Local entrepreneur Bruce Rossmeyer, left, with his son Will at Destination Daytona in Ormond Beach, recently added Graceland Harley-Davidson in Memphis, Tenn., to his dealership chain. Rossmeyer has become the nation's largest Harley dealer in just 13 years.
Elvis fans are the latest target market for Rossmeyer, who, over the course of 13 years, has become the nation's biggest Harley dealer with 10 dealerships spread across Florida and three other states, including the newest in Elvis' old stomping grounds, Memphis, Tenn. He predicts his combined sales this year will top $200 million. "I'm not one of the biggest dealers -- I'm the biggest," said Rossmeyer with his typical good-humored braggadocio.
"Some other dealer may have more blades of grass, and someone else may sell more sparkplugs than I do, but I sell the most motorcycles. And at 325 pounds, I've got to be biggest. " Now that a strike at a Harley factory in York, Pa.
, has been settled just in the nick of time, Rossmeyer's three dealerships in the Daytona Beach area are confident they'll have enough inventory to sell 400 new and used motorcycles during the 10 days of Bike Week. "A lot of Harley dealers don't sell 400 bikes in an entire year," Rossmeyer said. Nationally his dealerships sold more than 4,500 new motorcycles during 2004, according to his company's Web site, brucerossmeyer.
com. A Harley-Davidson spokesman declined comment, saying the company doesn't publicize dealership rankings or sales numbers. A dealership across the street from Presley's Graceland mansion in Memphis is the latest addition to Rossmeyer's stable.
As the managers of Presley's estate begin rolling out recordings and concerts to mark the 30th anniversary of the singer's death, Rossmeyer is right there in the thick of things. His part of the hoopla will be to market a limited-edition Harley model as a tribute to the King. "We're building a bike that duplicates the '57 one that Elvis drove," Rossmeyer said in a recent interview at his Destination Daytona office.
"We're only going to sell 30 of them." First dibs on the bikes, which will be priced above $50,000 each, will go to people buying tickets for April 21-22 Harley rally in Memphis, dubbed the "Elvis Rock 'n' Roll Ride." The first bikes are expected out this summer.
Sean O'Grady, a retired Daytona Beach policeman, said Rossmeyer's dealerships in the past tended to charge about $2,000 to $3,000 more per bike than competitors in Orlando. "He was kind of known as a high-priced cat," O'Grady said. "Daytona Beach was always the Rodeo Drive for motorcycles.
" But that's changed since Destination Daytona opened, O'Grady said. He just bought a Soft-Tail Night Train model at the Ormond store for a price he considered a bargain. "I don't think it's just Rossmeyer who's lowering prices," he said.
"That's probably a national trend because dealers see the working class just doesn't have as much money to spend with gas prices going up." When Destination Daytona opened, some people in Daytona Beach fretted the new venue would siphon Bike Week business away from Daytona's Main Street and Beach Street, said Kevin Killian, vice president of special events at The Chamber, Daytona Beach Halifax Area. The opposite has occurred, Killian said.
"Destination Daytona has created a more manageable Bike Week, with more things to do. People come to Bike Week to ride, and this gives them another place to ride to," he said. "Bike Week is more spread out now, but as long as Daytona Beach remains the hub of it, that's not a bad thing.
" Rossmeyer, a New Jersey native who lives in Fort Lauderdale and Ormond Beach, opened his Beach Street dealership in 1994. It was his first venture in the motorcycle business after decades as a car dealer. Although his Ormond store now does a larger volume, he said he has no plans to close the Beach Street site.
"Some bikers who come to Daytona Beach don't want to drive up to Ormond and some of the people who stop at Destination Daytona have no interest in going into Daytona," Rossmeyer said. "Having two dealerships gives them the best of all possible worlds. " Rossmeyer also operates a small Harley clothing store on Daytona's Main Street and another in Ocean Walk Village, but the Ocean Walk outlet will close soon, said his attorney, Dean Pepe.
Cyril Huze, a custom builder in Boca Raton, said Rossmeyer gained a high profile among bikers throughout Florida during the 1990s for defending Bike Week against politicians who complained about its noise and revelry. "He was nicknamed 'the Mayor of Daytona' because of his fights with the city," Huze said. "Now with Destination Daytona being the 'in' place, we need to find him a new nickname.
" Brian Holt, a sportswear manufacturer, is getting ready to open a 6,000-square-foot sportswear shop and tattoo studio at Destination Daytona. He said he was impressed by Rossmeyer's mastery of details and his informal way of doing things. "He remembers everything you tell him, even years later," Holt said.
"And his word is good. You don't need a contract and 17,000 lawyers to do business with him." Three of Rossmeyer's children help him manage the Volusia corner of his growing empire.
Will Rossmeyer, his only son, has the largest role, serving as vice president of Daytona Harley-Davidson Inc., one of several corporate entities owned by his father. "Will is in charge of the service department and works with the vendors," the elder Rossmeyer said.
While Bruce Rossmeyer spends considerable time on the road, visiting other dealerships in South Florida, Mississippi, Colorado and Tennessee, Will Rossmeyer sticks close to Ormond, remaining accessible to customers at the local dealerships. He also serves as the dealerships' liaison to the Harley Owners Group. Shelly Rossmeyer Pepe, his youngest daughter, manages the Arlen Ness dealership.
Mandy Rossmeyer, his oldest daughter, works for her father part-time, helping out with special assignments during busy periods like Bike Week and Biketoberfest. A niece in Memphis, Lisa Rossmeyer Wade, is co-owner of the Graceland dealership. They help manage a company-wide workforce of about 500.
About 125 of the employees work year-round at the dealerships in Ormond, Daytona and New Smyrna. During Bike Week, the three locations add about 70 temporary workers. At 63, Rossmeyer has no plans to slow down.
"I tell people I'm already retired with a full-time job," he quipped. He said he'd like to remain active at least five or 10 more years, and possibly add a few more dealerships. He buys and sells dealerships nearly every year, recently unloading locations in Plantation and Aspen Valley, Colo.
"I'm always looking," he said. Here are the Harley-Davidson dealerships owned or co-owned by Bruce Rossmeyer and his family. He is also a partner in Daytona Toyota and DeLand Dodge.
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