Steve Drane knows motorcycles.
He’s been riding them since he was six years old, fixing them up for about as long and selling them to customers of all types for more than 35 years.
Riding hand-built motorcycles powered by washing machine engines, Drane fell in love. By age 11 he was riding real motorcycles and would go on to race them in every way he could.
“Road raced, drag raced, dirt raced, enduros – you name it, I’ve done it on motorcycles,” Drane says.
Drane worked his way up through the tools, starting as a motorcycle technician for all types of bikes before specializing in Harley Davidson around 1971.
“Just the mystique of the Harley, of the bike, the engine, the transmission, really caught hold and I really liked it,” Drane says.
Drane opened his first Harley Davidson shop in 1976 in Victoria and moved three times before constructing his purpose-built store in Langford in 2009.
“I love Langford, lived out here for years and really like the place. It’s progressive and really moving forward,” Drane says. “Not bad for a farm field I used to ride around on my dirt bike as a kid.”
Those first days of falling in love with motorcycles, and passing that enthusiasm on to others, still fuel the fire to keep Drane inspired to do what he does to this day.
“Even after 40 years in the business, I still feel as excited as if I was buying the motorcycle for myself when I finish delivering one to a new customer,” Drane says. “Motorcycles in general have brought me such pleasure over the years that I really like to share it with other people.”
Steve Drane Harley Davidson (2940 Ed Nixon Tce.) celebrates its five year anniversary with a customer appreciation lunch on May 24 featuring a live band, lunch, show and shine and more.