Bikers in Exile : Motorcycles: A restaurant tells the upper middle-class riders to hit the road after neighbors complain of noise.

They looked fearsome from a distance: hundreds of black-leathered bikers converging in the parking lot of a Studio City restaurant every Monday night on their high-powered Harleys.

But a closer look revealed no dangerous hell raisers. They did little cursing and just a bit more swaggering. They were, indeed, a neat and tidy bunch.

The 300-plus group--which was forced from Carneys restaurant this week after neighbors complained about noise and traffic--is primarily upper middle-class riders, aged 35 to 45, who come from across Southern California and ride to escape corporate pressures.

Recently, though, their hobby has brought its own pressures.

Beset by their popularity, members of the growing group left their longtime Westside hangout more than a year ago after residents became angered over noise. On Monday, the bikers decided to leave Carneys, where they have gathered for 15 months, after neighbors, police and the restaurant’s landlord made it clear that they were not wanted.

Some bikers say they doubt they will ever find a permanent gathering place, partly because neighbors just can’t see past the bikes to realize they aren’t low-class hoods.

“All they see is motorcycles and leathers, and instantly it becomes fear,” said Marty Ruthman, 33, who owns an auto repair shop in Sherman Oaks. “They forget that when you’re riding down the street on a $20,000 or $30,000 motorcycle, you’re not a bum.”

Many fit the profile of Rich Urban Bikers, or RUBS, a term used to describe the new class of Harley riders. Although they balk at the term, they proudly proclaim that their ranks include doctors, lawyers, advertising executives and airline pilots.

Original members of the group have been getting together for more than six years to swap stories about motorcycle adventures and to compare notes on their customized Harley-Davidsons, which can cost upward of $30,000. They check out things like a tiger mural detailed on one motorcycle, said Linda Hampton, a 44-year-old bus supervisor for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“All of us who ride motorcycles have one thing in common, liking to ride,” said Hampton, who dons a black leather jacket every Monday, hops on the Harley behind her husband, Tom, and heads to see biker friends. “I think that’s what keeps us all together.”

Hampton began attending gatherings at All American Burger in Westwood. The meetings, which started with about 10 people, swelled by the spring of 1990 to 250--probably a result of the growing popularity of Harleys, said Santa Monica attorney Dominick Rubalcava.

Neighbors, whose back doors and garages sit squarely behind the drive-in’s lot, complained bitterly about the deafening roar from the revving engines. Bikers moved but had a similar experience at Carneys, where their numbers soon grew from a few people in the winter to as many as 500 this summer, said Rubalcava, a member of the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Commission who owns 10 motorcycles.

Businesses near the hamburger spot complained that the bikers were taking up parking. Residents said they could hear engine noise as late as midnight, and police said they received complaints about speeding. No one mentioned fear of the bikers, said Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn.

“It is a massive infusion of people into Studio City, which is a fairly quiet community,” Lucente said. “They create noise and traffic, and people notice.”

The bikers set rules to reduce noise and parking problems, but not everyone followed them, Los Angeles Police Officer Larry Heck said. Last week, one of Carneys’ landlords decided he wanted them off the property after numerous complaints from neighbors, Heck said.

Group leaders spent Monday night directing bikers to a temporary Van Nuys gathering spot. The bikers--who think the group may split if they cannot find a central meeting place--were considering alternatives for a new home on Tuesday.

The owner of Pelican’s Retreat, a casual Calabasas seafood restaurant, has offered his establishment, which some bikers said they would shy away from because it serves alcohol. The owner of Rick’s Drive In and Out in Van Nuys also said he would welcome the group.

But some wary bikers, certain that they cannot stay long anywhere before people complain, are talking about rotating locations so that neighbors do not tire of them, Ruthman said. There also is talk of buying a piece of property for the meetings, he said. Others are simply resigned to a transitory life. “I think that there probably is an inherent conflict between riding a motorcycle and people’s quiet enjoyment of their homes,” Rubalcava said. “Given the fact that people’s homes can’t move and we can, I think the burden is probably on us.”