(MONEY Magazine) – Dennis Bovin, vice chairman of investment banking at Bear Stearns, remembers when "biker" was another word for outlaw. The proud owner of two Harleys--a 1200 Sportster and a 1,365cc FXR3 factory custom--recalls several meetings at which he and Jeff Marshall, a former partner at Bear who's now a venture capitalist, arrived in 80 pounds of leather, plus bandannas to keep their melons warm. People thought they were there to rob the place, not do a deal.

It's different now. Today, Bovin and Marshall would no doubt be joined by junior bankers arriving on bikes that could leave their superiors' Harleys in the dust. According to the Motorcycle Industry Council's owner survey, the average biker is 38 years old, and J.D. Power & Associates puts motorcyclists' median income at an impressive $67,000. And you might be surprised to learn that women buy and ride more than 8% of all bikes. But the most impressive trend in the industry is its sheer growth. While sales are still nowhere near the 1.52 million high in 1973, sales of new bikes were up 23% from 1999 to 2000--the eighth straight year of 20%-or-so growth. And even this year, when business for what some squares consider a nonnecessity might be expected to shrink alongside the economy, estimates are for 487,000 new bikes to growl off the lot--a 16.3% jump over 2000.

Easy Rider Rides Again

What explains the resurgence? Think of the phenomenon as a double-barreled echo boom. As Don J. Brown, president of DJB Associates, points out in a recent state-of-the-industry report, the growth throughout the 1960s almost mirrored the rate of annual increase in the number of baby-boom males reaching their 18th birthday. And 30 years later, much of this round of expansion comes from the fact that baby boomers are rediscovering their love of motorcycles--with an increased attention to power and style--at a time when their children, members of the much marketed to Generation Y, are also buying their first bikes.

I belong to the 7% of motorcyclists who own four or more bikes, and my surprisingly tolerant wife has finally put her foot down. But if I were to buy another right now, I'd have a tough time choosing between these two; one is a classic reborn, the other a sleek powerhouse.

The Triumph Bonneville is back on sale after more than a decade. Remember when Evel Knievel broke everything trying to jump the fountain at Caesar's? A Bonnie TT Special. Remember when Richard Gere became not only an officer but a gentleman too? A Bonnie T140. According to Brown, the foremost expert on industry trends and maybe the only motorcycle authority who quotes Thomas Merton, Alan Greenspan and Bob Dylan with equal authority, "The new Triumph Bonneville is doing extremely well and will probably sell 2,000 to 3,000 units this year if they can keep them in stock. There are people who look at it and say the petrol seams are ugly, the exhaust pipes have kinks where there shouldn't be, and there's no kick starter and no tachometer. But I just bought each of my sons one."

A good first bike, Bonnevilles are listing for $6,999, but high demand has conspired with short supply to tack on another four bills or so. Expect to pay up to $7,500. At 790cc, the new Bonnie's got plenty of power (over 60 horses and excellent torque) from the four-valves-per-cylinder twin engine, but the bike's a manageable 451 pounds. There are plenty of changes (camshafts instead of pushrod valves, silencers and clean-air stuff in the pipes, which were notoriously loud). But the new Bonnie stays remarkably faithful to its spirit, right down to the distinctive triangular engine cover.

BMW has out-Harleyed Harley for my other favorite bike. From the almost American sounding exhaust note to the anti-lock brakes, the BMW R1200C has combined everything swell about a classic cruiser with the dazzling technology of Europe's only maker of big bikes. You can see from the photo how impressive the bike looks. But it's what you can't see that makes the R1200C special. It's the ease with which a rider can reach the grips, the unsluggish start from a stop (surprising for any shaft drive, let alone one carrying 1,170cc) and the smoothness of the transmission as it goes through the gears. List price for the base model is $14,500, with variants going up to $15,900, so size and price make the R1200C a poor choice for a starter bike. But for those already hooked, this will get you anywhere.