A gang of bikers rumbles into
the parking lot of the Billet Bar. Sporting jeans, black t-shirts,
windblown hair and no helmets, the rough riders will enjoy a
few beers and some Harley talk while gazing at rows of chromed
bikes parked out front.
Unlike their biker counterparts
of yesteryear, these new age bikers won't be out too late; they
have tee times, conference calls, patients to see and spa appointments
in the morning.
This Valley scene tells the story of perhaps one of the most
successful product re-brandings in American history. After more
than 100 years in business, Harley Davidson has evolved from
an icon of rebellious vagrants to an unequalled status symbol
of success and independence. But to the executives, doctors
and retirees who now live the freedom image of Harley Davidson
motorcycles, it's not about product, branding or profit. It's
about the freedom of the open road.
While Hells Angels, the Outlaws and other Harley Davidson gangs
still rumble through American streets, cleaner and wealthier
customers are purchasing most of the new Harley Davidsons. The
new breed of Harley riders still enjoys the lingering remnants
of a coarse image, but they also appreciate the bells and whistles
now standard on the flashy machines. The price of these bikes
is also reflective of the added amenities.
"On average, bikes parked in front of the Billet Bar are worth
$30,000 and up," says bar owner Myron Larrabee, standing next
to his $75,000 custom Harley. "There might be some $25,000 Harleys
out there too. But we have a lot of the custom Harleys, and
it's really easy to rack up $45,000 or $50,000 by the time you
get wheels, paint, everything chromed."
When Larrabee opened the Billet Bar on Scottsdale Road 10 years
ago, this was not the case. "When I opened my custom shop everyone
in the area thought I was crazy, but I could see how big Harley
Davidson was going to get. And it just grew so much that I've
sold hundreds of Harleys out of my shop," Larrabee says of the
shop where the bar started.
When Larrabee sponsored the first Arizona Bike Week in 1997,
about 500 out-of state bikers rode in for the event. This year
around 35,000 are expected to ride and fly in from across the
nation for a week of chrome, loud engines and maybe an encounter
with motorcycle daredevil legend Evel Knievel.
"The police department was nervous the first year they had Bike
Week in Scottsdale," expecting crowds to behave like the biker
gangs of the old days, Larrabee recalls of the first bike week.
"They overreacted tremendously."
Hog Owners Past
Buddy Stubbs remembers when Harley Davidsons belonged to high
school dropouts, not executives. In 1950, Stubbs rode his first
Harley, a 125cc dirt bike, as a 10-year-old. "I earned that
motorcycle with a paper route," Stubbs recalls. Now he owns
Buddy Stubbs Harley Davidson, Arizona's oldest Harley dealership,
and says none of his customers are buying with paper route money
at his 45,000-square-foot Cave Creek Road facility.
After a successful motorcycle-racing career in the 1960s, Stubbs
took over the Phoenix Harley Davidson store as a personal favor
for the Davidson family. But by the early 1970s the motorcycle
company was struggling to compete with the more reliable, cheaper
and lighter Japanese rivals. The Harleys and the Davidsons sold
the company to American Machine and Foundry, AMF.
"He was a mechanical-type person who rode a lot of miles," Stubbs
says of the average Harley Davidson owner in those days. "Some
of the guys were more gypsy-like. They camped out, slept on
the ground, lived day to day. They didn't care where they ended
up."
Stubbs recalls the TV show Then Came Bronson, for which he did
some stunt riding. "Every week Bronson was asked by a bystander,
'Where are you heading?' 'Wherever I end up,' he'd answer. That's
how the Harley rider was back then."
Hog Owners Present
Larrabee's blue $75,000 custom cycle is named Blew by You. The
bike's hydraulic suspension lowers it another two inches after
Larrabee steps off. "The lower a Harley sits, the better it
looks," he says of the custom-parking device.
Larrabee, a former Mr. Arizona and owner of World's Gym, has
owned multiple exotic cars, but he says Porsches, Jaguars and
Ferraris don't compare to a custom Harley.
"It's become such a status symbol and a release of tension for
older businessmen," Stubbs says of Harley Davidson customers
today. "He or she is not as high a mileage rider as they used
to be. It's like owning a Ferrari, not the main mode of transportation."
Stubbs' customers tend to be successful men and women looking
to fulfill a lifelong dream. "A lot of ladies are buying Harleys
nowadays. Sixteen-percent of my sales last year were to female
riders. They're successful women who want to buy a bike instead
of a sporty car. Or maybe they add the bike to their collection
of cars."
Gilbert business owner Victoria Allio fits that bill, having
owned several bikes including a Sportster, Lowrider and a Pure
Steel custom Harley. Victoria's husband, Don, had been riding
for years when she decided to get a bike of her own.
Don says he too has noticed an increase in the number of female
riders. Recently about 1,000 riders from Chosa's visited the
Allio's restaurant, Mexi-Kenny's in Gilbert. "From what I saw
that morning, probably 20 percent of those bikes were women
riders," Allio says, "which is a lot higher percentage than
I'd seen in the past."
The broken stereotypes that used to be associated with bikers
appear to have softened the image of the typical Harley rider,
spawning ownership gains in some of the most traditionally conservative
circles.
"That's what makes it so interesting. These riders all look
the same when you see them in a pair of blue jeans and a black
t-shirt," Larrabee says about patrons of the Billet Bar. "But
when you start talking to them you've got doctors and attorneys,
executives and a lot of business owners."
"It's a lot of very successful people who make a good living,
and they're riding Harley's as a hobby. They love to put on
their blue jeans and their black t-shirts and have that little
bit of a renegade, bad boy or bad girl feel to them. They're
all very good, nice people."
The Draw
Stubbs says that aside from media image and a quality product,
people are drawn to the look, sound and performance Harley Davidsons.
Don Allio agrees. "For me it's just getting out there and getting
on a bike. On a bike you can't be thinking about the business
or other problems in life. You get out in the clear air and
ride. It clears my mind and relaxes me. I just love the feel
of the breeze while riding down the street."
More and more business people are learning about what Allio
has been enjoying since he was 17. "Every shop is busier than
busy," Larrabee says. "There is no end to this."
The draw is one that most within the industry think younger
Americans will grow into. "Most younger people can't afford
these motorcycles," Allio says. "They think about them, dream
about them, but they can't afford them."
If that's the case, Harley Davidson seems bound to only grow
in popularity. "Year after year the popularity of owning and
riding a motorcycle has increased by leaps and bounds," Stubbs
says. "Pessimistic people keep saying it won't last. But it
just keeps increasing…. It's especially true in this Valley."
On this spring day, afternoon is giving way to twilight as three
bikes rumble loudly into the Billet Bar's small lot. A couple
on a Heritage Softail follow the two customs into the parking
lot, and all eyes turn to give the glowing machines and their
riders a once over.
While they may sport suits and lug briefcases by day, these
well-to-do 50-somethings have officially set aside their professional
passions to swap motorcycle stories and enjoy a couple of beers,
a popular scene across the nation and a trend showing no sign
of slowing in the Valley.
