New larger locale spurs business for homegrown American Biker

The phone rang, and American Biker's co-owner and manager Rich Worley hurried into his office to take the call - one of several he received in the first hour of business Wednesday morning.

He's busy a lot these days. A few weeks ago, American Biker opened its new, close-to-20,000-square-foot showroom at College Park Road and Interstate 26. A grand opening with barbecue, drinks and bikini-clad bike washers will be held today.

The store, designed like an old filling station with reproduction gas pumps and old signs, is four times larger than its previous spot on Savannah Highway. The new American Biker is fully stocked with parts, accessories, T-shirts, boots, helmets, glasses and dozens of bikes: new Big Dogs, used Harleys, Triumphs, Vespas, even a new Excelsior built like a 1920s bike that requires pedal-power to turn the motor.

At the same time, Worley said he's already considering an expansion to the service department, where about 50 cycles are parked for repairs and tune-ups.

The effort to get the new store off the ground has been nothing if not challenging. He added an upstairs apartment in the store so he could stay close to the task at hand even after hours.

"Going back to being a mechanic sounds nice," Worley quipped. He worked as a fix-it expert at American Biker from 2002 to 2006. That's when he and his father Rick Worley bought the business.

Actually, the younger Worley is quite pleased with the growth of American Biker. The locally based shop has carried the high-end Big Dog brand for a decade while recently adding Vespa's parent Piaggio and noted bike maker Triumph, giving the store a diverse lineup.

Rick Worley long figured his son would have something to do with motorbikes, noting that Rich got his first Honda all-terrain cycle as a 4-year-old growing up in Tabor City, N.C. "He's always had a love of bikes," Rick Worley said.

Rich attended the College of Charleston but confessed to his father that his life's ambition was to work on motorcycles. He enrolled at Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Florida.

"If he doesn't like the business, he will always have a cycle, so it's not money thrown away," his father reasoned.

After graduating from MMI, Worley returned to Charleston and landed the American Biker mechanics job. His father's financial backing helped him purchase the business three years ago.

Rich Worley handles day-to-day operations, although his dad had a hand in finding the site and designing the new store. The business has nine employees.

Worley said the venture is set up to his liking. The locale, on a frontage road just north of the College Park Road exit, is highly visible along Interstate 26 and has a bank of lights so it's easy to see at night. Worley said even when the store was in West Ashley about 60 percent of the business was from places such as Ladson and Goose Creek that are real close to the new shop.

"Oh, it really is nice," said Steve Deberry of Summerville, who was checking out the Triumphs one day this week.

The brands complement each other. Big Dog is factory-produced but is more like a custom-designed bike, priced at $20,000 to $40,000. Triumph fits the middle range, with cycles from $7,000 to $16,000. The Piaggio line, headed by Vespa, are fuel-sipping scooters for people who want to zip around town.

Both men and women frequent the shop. "A lot of women ride bikes," said Debbie Kreger, a sales representative who is most involved with the clothing lines. "Ten years ago, is was 5 to 10 percent. Now, it's 45 percent," she said.

Worley has maintained a retro feel to the store. There are classic bikes, including a 1948 Harley and a rare 1936 Indian.

He parked his 1928 Reo Flying Clou d "rat rod" in the showroom one day and suddenly it was on display. So is a bike he built from the spare parts of other cycles, which he has dubbed "Rat Bagger." And there's his prized possession: a 1955 Triumph Tiger T110 with just 62 miles. "It was in my living room for three years," he said, just now getting a place to show the cycle.

Store hours at American Biker are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Web site is www.americanbiker.biz and the phone number is 641-0258.

Worley said securing the new locale and constructing the building were smart business moves. But there's something even more critical. "The most important thing is service. We pride ourselves on customer service."

Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or jparker@postandcourier.com.