Motorcycles are popular in Fort Dodge and Webster County. That local passion for bikes was a major reason Mike Donahe and his son, Terri Donahe, launched Strange Addiction Garage and & Customs earlier this summer at 1800 Fifth Ave. S.

“I’ve never seen a town this size with so many Harleys and so many people enthused about Harleys and the bike nights,” said Mike Donahe. “It’s unbelievable. I’ve never seen a town of 25,000 people like this. When you go down to Amigos on a bike night there are 150 to 175 bikes.”

The large number of motorcycle enthusiasts who live in Fort Dodge and the many who inhabit nearby locales made Fort Dodge a perfect location for a business devoted to servicing bikes and marketing custom-built motorcycles, Donahe said.

“We are here because it was a perfect location,” he said. “There isn’t a Harley place within an hour and a half of anybody who lives here. People here, if for example a belt broke on their bike, they would have to trailer it all the way to Des Moines. Drop it off. Wait for it to get fixed. Go all the way back there again to pick it up. So, it seemed to fit perfectly.”

The initial customer response to the Donahes’ business venture has been positive according to the senior Donahe.

“People seem to be appreciating it,” he said. “They like our prices and our work. So far we’ve kept everybody happy. Word of mouth is doing good.”

Co-owners Mike and Terri Donahe have completed extensive specialized training and are certified to perform the full range of service and maintenance on Harley-Davidson products. They graduated in 2014 from an intensive 18-month training program at the Motorcycle Mechanic Institute located in Orlando, Florida.

“My son and I went to school together and got certified,” Mike Donahe said. “We do all the services on Harley-Davidson – routine maintenance, breakdowns, diagnostics, tire changes. The school is called MMI. Harley sets up all the criteria. As a graduate, you are certified to do anything on a Harley. They teach you everything from the repair and maintenance to the service department side of it to customer service. … It’s a long course – five days a week.”

Strange Addiction Garage & Customs offers the full range of repair, service and maintenance options for motorcycles. There is, however, a good deal more to the story.

“Our main goal is to get into customs,” Mike Donahe said. “That’s what we love to do. The services keep us alive and keep people from having to travel to Des Moines. Our main goal is to try to get our customs off the ground.”

Neither building custom bikes nor maintaining motorcycles is a new passion for Donahe.

“I’ve been doing it for 15 years,” he said, noting that he has built more than 200 custom motorcycles over those years.

Donahe said the custom-build component of the enterprise addresses the desire many motorcycle owners have for a unique ride.

“We can build to exactly the way the customer wants it. We can build from the ground up or modify existing bikes,” he said. “Everybody is different. It’s creating a bike to be exactly what the person wants. … We can build whatever they want, whatever they envision.”

He said the cost of a custom bike varies widely because the price is ultimately a function of the mix of features the customer chooses.

A good example of the Donahes’ custom work is currently on display in the showroom of Kemna Auto of Fort Dodge, 10 S. 25th St. The Donahes built and donated a bike that is being raffled to support the Kayla Jones Memorial Scholarship Fund. The drawing will take place Sept. 10.

Secret of success

The Donahes are enthusiastic about Fort Dodge as a place to grow their new business.

“I love Fort Dodge,” Mike Donahe said. “I think it’s a great place. There is a lot of stuff to do here. … Here it’s family-oriented. People are really nice.”

He said he thinks the approach to business Strange Addiction employs is a good fit for the community.

“We’re honest. We’re fair,” Donahe said. “We’re not trying to retire on one job. We do our work and if we can make a living at it, we’re happy. We treat everybody with respect and listen to them and help them as best we can. We are just trying to be honest and do it the right way. If we make a mistake, we’ll cover it.”

His son added that happy customers make the work especially satisfying.

“I like when the customers keep coming back,” Terri Donahe said. “It’s a good feeling when they keep coming back.”

His father said that even though the business is new, it already has many repeat patrons.