Tiffany Owens – Clips & Samples

Born to Be...Mild? Boomer Bikers Rev Up the Motorcycle Industry

Publication:  MSNBC.com | Take3 Magazine | Jan 2006

Date Published: 3/16/2006

Photographs: No

Content

**online feature no longer available on MSNBC.com -- original text appears below**

Born to be...mild?
Boomers rev up America's motorcycle industry

by Tiffany Owens

Perhaps the baby boomer's love affair with the motorcycle began in 1953 when they watched a young, sexy and leather-clad Marlon Brando and his Black Rebels motorcycle gang challenge middle America in The Wild One. Or, maybe it was inspired by repeated viewings of 1969's Easy Rider, with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper cruising the country's scenic byways on their larger-than-life choppers, looking for the ultimate counter-culture liberation (or at least the illusion of it).

But much has changed since the '60s. Bikers are no longer immediately associated with the notorious Hell's Angels motorcycle gangs of Altamont and Hunter S. Thompson essays. Today's bikers are more likely to be financiers than felons; they spend their weeks at buttoned-up day jobs, then let their hair down on nights and weekends, gearing up in full motorcycle garb to hit the open road. A little like off-duty Halloween, sure, but who can blame them? After a lifetime of doing exactly what was expected of them, like raising families, paying taxes and advancing their careers, they now crave recreation that's youthful, exhilarating -- even a tad on the wild side -- as they approach retirement.

Baby boomers are indeed the fastest-growing segment of America's six-million motorcycling population and their numbers are increasing by 10 percent each year. The Harley-Davidson owner profile more fully reflects the aging baby boomer persona of the post-millennial biker: in 2001, the average Harley-Davidson customer was 46 years old and had an annual household income of $78,000. According to Joanne Bischmann, Harley-Davidson's vice president of marketing, nearly a third of Harley riders are 50 or older and more than half of the 234,461 motorcycles shipped in 2001 were sold to buyers aged 45 and older. One of Harley's latest models even roared its way onto the cover of a recent AARP magazine, which has 35 million members nationwide of retirement age.

The 'Carefree' life

Carefree, a sleepy artist's community just north of Scottsdale, Ariz., attracts boomer bikers of every stripe from around the nation -- from weekend riders to "RUBs" (or Rich Urban Bikers, as they like to call themselves). Because of its lack of noise ordinance and beautiful desert scenery, Carefree is a natural destination for Phoenix-area motorcyclists and many of the small town's bars and eateries cater exclusively to the biker crowd.

Banker Bill LeGrand and friends Scott and Greg are enjoying the 75-degree weather on New Year's Day from the patio at the highly popular Hideaway Grill in Carefree. At the "Southwest's most friendly biker bar," the noontime air is already thick with dust, exhaust and testosterone. LeGrand tells me he has been riding since 1977 and cites "independence" and "a reprieve from normal everyday life" as the incentives. He's driven his Harley Road King to Sturgis eleven times and is going again this August. "I'm mostly a weekend rider," LeGrand confesses, "but I pay for my bikes with my regular job."

LeGrand rides to nearby Carefree regularly, but he also cites Jerome and Sedona as favorite Arizona destinations. LeGrand also makes it clear that he rides Harley-Davidson bikes exclusively. "It's a lifestyle thing -- and a much better ride," he explains. "Bikes are so much more acceptable today than they were even 20 years ago. It doesn't really matter what you're riding, just as long as you're riding."

A family affair

Mom and daughter duo Jeannette Landfair and Drucilla Moore have likewise stopped into the Hideaway during their afternoon ride for lunch. Moore's husband bought her a 2005 Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod for Christmas, but she says it was her mom that really got her into riding. "I had never done it befo