Born to Be Chic : Urban Professionals Become a Newer, Gentler Breed of Harley Riders
One by one, they park their shiny chrome motorcycles at the curb, joining a carnival of roaring engines and glaring headlights. They tell stories of the open road and mingle with veteran bikers and even the handful of Hells Angels who usually turn up.
They look almost menacing, revving their monster Harley-Davidsons. Could there be danger in those studded leather jackets and scuffed cowboy boots?
Not to worry. They’re Rich Urban Bikers, or RUBs, a new and gentler breed of Harley riders. Whether doctors, lawyers or CEOs during the workweek, they spend their weekends wheeling around the boulevards and back roads of Southern California, helping to bring the name “Harley-Davidson” into middle- and upper-class America. That scruffy, “born to be wild” image once at the heart of Harley lore is, well, fading in their dust, they say.
“We’re regular people who get into chrome and paint jobs, the wind and the road,” said Ronn Teitelbaum, 52, chief executive officer of the Johnny Rockets hamburger chain, who arrived six years ago in Hog Heaven. “Look at half of these people and you’ll see Rolexes on their wrists.”
During the past decade, growing numbers of urban professionals have traded the trappings of yuppiedom for high-priced Harleys--customized bikes go for upward of $30,000--and an array of biker accouterments.
Their ranks--estimated by some at several thousand in Southern California--include men and women in their mid-20s to their early 60s.
Their hangouts dot the California coast--from Cold Springs Tavern in Santa Barbara County’s San Marcos Pass to Jose Murphy’s rock ‘n’ roll club in San Diego.
Though Los Angeles is considered the mecca--and many say the birthplace--of the RUBs, by all accounts it has become an international phenomenon. It is not uncommon to see them riding in suits and ties down Madison Avenue in Manhattan. They have appeared in nearly every major U.S. city, from Miami to San Francisco. And the trend is growing in Europe and Japan.
The bike of choice--of course--is the Harley.
Most RUBs say they ride because they love the exhilaration of the open road, with the wind in their face. For many, riding offers an escape from the pressures of corporate life.
Jim Anderson, president of Commercial Bankers Life Insurance Co. in Irvine, has been riding off and on for the past 25 years.
“When I get on that bike and hear that V-twin engine, it really clears my head,” said Anderson, 47. “I can smell the fresh cut hay by the roadside and melons growing in the fields. It gives me a chance to reflect. This is the last great escape.”
Psychologists believe that riding also offers some people an element of fantasy, a reprieve from the boredom of daily routines. Many RUBs agree.
“It’s like going back to the Old West,” said Teitelbaum. “You put on that leather jacket and you’re part of a modern-day Pony Express.”
Teitelbaum and his girlfriend, Shalene Alpert, do their grocery shopping on their bikes. Teitelbaum occasionally shows up at business meetings on his black Harley. He said the motorcycle crowd is a welcome addition at his Melrose restaurant, where as many as 30 RUBs show up on weekends.
Gatherings in the hundreds can be seen elsewhere in the Southland.
Every Monday night, about 400 tool into the parking lot of Carney’s restaurant in Studio City.
Hundreds also ride on Sunday afternoons through the hills of Malibu to the Rock Store, a longtime biker hangout in Agoura, or to the Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas. A group called Thugs formed recently in Beverly Hills at the posh Bar One, where dozens of Harleys can be seen lined up along the curb on Thursday nights well past midnight.
In El Toro, smaller groups flock to Cook’s Corner at the entrance to Trabuco Canyon, a favorite south Orange County biker hangout. Riders from Ventura County go to the Wheel, a restaurant and bar in Ojai, among other stops along California 33. A new group in Palm Springs plans to start meeting this month at Boo Bears restaurant.
The RUBs’ emergence in the last decade has brought newfound respect to female riders in a pursuit dominated by men.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a man or a woman--you ride and that’s all that counts,” said Dollie Silvera, 50, a mother of four from Studio City. “We always get the thumbs up from the men.”
RUBs, many of them well-connected, contributed to the recent unsuccessful campaign to block the state’s mandatory helmet law, opponents of the measure said.
Perhaps the biggest boon has been to Harley-Davidson and the multitude of dealers, painters and customizers involved with the bikes. The company controls 62% of the national market for heavyweight motorcycles, up from about 23% in 1983, according to Harley-Davidson officials. Harley dealers throughout Southern California say business has never been better. Although the bikes start at about $5,000, clients often spend an additional $10,000 or more for customized paint jobs and chrome plating.
“We’re catering to responsible members of the community, to politically aware people who want to buy into a lifestyle,” said Tom Roach, owner of Palm Springs Harley-Davidson. “They know what they want and they are willing to pay for it.”
The new interest in the motorcycles accompanies the resurgence of the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. itself. The 88-year-old company almost went belly up in the 1970s, a result of the national recession, product quality problems and competition from Japanese companies offering smaller and less expensive models. A group of Harley-Davidson officers purchased the Milwaukee-based company in 1981 from the conglomerate AMF Inc., introducing a new, more dependable engine and expanding the company’s product line.
Harley-Davidson’s financial outlook soon brightened.
Meanwhile, upscale merchandising has helped broaden the appeal of the Harley name. It is not unusual for a new Harley franchise to spend $100,000 upgrading a store, giving it the “Nordstrom” look. When new owners took over Palm Springs Harley-Davidson last December, they doubled the store’s floor space to make way for retail merchandise while decorating the interior in a Santa Fe theme complete with Indian artifacts on the walls.
RUBs have created an upscale retail niche for Harley-Davidson products. Ray Malzo, owner of Orange County Harley in Santa Ana, said that half of his $5 million annual business comes from sales of Harley merchandise ranging from cigarette lighters, piggy banks and gold watches to tennis shoes, sweat pants and boxer shorts.
“When someone buys a T-shirt with the Harley-Davidson insignia, they’re buying a piece of Americana,” said Ken Schmidt, corporate public relations manager for Harley-Davidson. “This has become a sexy product that people want to be associated with.”
Not everyone is happy about the emergence of the RUBs. Many veteran riders view the newcomers as spoiled dilettantes infringing on a long and beloved tradition. They say the RUBs are interested only in the novelty of the biker image and with making a splashy fashion statement.
“These people may wear torn Levis, but they just bought them off a designer shelf,” complained Bob Bishop, vice president of the San Diego Antique Motorcycle Club. “They wear so much new leather that they squeak when they walk.”
Others note that “serious bikers” relish longer rides, often going hundreds of miles at a stretch, while many RUBs stay within their city limits.
The harshest critics complain that the RUBs did not do enough to help defeat the helmet law. Some contend that the RUBs should have used more of their political muscle in Sacramento instead of simply writing a check for the cause.
Some Harley-Davidson dealers fear the new law may scare off potential RUBs from expensive purchases or that others will sell their bikes. Others, such as Tom Roach, believe business will remain strong.
Roach said he has received requests from his more fashion-conscious clients for custom-designed and painted helmets. He has ordered more than 300 helmets for the Christmas rush.
“They want helmets that will match their bikes,” Roach said. “We have a painter ready and waiting.”
