Jul. 19, 2001. 02:00 AM  The Toronto Star

Love of motorcycles drives Cooper
Riding crosses all demographic lines"

Donna Jean MacKinnon
WHEELS WRITER

Morris Cooper, a Toronto litigation lawyer, is a self-confessed Harley-Davidson snob.

His current motorcycle is a Harley 95th-anniversary bike — number 1,546 of a limited edition of 3,500. Every five years HD issues a new anniversary motorcycle. It is always a
mystery until it leaves the factory and people committing to them are buying a hog-in-a-poke.

"It was an irresistible proposition," Cooper says. "I waited with bated breath. When the model was announced, the pictures looked fabulous and in real life, the bike looked even better."

His model turned out to be a Road King in two-tone champagne and cherry cola — colours HD says it will never use again.

Now bike aficionados are anticipating the 100th anniversary edition, to be unveiled in 2003 to mark the founding of the motorcycle works in Milwaukee in 1903. Cooper has already plunked down his deposit.

You'll never see two Harleys the same, according to Cooper. He says most dealers have a room full of new exhaust pipes and assorted parts because the macho thing for a new buyer to do is change the pipes, throw off the muffler, snap off the detachable back rest and windshield and customize.

"You take off a pile of parts and then add others back on," explains Cooper.

He changed his pipes, so his prized machine now emits a deep throaty rumble.

"It has a vintage sound. The whole engine vibrates," he says gleefully.

Selling after-market bike accessories is a multi-million business, according to Cooper. He points to a chrome lock cover stamped with the Harley logo. A mere $100 for that.

Cooper reckons the typical expenditure on a Harley is about $25,000, but there is "holding value."

First, there's a reverse prestige factor operating. Part of the allure of the HD marque is the retro look and mechanics of the bike. Car fanciers might brag about finding a pristine vintage model with only 7,000 kilometres on it, but for a biker, the ultimate is to find an "old rat bike" that has eaten up a lot of road. The more usage, the more desirable a bike is.

"The prestige is in miles logged on a motorcycle," says Cooper, who got his licence in Montréal when he was 19.

Secondly, the company's annual production doesn't meet demand. This year, HD will ship 229,000 bikes, but the company reports there is a two-year waiting list for some models.

On a personal level, Cooper finds a certain Zen in riding.

"It blows the dust out of your brains. It's meditative and a break from the concerns of everyday life," he says.

One of the great joys of Cooper's life is touring. In three short seasons, he's put 44,000 kilometres on his Harley. He describes the southwest U.S. in the winter as "motorcycle heaven." The twisting roads are absent of people and the sky and vistas are inspirational.

Cooper believes motorcycling is the only recreation that crosses all demographics because at events there is a cross-section of society with one thing in common, the love of bikes.

"Some people have their entire life savings in their bikes, while others are multi-millionaires," Copper says. "I meet a whole host of people I would (otherwise) never encounter."

Cooper explains there is unspoken etiquette at events: Never ask anybody what he does for a living.

Cooper admits he enjoys the don't-mess-with-me biker image. He rides his Harley to his chic Yorkville office and parades around in leather boots.

"Sure it's a walk on the wild side and there's a lot of fancy dressing going on. The leathers and boots are part of the appeal," Cooper says.

But Cooper is exercised about the bad boy biker image.

It seems even middle-class aging white guys, on hogs, are police targets.

"As if criminal activity has anything to do with a bike," Cooper says peevishly.

He points out that hard-core gangsters wearing patch (called colours), comprise about 1 per cent of all riders. He feels they ought not give 99 per cent of motorcyclists a bad name.

Cooper belongs to several motorcycle groups including the Harley Owners Group (HOG) and Los Silverados, a Toronto club that fundraises for the Yonge Street Mission.