1 of 2
Meet the Aiken Electric Cooperative member whose private collection of vintage and custom Harley-Davidson motorcycles and memorabilia rivals that of any museum.
Photo by Keith Phillips
2 of 2
Ride on
With nearly 40 road-ready bikes to choose from, Kelly "B.K." Keenan rotates through his fleet on Sunday afternoon rides.
Photo by Keith Phillips
Kelly 'B.K.' Keenan
Hometown: New Ellenton.
Claim to fame: Collector and customizer of vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycles. He also collects memorabilia and restores vintage cars.
Favorite ride: His oldest bike, an award-winning 1947–50 mashup of a Knucklehead and a Panhead that he calls “the half breed.”
Occupation: Retired from working in oil fields and construction, he owns All American Co., a motorcycle repair shop. “I did pretty good in business so I can spend a little money building bikes.”
Words to live by: “If you’re good to people, it will come back around to you.”
Co-op affiliation: Aiken Electric Cooperative.
Collector of chrome
Pass through the doors of the old bank at the intersection of Main and George streets in New Ellenton and you are greeted by the unmistakable aroma of vintage motorcycles—a heady mix of gasoline, oil, tires and leather.
The building houses the museum-style collection of gleaming Harley-Davidson motorcycles and memorabilia curated by Aiken Electric Cooperative member Kelly “B.K.” Keenan, a collection he shares—for free—by appointment with fellow motorheads and customers of his motorcycle repair shop.
“This is my personal stuff,” he says guiding a visitor around what may be the ultimate man cave. “I piddle with them. It’s a pretty good job to keep them and running and clean.”
Of the 40 vintage and custom Harley-Davidsons he’s been gathering since 2002, most are road ready. “Everything I’ve got, I ride,” Keenan says. “Every time I come in here to go and get on a motorcycle, I put a dealer tag on the next motorcycle in line.”
Motorcycles have been a lifelong obsession for Keenan, who roared out of New Ellenton on two wheels at the age of 15, headed west, and found work in the oil fields. When he returned home a few decades later, he enjoyed a successful career in construction before retiring in 2021 to indulge his passion full time.
Keenan’s trove of memorabilia—everything from motorcycle jackets hanging from the ceiling to a pristine collection of Easy Rider magazines neatly organized in old newsstand racks—is almost as impressive as the bikes themselves. And it continues to grow. “For years, my family and everybody who is anybody in my life has always given me Harley stuff,” he says.
To take a tour, call (803) 640-3228 or stop in at the All American Co. garage next door between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays. “If they call and tell me they are Harley-Davidson people and they would like to look,” Keenan says, “I always let ’em in."