Gilbert Nicholson
Staff

Bill Peek remembers when he didn't have enough money to put gas in his car. So he and his wife spent the night at his Harley-Davidson repair shop in West End, with hopes that the next day's business would earn them a few bucks.

Three decades and plenty of persistence later, Peek, 52, continues with the venerable motorcycle maker but in a bigger way. The owner of Riders Harley-Davidson in Trussville on U.S. Highway 11 is building an estimated $5 million, 67,000-square-foot dealership behind the Cracker Barrel at the Trussville exit on Interstate 59. [...]

Peek has come a long way from working on motorcycles in his parents' West End basement. His revenue last year - from the Trussville dealership, a satellite shop in Pelham and his Oxford Harley dealership - topped $22 million.

His secret for success?

"Basically, persistence," Peek says. "Stay with it no matter what you're in, through the good times and bad times. If you get out in the bad times, you might miss the good times." [...]

Construction began in February on the Trussville facility, which is set to open in January. The architect is Design Works Studio of California. The contractor is Four Star Builders of Gadsden. Financing was provided by Colonial Bank.

The two-floor building includes a 27,000-square-foot showroom, with the balance for repair and maintenance, a parts department, apparel sales, and motorcycle storage. A stand-alone 7,400-foot-building will store company vehicles and provide a venue for promotional events.

Peek says his 22 full- and part-time staff will grow to 35 with the move.

"We're the highest-volume Harley dealer in the state. We were just bursting at the seams," Peek says of his current 27,000-square-foot Trussville dealership on U.S. Highway 11. [...]