By Lulu

Preparing to celebrate 29 years of business at his huge antique & custom bike show at Beaver Bar in Ormond Beach, I got Heavy Kastrul, owner of Midwest, to sit down and tell me what he contributes his success to and how the whole thing got started.

Dan Johnson the founder realized in 1992 with a three year wait to get a Harley, there was a need to rent motorcycles. He contacted the local Harley dealer to purchase six bikes. The only bikes available were a surplus of police bikes, but they would need approval from corporate to sell the police bikes to individuals other than police. In the end H-D said he would need to have a “Escort” License (like for escorting funerals), so Dan formed an escort business and had a steady supply of Police bikes. In 1994 Midwest incorporated and set up shop in Minnetonka, Minnesota. As business took off, they moved on to downtown Minneapolis. The business rented Harleys, Mopeds, pocket bikes & four wheelers. Seven years later their success was so great that they opened a second location in Daytona Beach for Bike Week and Biketoberfest. As the growth continued, they started a Sturgis location and in 2003 added a Myrtle Beach locale. In 2010 Ed “Heavy” Kastrul became a 50% partner and took the business from primarily renting bikes to a full-service motorcycle dealership selling used Harleys in Daytona, Sturgis, and Minneapolis. They moved inventory across the country at specific times of the year to maximize sales. This created the need for a full-service department to maintain rentals and to prepare used bikes for sale. Of course, that made having a parts department sensible. In 2014 Heavy bought Mr. Johnson’s remaining half and became sole proprietor. By 2014 most of the custom bike builders in the US were fading out such as Big Dog, Bourget, Orange County Choppers, Ironhorse, to name a few and so Heavy started building bikes. In 2023 Midwest Motorcycles will build about 20 custom bikes, from Choppers to Bobbers, to Cholos and a lot of big wheel baggers. Since Scott Foxx joined the team at Midwest he brings to the table years of builds and a manufacturers license so no special tag is required for those builds. Scott is known for his unique style and loves the bobber and Cholos builds. Ron Rhodes specializes in the art of old bikes. He is trying to maintain Old Man Tom’s knowledge and love of the Old Shovels/Panheads with antique restorations. Old Man Tom was a mechanic with Midwest for a long time, he passed away last year, and he is missed! The Bike Show in February was dedicated to his memory. Randy Rayfield is an electrical guru and has a vast knowledge of Metrics and does their trike kit conversions. They have 4 bikes on the build lifts in process now. They strive for affordable road worthy builds! They do it all: Bobbers, Cholos, Choppers, Tri conversions, Big Wheel Baggers and even audio. Heavy claims that his success is “I am not that smart, so I realized I better have more drive than most.” And knowing how hard it is to get him to sit for a short interview I can attest to his energy. We had time for a few short notes and then a whirlwind tour of his builds in the back.

Their business offers Sales, Rental & Service of Harley’s & Scooters, they repair and build your ride, offer financing on bikes and have a 24-hour Motorcycle Rescue & Towing too. Call 386-257-6265
So, if you need a build or custom work on your ride, Midwest is located at 444 N. Beach St. or check out their website midwestmotorcycles.com.