Harley-Davidson dealership owners are closing up shop as sales sag

There are few things more evocative of the free American spirit and the nation’s wide-open spaces than the image of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle zooming down a stretch of empty highway. But while taking one of the legendary hogs for a spin may still be liberating for riders, the company’s independent dealership owners are feeling an increasingly tight financial and business squeeze.

A rash of reports in recent weeks have sounded alarms about the troubles Harley dealers face, and the...