Petersen Harley-Davidson Honda

Petersen Motors, Inc., was started by our Father, Russell C. Petersen, in 1953 as a Studebaker and Packard dealership. Our original location was on West Pleasant Drive in Pierre at what is now Ferding Electric. Dad always had a love of motorcycles and had many brands in the early days as a side line – BSA and Triump to name a few. He became one of the nation’s early Honda motorcycle dealers in the early 1960s, but again, motorcycles were just for fun. Over the years the dealership sold Ramblers (American Motors), Dodge, Plymouth and Toyota. In 1980 Dad sold the Toyota franchise to Harding Motors (now Capital Motors) and concentrated on motorcycles and used cars. Probably the best long-term franchise he picked up over the years was Harley-Davidson in 1979, although is was far from obvious at the time. That first year we received three (3) new Harley® bikes to sell – a silver Low Rider®, a tan Electra Glide®, and and black Sportster®. Things have come a long ways. Mom and Dad retired in 1995, turning the business over to two of their sons, Russ Dulany and Ross Petersen. We remodeled and got out of the car business all together.