NATO AIR
Senior Member
business is booming
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6214517/site/newsweek/
Full Throttle
Talk about a booming business cycle. TV's 'American Chopper' is the hottest thing since 'Easy Rider,' and bikes are selling faster than they have in a generation.
By Keith Naughton
NewsweekOct. 18 issue - Mitch Hammack never misses "American Chopper." After a long day on his California alfalfa farm, he likes to unwind by tuning in to see the bike-building Teutul family curse each other as they create motorcycle sculpture. Watching all those hot rides come to life, though, made Hammack feel like his old pickup just didn't cut it. So last winter he bought a $19,000 kit from a custom-bike shop and built his own American chopper: a low rider with an endless front fork and a "candy brandy wine" paint job with knife-blade flames. Now he's greeted like a rock star when he rides into town and his buddies are itching to get their own choppers. "They all watch 'American Chopper'," says Hammack, 31. "That show feeds the frenzy."
Move over, "Easy Rider." There's a new leader of the pack in American cycle culture. In every generation, there comes an iconic motorcycle moment. The Greatest Generation had Brando's leather-clad "Wild One." Baby boomers had Peter Fonda's star-spangled "Easy Rider." Today, it's "American Chopper's" superstar bike builders Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. Teutul, whose top-rated Discovery Channel show reaches 10.5 million viewers every week. The biking buzz they've built is turbo-charging the cycle business. Motorcycle sales, which rose steadily in the '90s, are suddenly on a tear, doubling in the past five years. This year cycle sales are expected to top 1 million for the first time since the post-"Easy Rider" days of the early '70s. And it's not just costly custom choppers that are selling. Manufacturers say every type of bike is roaring out of showrooms, from cute scooters, to big hog Harleys, to the racy "crotch rockets'' featured in last year's cult movie "Biker Boyz." And many of these bikes are going to first-time riders. Since 1998, 1.25 million American households have added a motorcycle to the family garage, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council. "People see these shows," says Honda spokesman Lee Edmonds, "and they say, 'I'll give it a try.' "
America's love affair with burley bikers began four years ago when celebrity bike builder Jesse James first showed up on the Discovery Channel's "Motorcycle Mania" documentaries. But reality bike building went full throttle with the arrival last year of "American Chopper," a sort of extreme makeover show for Hells Angels. With cameras rolling at their Orange County Choppers shop in upstate New York, the Teutuls create elaborate theme bikes, like their Air Force fighter-jet bike, studded with .50-caliber rounds on the frame. Then they roll them out for adoring fans at bike shows or at emotional ceremonies for the heroes they've honored with bikes, like 9/11 firefighters. Viewers are drawn as much by the Teutuls' titanic tussles as their craftsmanship. "People are tuning in because they want to see Senior get aggravated," says Paul Jr., "or see me smash something." Paul Sr. believes viewers relate to his high-octane family. "Yeah, we're a little dysfunctional," he growls, "like probably 99 percent of other families out there." The Teutuls' celebrity hit overdrive when they bleeped their way through a Super Bowl ad for AOL this year. Says pop-culture expert Bob Thompson: " 'American Chopper' might do more for the American motorcycle culture than 'Easy Rider' did."
The motorcycle establishment, though, is loath to give "American Chopper" too much credit for the industry's good fortune. "I spend a lot more time watching CNN or 'ER' than I do that show," Harley-Davidson CEO Jeff Bleu-stein told NEWSWEEK, adding that he cringes at what he sees as subpar engineering on the show. "It may look pretty, but will it hold together?" He acknowledges "American Chopper" is bringing more people into showrooms. But he points out that bike sales were rising long before the Teutuls showed up. Industry execs would rather credit their growing variety of cyclesnow numbering more than 300 models.
The boom in biking comes as the cycle business is preparing to take on a new generation of riders. The wealthy baby boomers that powered Harley's comeback in the '90s are aging and their kids don't want to ride their father's Fat Boy, analysts say. So the Japanese manufacturers, who've long attracted younger riders with less expensive bikes, are gunning for Gen Y with wild machines inspired by the new pop-culture look of motorcycles. Honda just came out with the $24,500 Valkyrie Rune, a radical ride that seems straight out of Orange County Choppers. Kawasaki now offers the ultimate street racer, the Ninja ZX-10R, that screams to 60mph faster than a Ferrari. "In the '90s, the Japanese ceded the upper end of the market to Harley," says analyst Don Brown. "But now they are carving out their own niche with bikes that are like hot rods."
For now, though, boomers still buy the bulk of bikes. That's why Harley's booking record profits this year on a 16.5 percent surge in U.S. motorcycle sales. "There's a lot of life left in the baby boomers," says Bleustein. "We don't intend to neglect them." But Harley is also shaking up its lineup to appeal to new bikers. After all, Harley's average rider is 46 and climbing, vs. an industry average of 42. To reach out to younger buyers, Harley just overhauled the design of its classic Sportster, its cheapest model starting at $6,500, to make it ride lower and more comfortably. Sportster sales are up 24 percent this year. Harley's attempt to take on the Japanese hot rods, though, isn't gaining traction. The high-tech Harley V-Rod, introduced just three years ago, has sold poorly. Analysts blame its modern styling, a turnoff to Harley's nostalgia lovers. "The V-Rod has not caught on," says Brown, "because it speaks against what Harley is known for."
All the big bikemakers are scrambling to cash in on the customizing craze, too. Since few riders can afford to drop six figures on a chopper from the Teutuls, bikemakers offer customized cycles on the cheap. Their idea is that you buy a basic bike for under $10,000 and then spend an additional $2,500 to outfit it with chrome side pipes, a teardrop gas tank and custom paint job. Presto: you've got "American Chopper" lite. "You can have a bike that's unique to you," says Kawasaki marketing VP Tom Orbe, "and you don't have to take out a home-equity loan." Kawasaki is even touring the country, teaching its bikers how to pimp out their Vulcan cruisers.
So how many miles are left in this cycle craze? Well, silver-haired boomers could eventually be scared off their rides by the alarming rise in motorcycle deaths, up 70 percent since 1997. But analysts expect Gen Y to ultimately drive up sales even if Dad parks his hog. They'll be spurred on by more biking shows. Next year Discovery will launch the "Biker Build-Off" series, a sort of "American Idol" for gearheads. And there's talk of an "American Chopper" movie, says Paul Sr. "For me," says Senior, "it's all about longevity." With a new generation of riders throttling up, this biker boom looks like it has plenty of open road ahead.
© 2004 Newsweek, Inc.
