Leader of the Pack

A mong local motorcyclists, the Love Ride is one of the year’s biggest events. The 50-mile trip from Glendale to Lake Castaic draws tens of thousands of motorcyclists and raises money for charity. This year organizers expect to raise about $1 million, and at least $100,000 will go to relief efforts in New York City. The Muscular Dystrophy Assn. and the Los Angeles Times-sponsored literacy program Reading by 9 are also among the charities that will benefit.

This year, the grand marshal is again Jay Leno, host of “The Tonight Show” and an avid motorcycle and car collector.

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Question: The Love Ride was started in 1984 by the owner of Harley-Davidson of Glendale to promote a positive image of motorcyclists. Has it succeeded?

Answer: I think what’s happened is Harleys are not an inexpensive item. Consequently they’re purchased by people who have discretionary income. So you get your orthodontists with the fake tattoos and all that kind of stuff. And it’s a pretty good crowd. In the whole 18 years it’s been going on, I don’t think there’s ever been an incident. You got 30,000--sometimes as many as 50,000--motorcyclists show up, and nobody gets punched or beaten up. It’s a pretty mellow group.

Q: What are your responsibilities as grand marshal? Do you have to get pledges like everyone else?

A: No, no. It’s an event that kind of sells itself. People come up and make donations throughout the day, and they buy tickets because they know it all goes to a good cause. I don’t want to say it runs itself, but it’s got a pretty good reputation. So people know what it is, and they seem to get big sponsors.

Q: Tell me about the motorcycle you sold on EBay.

A: That was a Harley that I had. I’d just gotten it in July and I was riding it around and I felt kind of overprivileged. You see these firefighters and you see the families, and people pulling people out of the building, and you go, it’s not like I don’t have a couple of motorcycles. It just seems like a good idea at the time. I drove it to the studio the next day. And people like celebrity stuff, so I thought let’s get some celebrities to sign this and see how much money we can raise. We raised $360,200, which was amazing. And 100% of the money went to the Twin Towers Fund....People seemed to get a big kick out of it. The stars who signed it liked doing it. And the guy who got it couldn’t be more thrilled.

Q: Why’d you choose the Harley?

A: This probably sounds dumb, but I live in America and I buy American products. “The Tonight Show” is on in Japan-I don’t know how well it does-but I think our core audience is here in the United States. And consequently I try to support the people that support me. I don’t know how many Americans think like that, but I think a lot of them do ... it seems like common sense. These people watch our show, I’ll buy their product, one hand washes the other. And Harley is an American-made motorcycle, and they’ve always had that sort of Freedom Machine campaign for a long time. Plus it was brand-new. Most of my stuff is old. You don’t want to give away a 30-year-old motorcycle--”Oh, you cheap bastard!” To me they’re collectors items, but to anyone else, they’re just secondhand used things.

Q: Is the guy who bought it going to ride it?

A: No, he’s not going to ride it at all. He’s just going to put it on display. He doesn’t own a motorcycle, and I don’t think he’s even ridden one. He just wants to have it for display, and he’s going to use it to raise more money. The nice thing is there’s so much phony celebrity stuff out there, this comes with a videotape of each star signing it.

Q: What’s it like to lead 50,000 motorcycles up Interstate 5?

A: It’s better than following 50,000 motorcycles. But obviously if I fall off, all 50,000 go down because I’m the front row. It’s not quite as dramatic as all that. Motorcycling is essentially a solo sport. You go out by yourself and wind through the hills. It’s hard to wind through the hills when you have 50,000 people winding behind you. The thing is so big that as I’m leaving at 3:30, people are still pulling in.

Q: Is there stuff to do for non-bikers?

A: Sure--it’s a concert, and there’s food and drink. It’s at Castaic Lake, so there’s all sorts of things going on. I would say a third of the people who come are not bikers, but passengers--but maybe that makes them bikers. But then, there are bikers who live the lifestyle 24 hours a day, and then there are people who have a motorcycle as a second or third, or even fourth, vehicle, which is probably most of these people. It’s a pretty well-to-do crowd.

Q: When did you start motorcycling, and what drew you to it?

A: I got my license at 16, so maybe 151/2? It’s a bit like having to explain your heterosexuality. I’m a guy, that’s a girl.... I always liked things that rolled and exploded and made noise.... Moms hate ‘em, girls like ‘em, what’s better than that?

Q: You collect motorcycles as well as cars. How many do you have?

A: Eighty-two or -three? Antiques are what I like; I like the older stuff. I’ve got some Harleys from the ‘20s. I’ve got some Vincent Black Shadows, which is a legendary English bike. And some Brough Superiors. Those are the cool bikes.

Q: Do you ride them?

A: Oh sure, all the time. That’s why I have so many bikes, so if you fall down you have something to ride while your bike is being repaired.

Q: Do you have advice for the mothers who are horrified that their children ride motorcycles?

A: Obviously motorcycling is a sport and one needs to dress for it. I don’t think anybody plays football without a helmet on, or shoulder pads. It can be risky, but most of the accidents that happen on motorcycles--like 60% or 70%--are alcohol-related, drug-related, something of that nature. The one piece of advice I give people: If you have to be someplace in a hurry, don’t take your bike.

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The Love Ride begins at Harley-Davidson of Glendale, 3717 San Fernando Road. (818) 246-5618. Registration, $50, 6-10 a.m. Caravan to Castaic Lake begins at 9:30 a.m. Gates open at Castaic lake at 10 a.m. Kenny Wayne Shepherd performs at noon; Joe Walsh at 2 p.m.