There’s a new Business in Orrville, the likes of which the small, rural town just outside of Selma has never seen.

Mike Donahe set up Lone Wolf Garage and Customs right across the street from the Orrville Farmers Market about five months ago after moving to Orrville from Florida.

His shop in Florida got too busy, so Donahe closed up shop and headed to Orrville.

Being old friends with Judy and Irwin McKinney, who own the Orrville Farmers Market, Donahe he was already familiar with the area so he set up shop across the street from his old pals.

The Lone Wolf Garage and Customs team consists only of Donahe. It is Lone Wolf Garage and Customs, after all.

While some would prefer to be part of a time, Donahe enjoys the freedom of working alone. Donahe doesn’t want anyone else to be the reason for something going wrong.

“If it’s my fault, it’s my fault. If it isn’t it isn’t,” he said.

While working alone may be hard work, hard work is definitely something Donahe is used to.

Donahe has been working tirelessly over the past few months. Since acquiring the space, he’s been spending his days, nights and weekends transforming the shop into his own mechanical oasis.

He’s torn down most of the walls, creating an open workspace that’s half workshop and half gearhead hangout.

The front part of the space has worn in couches, recycled pallet shelving housing Donahe’s trophies, framed photos of show bikes he’s built and art some of his friends in Florida have made for him. It looks like the garage hang out of your dreams.

The back part of the space is where Donahe gets his hands dirty. His shop has two hydraulic lifts where he works on bikes. Donahe is a Harley certified mechanic, capable of all scheduled Harley services, repairs and insurance claims, as well as custom services.

Donahe anticipates his new shop will do well in Orrville. There’s no one around who offers the services he does. If you wanted to find someone like him, you’d have to go all the way to Birmingham or Montgomery.

“The closest Harley place is hours away from here,” he said. “There’s not a lot of customs around here.”

With 24 years of experience, there isn’t one part of the bike that Donahe doesn’t touch. The engine, frame and paint, he does it all.

Back in Florida, Mike built show bikes. He hasn’t had the chance to build one since he set up shop in Orrville, but if you were to ask him, he’ll tell you he’s working on it.

In fact, Mike one day hopes to build a bike that he can raffle off to raise money for a park in Orrville.

“What place doesn’t have a park?” said Mike. “Every city in America has probably got a park somewhere.”

Most people you would cross that are as knowledgeable and passionate about motorcycles as Donahe were born into a motorcycle family, but that isn’t the case with Donahe.

“My dad didn’t have a mechanical bone in his body,” said Donahe. “No mechanical experience whatsoever.”

Donahe discovered his passion for bikes when he was around 10 years old, thanks to a less than the mechanically inclined neighbor.

“My neighbor had this dirt bike he was just going to have hauled off to the junkyard, but I asked if he’d let me have it,” said Donahe. “Pretty soon, I had it running.”

It was Donahe’s mechanically frustrated neighbor that set Donahe his path. That fateful moment as a curious child ignited Donahe’s passion for bikes and he’s been seeking the thrill of getting something running ever since. It also instilled in him an appreciation for restoration.

“Why throw something away when you can fix it?” he said.

From then on, Donahe’s hobby grew and grew, turning into a career.

He attended the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Orlando and then worked for Harley-Davidson for nine years.

For Donahe, seeing the bike get new paint is the most satisfying part.

“That’s where it all comes together,” he said. “You can see it in your head, but you don’t actually know what it looks like until it’s there.”

Though he believes a new paint job is what makes the bike really look complete, Donahe believes his bikes are never really truly complete.

For Donahe, a bike is always a work in progress.

“I’ll start a bike and work on it for a few months and then, right when I think I’m ready to sell it, I’ll work on it some more,” said Donahe, “Then When I do sell the thing I’ll wish I hadn’t.”

That regret is not because he felt he didn’t do an excellent job. It’s because Donahe is a perfectionist. He’s hesitant to let a bike go until he believes it is absolutely perfect.

Donahe feels that there is always something else that can be done to a bike to make it look better, perform better and last longer.

Though Donahe may hang on to a bike a little longer than most might, his attention to detail has given him an incredible track record.

“Knock on wood,” said Donahe, “But so far, nobody has ever gotten hurt on a bike that I’ve built. I’m really proud of that.”