By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Muskegon’s Hot Rod Harley-Davidson knows how to throw a party—invite 20,000 of your closest friends. The dealership is putting the finishing touches on its new downtown location and will celebrate on July 21 and 22 with Muskegon Bike Time, a weekend of motorcycle jumps, races, a hill climb, a wall of death, and more.
“We hope it becomes an annual event and brings many thousands of people to the waterfront,” says Mark Campbell, dealership co-owner with Carl Miskotten. “We're in an area that historically has a lot of bikers, and we have a ferry that goes directly across the lake to Milwaukee, the home of Harley-Davidson, so we have all these things converging on Muskegon.”
The new $4 million, 40,000-square-foot dealership on Seaway Drive is just three blocks from its home of the past 70 years. Campbell says the original building needed too much work, and the option to build overlooking Muskegon Lake was appealing.
The walkout basement opens on the lake side and features the Zoom Room, a club room where Harley enthusiasts can hang out. A school bus cut the long way forms the counter of a kitchenette where grub will be served on special occasions. A vintage Harley dealership and gas station round out the eclectic atmosphere.
Upstairs, the glass-walled showroom, which overlooks the lake, is filled with bikes ranging from $5,000 to $35,000, and a selection of leathers, jackets, helmets, and accessories.
“Harley is the last remaining US bike manufacturer,” Campbell says. “We want to be part of that ‘staying power’ for downtown Muskegon.”
Source: Mark Campbell, Hot Rod Harley-Davidson
Photos - the new facility and co-owner Mark Campbell
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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