Cheap Wheels: In the postwar years, motorcycles...

Cheap Wheels: In the postwar years, motorcycles were primarily a cheap method of transportation, says Kurt Winter, who owns Valley Cycles in Van Nuys. Now bikes from the ‘60s and ‘70s are investments. Winter specializes in selling preserved or restored Honda CB 750s--including one on loan to the Peterson Automotive Museum--a landmark design which can cost up to $10,000.

Custom Cruising: Don’t bring Micah McCloskey your Honda. Or your Suzuki. He does Hogs. Fat Boys. You know, Harley-Davidsons. McCloskey’s Custom Cycles in Canoga Park turns stock Harleys into one-of-a-kind. Popular in the Harley set is lots of chrome. “There’s nothing like a waxed, chromed bike cruising down the boulevard at night,” he says.

Life Ride: Some 2,000 cyclists cruised the Ventura Freeway on Sunday on the Ride for Life, a charity event led by actor Lorenzo Lamas (above). Proceeds go to train Latin American doctors in children’s organ transplant procedures. Such outings raise awareness, Lamas says, of both the charity and “the idea that motorcyclists are not a bunch of bloodthirsty heathens.”

Ride Covered: A helmet isn’t the only thing a motorcyclist must have. There’s insurance. Liability insurance for an experienced rider may cost as little as $150 a year--but there’s a $1,000 fine for riding without it, says Bernie Lewis, an independent agent in Van Nuys who specializes in motorcycle policies. It costs less than insuring a car, he says, because “more often than not, it’s the other person’s fault. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you and they have an accident with you.”