- May 13, 2024
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Monster Motorcycles Inc., on U.S. 1 in Palm Coast, does Harley-Davidson work ‘from tune-ups to ground-ups.’
In the 20 years that Tony Provenzano ran a motorcycle shop on Long Island, N.Y., he specialized in custom bike-building. But after relocating to Palm Coast, his business strategy had to take a sharp turn.
For the past four years, Monster Motorcycles Inc., at 4490 U.S. 1, has served biker’s needs. But the needs, according to the shop’s owner, have become far more Floridian than they used to be.
Because of the weather, there is no “down time” in Florida, Provenzano said. Up north, bike owners bring their rigs in for customization in the winters when they can’t ride. But since moving south, Provenzano’s business has become about 80% service.
“It’s a whole different ballgame,” he said, still all New York, standing behind a glass counter filled with bike parts and sipping coffee from a Jack Daniel’s mug. “You talk to me as your mechanic … and I love my job, man. I’ve been doing it 25 years.”
With big arm tattoos, Provenzano wears a sleeveless shirt, an earring and a thick, black mustache.
A sign behind him reads: “Steal Here, Die Here!”
“I got my first mini bike at 7,” he said. “I made my Schwinn Stingray into a chopper at age 9. … Mostly, it just came naturally. I was taking things apart and figuring out how to put it back together (forever).”
It also didn’t hurt that his dad, a drag racer, constantly had spare parts lying around the house for Provenzano to tinker with.
For the first year Monster Motorcycles was in business in Palm Coast, Provenzano worked out of his home garage. But, despite launching in the beginning of a recession, he “outgrew that real quick.”
So he moved to the Hargrove Grade complex. His company didn’t fully hit its stride, though, until being established a year later on U.S. 1.
“A bike shop’s got to be on a main drag,” Provenzano said, where riders heading to or from St. Augustine can come around to “kick the tires” on the used bikes for sale out front or come in for parts.
Since moving to a main road, business “practically tripled,” he said. And getting people in has always been the hard part. “Once I got a customer through that door, I pretty much keep ’em.”
Provenzano works exclusively on Harley-Davidson bikes. That, he says, is what he went to school for after three years in the Army. And back home, in New York, he even worked on some celebrities’ bikes, including Billy Joel’s.
Surrounded by racks and cases of chrome, Monster T-shirts and leather riding garb, there is no doubt Provenzano is a diehard biker. He doesn’t own a car. And, as far as he’s concerned, he’ll be working on bikes the rest of his life.
“Until the day I die, man,” he said. “Even if I retire, I’ll still work on them out of the garage or whatever. My grandfather told me, ‘Find something you love to do and then find a way to make money doing it.’ That makes a happy camper, man. I’m always smiling.”
For more, call 446-4330.
