BE REBORN TO BE WILD ON TODAY'S POWERFUL RETRO MOTORCYCLES
By LAURA KOSS-FEDER

(MONEY Magazine) – Do the open road, the roar of an air-cooled engine and the wind in your face stir memories of a braver time? If so, you're not alone. Thousands of males in mid-life denial have found that today's motorcycles are the hottest way to go from 0 to 60 miles an hour as well as from 45 to 20--in age. This year's top-of-the-line cruisers, such as the $17,000 Harley-Davidson FLSTS Heritage Springer Softail and the $14,500 Honda Valkyrie Tourer (pictured above), boast retro styling from years past, plus more power and easier handling than ever.

Motorcycle riding is no longer downscale transportation for youthful loners. Harley-Davidson reports that its average customer is now a 43-year-old husband with a median household income of $66,400. And there are now more than 5,000 motorcycle clubs across the nation, up from just 200 about a decade ago, notes Beverly St. Clair Baird, a spokesman for the Motorcycle Industry Council, a trade group.

Most of today's buyers are bypassing small, sleek $7,500-to-$15,000 sport bikes in favor of plush cruisers. Designed for longer-distance travel, cruisers are heavier, comfier and cost as much as $20,000. That doesn't mean, however, that today's cruisers are for wimps. Take, for example, the handsome Honda Valkyrie Tourer, released in February. Its 1520cc, 100-horsepower engine is the only six-cylinder on the market (most cruisers have four cylinders), giving it the power of an automobile and an extra-smooth ride at high speeds. "It's the biggest, baddest cruiser that's also well engineered," says Don J. Brown, a motorcycle industry consultant in Irvine, Calif.

If you want the best features of yesteryear and don't mind parting with a few thousand dollars more, consider instead Harley-Davidson's Heritage Springer. Modeled on the classic 1948 Harley Panhead, this 1340cc cruiser sports a front-mounted horn with chrome cover, plus fringed black leather on its saddlebags and tractor-style seats. The sound too is classic Harley: "You can't mistake that throaty rumble," says Stuart Fierman, 56, a Briarwood, N.Y. dentist who rides a 1992 Harley Electra Glide.

For the 1930s look--long and low, with deep front and rear fenders--there's the $13,700 Yamaha Royal Star, the first Yamaha ever to offer overdrive. Prefer the leaner, muscle-bike '50s? You'll want the $10,500 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic.

For all their retro styling, the new crop of motorcycles includes creature comforts not dreamt of by motorcyclists 20 or 30 years ago. A ride-along spouse on the Honda Valkyrie, for example, travels aboard a 12-inch-wide removable passenger seat with backrest--and can stash up to two weeks' worth of clothes in the spacious saddlebags. And the Royal Star gives riders the most peace of mind on the road, thanks to its unique five-year warranty that includes free emergency towing 24 hours a day. Gentlemen, start your memories.

--Laura Koss-Feder