Hog in the spotlight

Coral Wilson

There’s a buzz in the air, the ground begins to vibrate, and then,

like thunder and a flash of lightning, a Harley Davidson goes by.

“It’s that distinct roaring, rumbling,

wake-you-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night sound,” said Howard Kelly,

editor of Hot Bike and Street Chopper magazines.

Swarms of motorcycles hit the roads of Newport Beach for the

Harley-Davidson West Coast Super Show at Newport Dunes Resort

Saturday and Sunday.

The two-day event presented by the Dunes in conjunction with Hot

Bike, Street Chopper and Hot Rod Bikes magazines brought in thousands

of people to show off their bikes, to get some ideas for customizing

the hogs in their garages or just to spend Father’s Day in style.

The inaugural event proved to be hugely successful, with 150

vendors and about 8,000 visitors, Kelly said.

“Whatever you are passionate about -- cars, boats or motorcycles

-- you think it is as good as it can be until you see a new idea,” he

said.

The average enthusiast invests $10,000 to $15,000 in customizing

their bikes, he said. A motorcycle can always be improved somehow, he

said.

“One in 30 motorcycles are stock, unmodified,” he said, pointing

to a sea of more than 1,500 bikes filling the parking lot. “The

others are all modified, customized, tweaked, adjusted, messed with.”

By changing the fenders, wheels, exhaust pipes, seats and chrome

finish, the goal is to stand out and be different, Kelly said. But

the bikes that win awards have tremendous balance, he said. They are

conceptual from beginning to end.

Mark “Junior” Skolnick, owner of Lifestyle Cycles in Anaheim, made

a grand entrance riding alongside about 300 of his customers. The

group stormed into town together for the show.

The fascination with motorcycles is exclusive to no one, he said.

His clientele is made up of physicians, lawyers, students and

entrepreneurs.

“It is who you want to be and who you want to become,” he said. “A

bike helps fulfill dreams. Buying a bike is very personal.”

The bike he is building for mortgage banker Jeff Pittman of

Newport Beach is nearly complete, he said.

It will be a long, low chopper, painted with lime green metal

flake and covered in spikes, Pittman said.

Wife Sarah Pittman said she no longer rides because of a bad

experience involving a motorcycle accident. Pushing their 4-month-old

baby in a stroller, she said that with children comes responsibility.

She is hoping her son takes up golf instead.

Other fathers came pushing strollers. New to the role, Bill

Cusimano of Huntington Beach said he didn’t know what else to do on

Father’s Day except spend time with his 6-month-old daughter,

Mandilyn.

He is just waiting until his daughter is old enough to go riding

with him, he said.

“She will ride as soon as she can walk, I’ll tell you that,” he

said. “Born to ride.”

The event by the water is one that he said he hopes will continue

for years to come, without much hassle from police.

“The bikes are loud and fast, and the image is not the style of

Newport Beach,” he said. “But everyone is the same. Even with tattoos

and piercings, they are all here to have fun and enjoy the sunshine.”

Harley Davidson riders agreed that it’s relaxing, therapeutic, a

stress-reliever. Most said they love riding for the sense of freedom

it brings.

“It’s just the feeling,” Linda Mendoza said. “It clears my head.

It’s empowering, something I can look forward to whenever I am having

a hard time and feel 100% better.”

As rider after rider tried to explain the obsession, Kelly put it

simply -- Harley’s are cool.

“When you pull up to a traffic light, and they look at you and you

look at them, you are always the cooler person,” he said.

* CORAL WILSON is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at [email protected].