Harley-Davidson Dealerships Closed on Christmas: The Clickbait You Didn’t Need
Why The Sun’s “Braap” Headline and New Year Advice Miss the Mark on a Simple Holiday Closure
By Raine Devries | 21 December 2025
A slow Sunday morning was disrupted when I was reviewing Google News and saw the following headline from the UK-based tabloid The Sun: “BRAAP IT UP Final days until Harley-Davidson shutters all 630 dealerships in the US for 24-hour blackout”.
I have a number of high-ranking insider contacts at several of the OEM’s and dealerships; however, not once in recent days has anyone given me a news tip that Harley-Davidson would be closing all of their dealerships for 24-hours nor has the Motor Company issued a press release regarding a closure of all U.S. dealerships.
My first thought after reading the headline was that this might be dealership-wide training since the new H-D CEO Artie Starrs has been delving deep since his first day on the job of October 1, 2025. He has been asking solid questions, genuinely listening to feedback from the boots on the ground in all departments, and generally shaking things up in a very positive way.
Read my latest article on the new developments H-D CEO Artie Starrs is implementing at the legendary brand:
A New Dawn at Harley-Davidson: Artie Starrs Ignites Cautious Optimism Among Dealers
However, let’s cut to the chase and set the record straight regarding The Sun’s article: this is not a crisis, a mass shutdown, company-wide training, or some dramatic end-of-year story.
It’s for Christmas Day — you know, the national holiday when pretty much every retailer in America is closed, H-D or otherwise. Alas, this little factoid isn’t mentioned until you are committed to finding the “gotcha” in the body of the article.
Of note, the article is helpful in reminding readers that O’Reilly Auto Parts, NAPA, Jiffy Lube, and AutoZone are also closed on Christmas Day but nary a mention of the holiday hours of the BMW, Honda, Ducati, Kawasaki, Indian, or Suzuki dealerships.
So now, we jump into the substance of The Sun’s article…
The Real Story (and the Weird Headline Choices)
What’s not true — or at least wildly misleading — is the framing:
“BRAAP IT UP” in the headline?
Come on. “Braap” is dirt-bike and sport-bike slang for the high-pitched bark of a two-stroke or a screaming four-cylinder. Harley-Davidson riders have spent decades calling their sound “potato-potato” or simply “the rumble.” Throwing “braap” in there feels like someone on the editorial desk decided to borrow cool points from the wrong crowd. It’s not an H-D thing. Never has been.The headline itself
“BRAAP IT UP Final days until Harley-Davidson shutters all 630 dealerships in the US for 24-hour blackout” sounds like breaking news of a catastrophic, permanent closure — especially when real dealership closures have been happening in 2025. But this? This is just pertaining to a holiday schedule. Every major retailer in the U.S. closes on Christmas Day; it’s not news.The subheading advice
The article’s subhead says: “Holiday shoppers may want to wait until the new year to get a gift for the rider in their life.” Why on earth would you tell people to skip the post-Christmas sales? The last week of December is a prime time for discounts on apparel, accessories, parts, and even bikes at many dealerships. Telling shoppers to wait until 2026 is the opposite of helpful — it’s actively bad advice.
Even the creators of South Park know that H-D’s do not Braap!
Who’s Behind This?
The byline on the piece is Joseph Brogan, a motors writer for The US Sun. That said, headlines and subheads are almost always written by editors or dedicated headline teams — not the reporter. So this feels more like an editorial/SEO play to grab clicks than a journalistic misstep by the writer. Still, it’s disappointing to see a simple holiday fact twisted into something that sounds like a crisis.
Pro Tip: As a former motorcycle magazine editor, feature writer, and national columnist, I am 100% responsible for my own headlines and sub-headlines and when you read my content here on 2 Wheel Media, you can rest assured that I am not shooting for sticky or click-bait headings.
Bottom Line for Riders and Shoppers
Harley-Davidson dealerships are closed Christmas Day 2025... and so are most businesses in the U.S.
The H-D dealerships will reopen on December 26 - or whenever their dealership’s regular schedule resumes.
If you’re shopping for a rider this season - or yourself, don’t wait until 2026 — hit the after-Christmas sales as you will likely find some great deals — because let’s be honest, we only have 68-days until the opening of the season with Daytona Bike Week on February 27, 2026.
Let’s save “braap” for the motocross crew. In the meantime, ride safe, shop smart, enjoy the holidays, and keep the shiny side up!
click-bait…disappointing