Ups And Downs
UPS AND DOWNS
UP: To writer Jon Krakaurer, for his article on Harley-Davidson and the people who buy them, published recently in Smithsonian magazine. “Not so very long ago any shaggy guy on a Harley-Davidson was automatically assumed to be a rolling scourge, the archetypal American outlaw—‘The Menace,’ as Hunter Thompson described in Hell’s Angels: ‘Genghis Khan on an iron horse,...flat out through the eye of a beer can and up your daughter’s leg...’ Now, people don’t automatically assume that every brother on a Harley is a criminal,” explained one interviewee. “For all they know he could own a Fortune 500 corporation.”
UP: To American Suzuki, for its Good Scholar contingency program. Launched last year, the program offers a $500 U.S. savings bond to any school-age rider who purchases a '94 RM80,125 or 250, competes in at least five motocross events during the year, and maintains a B average. To date, Suzuki has paid $84,000 to 168 students from 39 states.
DOWN: To actor Ian Ziering, for misrepresenting motorcycling. “I really get a pump jumpin’ out of balloons with bungee cords on, or riding a motorcycle at a hundred miles an hour with my head tucked over the handlebars, not being able to see anything. That is definitely an adrenaline high, knowing that your life hangs this far between life and death... I’ve never really experienced true Zen, but I’m hoping me and my Ducati will get there.” Ziering, who is best known for his role on Fox-Television’s “Beverly Hills, 90210,” was the subject of a recent ESPN2 promotional spot.
