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Learning to be wild!
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September 13, 1996: 6:54 p.m. ET
Russian bikers hop on hogs
From Correspondent Eileen O'Connor
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MARFINO, Russia (CNNfn) - They've got the looks, the moves, and the manners -- but not quite the top-of-the-line machines at the second annual Russian bike show. (766K QuickTime movie)
Everyone thinks of biking as purely American, but a Harley is still a Harley, even in Russia.
As they have with other facets of Western cultural, Russians are quickly catching up on all things bike-related, even if it's done with a bit of an accent.
Biker style needs no translation, however. And the Russians are making it their own -- transforming the Hell's Angels into the Night Wolves.
As for the bikes, they need a bit of a tune-up: They are comparable to a hog in the worst sense: big and hard to get going. (538K QuickTime movie)
Like their American counterparts, however, Russian riders don't seem to care. "We have brought some of the free spirit of America. In Russia, a bike is not just a motorcycle. It is a kind of nostalgia for real men."
And for real women, too, it can be a real feminist statement. "A couple years ago, there were only two women in Russia who rode big motorcycles like this: me and another girl," said one woman. "But every year it is more and more."
The participants at a recent bike rally clearly did not adhere to any feminist themes. There were those allowing men to demonstrate their trick-riding skills, and those allowing women to demonstrate their, well, sausage eating skills.
So even though Russia's bikers may not have been born to be wild, they're learning fast. (562K QuickTime movie) 
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