Tim Lucas, owner of Harley® Haven, started out wrenching on a few of his friends Harleys® in his garage. Word soon got out and those few friends turned into many new faces and lots of traffic. It became impossible to park at our house and you usually had to move several motorcycles to get to your own. It was apparent that we had to find a location to open a real repair shop before the neighbors voted to kick us out of the neighborhood.
A good friend had a building in Cayce, not far from our home; we signed the lease, got the licenses and officially opened our doors in April of 1981. This aftermarket shop known as "Harley® Haven" went from part-time to full-time for both of us. Scary with four children at home to feed and clothe, but successful. We eventually purchased the leased building, as well as the lot next to us and expanded the building. Not long after, Harley-Davidson® contacted us and informed us we could not use the word "Harley®" in our business name. The shop name changed to "The Haven" and it was business as usual.
We then began to explore the chance of obtaining an authorized Harley-Davidson® dealership. After some time and much correspondence, the local district manager for Harley-Davidson® paid us a visit. The wheels starting turning, we purchased a lot, built a new building with the hopes that we might possibly become a dealer and were finally approved for an authorized Harley-Davidson® dealership in 1990. This was a dream come true for both of us. Needless to say, we requested the name "Harley® Haven" for our dealership.