In 1989 an unassuming motorcycle shop opened its doors in the Myrtle Beach area of Socastee, South Carolina. The original owners, Dickie Martin and Carl Bowler, transformed a small space at the back gate of the old air force base into B & M Custom Cycles. Eventually Bowler left to follow other pursuits, but Martin kept cranking, pounding, wrenching, plugging along. BMCC accumulated lots of dedicated customers and a little grease before outgrowing that shop. In 2000 a new partner came along with new dreams for B & M. Ben Brown was a lifelong businessman who'd spent years in the car business and understood the rewards and demands involved in running a shop with a bustling parts and service area in addition to lots of retail space. This, combined with the strong technical knowledge of a founding partner, held great promise. Martin and Brown took a commemorative chunk of the grease wall from the small shop and together moved into the ambitious 6,000 square foot B & M Custom Cycles that exists today on Hwy. 17 Business near 5th Ave North in Myrtle Beach, SC.
The Grand Strand warmly welcomed the professional service and wide selection of parts and accessories that B & M Custom Cycles has come to symbolize. As more folks ended up hanging around talking shop and larger crowds began gathering for the Annual Spring and Fall Rallies, Martin and Brown built on one of their more ingenious additions, the "You, Ben, Dick n' Me" party deck out back. Many a rockin' band, hot beer tub babe, cheap cold one, wet t-shirt contest, pig-pickin', rebel yell has graced that place.
It went so well that Martin and Brown, with the help of a friend, decided to branch out into the bar and restaurant business in 2001 when they opened the doors of the B & M Roadhouse in a fabulous location, literally right next door to the motorcycle shop. People seemed to enjoy the laidback atmosphere and incredible dishes that were specially crafted for the place. The regulars made sure they stayed busy. It took a couple years for the fellas to decide they were better suited for running a motorcycle shop than a bar, saying something about the late hours being a little too much for the old men. So they turned their full attention back to providing great service and all the chrome, leather, chrome, parts, accessories, apparel and chrome they could fit into their retail space. Then, early in 2006, founding partner Dickie Martin left BMCC and opened his own shop, Dick Martin Custom Cycles, in Socastee.
As it goes in life, lots of things have changed over the years, but the important things have not. Our commitment to doing good business is unwavering. We're carrying on the original vision that Dickie and Carl started off with 18 years ago. Our loyal customers will tell you, we're in the motorcycle business, not in the business of ripping you off. Motorcycles are what we love. We believe in fair prices on quality merchandise and service. We believe in being straight forward...if it won't work on your bike, we won't sell it to you. We believe in helping people out...if we don't have it, we'll send you somewhere that does. Part of the beauty of dealing with a shop like ours is that we're big enough to have just about everything you'll need, but we're small enough to still give you personal attention. Your bike and your business are important to us.
We carry parts and accessories produced by companies that you know and trust like Kuryakyn, Bassani, V-Twin, Custom Chrome, Kustomwerks, Arlen Ness, S&S, and Drag Specialties. And all of our products are new, first run, not factory seconds or overages. We've gotten questions about why we price our products so reasonably. It's because we want you to have them. We ride. We know what it’s like to crave a hot motorcycle and we know how it feels to have your machine running well and looking sharp. And at B & M Custom Cycles you're paying for quality parts and accessories made by independent companies, not for that big brand name.
We're here 6 days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 9am to 6pm at 508 North Kings Hwy (aka 17 Business) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Our location, right downtown near the old Pavilion Amusement Park, ensures we're always easy to find and in the heart of the action.
We're "Rally Central" for the motorcycle festivals, like Myrtle Beach Bike Week, the Fall Rally and Memorial Bike Fest, hosted on the Grand Strand each year. The area's largest event, called the 3rd largest in the nation, is the Spring Rally, also known as Myrtle Beach Bike Week, which brings more than 300,000 people to the Strand. It always falls around Mother's Day; the 2nd Saturday of May is always the first Saturday of Bike Week. Although the Spring Rally is technically a week, bikers come early and stay late meaning the event has stretched into about 9 days of fun at great biker bars along the 60 miles of sandy, sunny coast. The next one is slated for May 9-18, 2008.
Memorial Bike Fest, also known as Black Bike Week, follows shortly after the Spring Rally. Over Memorial Day weekend hundreds of thousands of bikers descend on the Myrtle Beach and Atlantic Beach areas for the concerts, parties and events. Black Bike Week is coming up May 24-27, 2008.
The Fall Rally is the younger sister of Myrtle Beach Bike Week. It's smaller, a bit cooler, less crowded and hotel rates are a little cheaper. But the 5-day festival has many of the same great draws as the Spring Rally...plenty of bikes, vendors, concerts, great bars and seafood and the beautiful coastline that stretches for miles and miles. The next Fall Rally is October 1-5, 2008.
So if you're in town for a rally, family vacation, honeymoon, business trip, the hell of it, drop by and see us at 508 North Kings Highway, between 5th and 6th Avenues North, across from the post office.
And if you can't visit but have questions or want to talk shop, give us a call toll free at 1 800 721 4647.
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