as far as having the right acreage, the right location. The configuration allowed us to get to work quickly, as opposed to having a yearlong rezoning battle.”
Like its west-side counterpart, Old Pueblo Harley-Davidson will offer parts, clothing and accessories, a service department and a full range of Harley models.
East-side Harley owners — like Doug White, who lives within 3 miles of the new location — have been excited by the prospect of a new shop.
White was the director of the Tucson chapter of the Harley Owners Group from 2013 to 2104.
The group boasts 250 members and holds meetings at Harley-Davidson of Tucson every second Sunday of the month.
White said he likes the Ina location, but it can be a hassle getting there.
He recalled a recent situation where he lost the end cap for the throttle cable on his wife’s Harley while performing maintenance.
“I had to ride all the way out to Ina to pick up a piece that was a couple of dollars,” he said. “It was a waste of nearly two hours.”
White said many of the group’s members live on the east side.
“We’ve always seen support from that side of town,” Steimel said.
