Bruce Rossmeyer Motorcycle Visionary Dies in Motorcycle Crash

Bruce Rossmeyer, owner and the visionary responsible for Daytona's famous Destination Daytona, died Thursday in a motorcycle accident. He was riding from a Denver dealer meeting on his way to a gathering of the famous Hamsters, and died when a RV pulling a trailer turned in front of him on a rural road in Wyoming.

Rossmeyer was a lifelong motorcycle enthusiast and bought Daytona Harley Davidson in 1994 in an effort to combine his hobby and business. With the purchase of Rossmeyer's Daytona Harley Davidson he raised the Daytona events of Bikeweek and Biktoberfest to a new level in the late 1990s as he invented and developed the Beach Street area. With probably the most important venue outside of Main St., Beach Street grew to become the most popular locale for bikers looking for well known builders like Arlen Ness, Ron Simms, or Dave Perewitz. Rossmeyer also developed the field across from his giant Harley store along the Halifax River with a huge concert area with vendors and other motorcycle businesses.

During a Motorcycle Monster interview, Bruce told the Monster after years of battling the City of Daytona over expansion issues, he decided to "move the party" and purchase 150 acres on I-95 in Ormond. Not only did he build the largest Harley Davidson dealership in the country, over 109,000 square feet, he persuaded long time friend John Parham to put his J and P Cycles store next door. Other motorcycle business followed, including Arlen Ness, along with restaurants, condos, and a motel. A new truck stop, music pavilion, and Wyotec school made the new facility the true destination of choice during the two mega events for bikers. Not only did his Daytona facility do well, he added Harley stores in New Smyrna, Ft Lauderdale, Massachusetts, Memphis, and Colorado.

Bruce had already built another business empire with automobile dealerships before ever getting into the Harley business. The Rossmeyer Harley stores were his hobby and with his business plan and passion, they became the benchmark in the Harley World.

Aside from his dealership operations, Rossmeyer was a generous man with his success. He was one of the founding board members and raised millions with the "Boggy Creek Gang" a charity for children with life threatening illnesses, built by folks like Rossmeyer, Paul Newman and General Swartzkoff. His support for the Girls and Boys Clubs is also well known. When the holiday season came around, Rossmeyer also helped with the giant Fun in the Sun Toy Run who also raised millions for the Joe DiMaggio's Children's Hospital in Miami.

Motorcycle Monster founder Dan Derringer said, "It is a sad day. Not only did we loose one of the top biker personalities in our business, we lost a true biker, friend, and brother rider. Bruce was in the Harley business because he loved motorcycles and the folks that ride them. He always had a moment to help a rider, raise money for the kids, or just talk about how good your pipes sounded. We will all miss him."

Bruce is survived by his wife Sandy and five children. Bruce was 66.