Of medium height with a slightly hunched back, Qin cuts a slender, pale
figure with his long hair combed back in a ponytail.
Qin Huan with his
beloved motorcycle
His black T-shirt is casually tucked into well-worn jeans with holes in the
knees. A conspicuous tattoo almost covers his whole right forearm.
Talking to him for the first time may make people a little uncomfortable. He
gives quick and simple answers as if indifferent to the conversation. He often
hesitates at questions asked of him, insisting that "there's nothing special to
talk about me."
But that absent-minded state vanishes when he starts to talk about his
beloved hobby, which seems to have a magic power to transform him into a
different person. He becomes much more friendly and talkative.
The magic is Harley-Davidson, the famous brand of motorcycle which has become
an integral part of his life since he first encountered the machine as a young
student studying in the United States, thousands of miles away from his
hometown, Beijing.
"My teacher in the States was such a total Harley-Davidson lover that he did
not even get married in his life. He introduced the motorcycle to me."
As one of the first group of privileged Chinese studying abroad in the 1980s,
Qin majored in construction design and lived in the United States for about six
years. It was then he had that first magical ride on a Harley-Davidson. He
recalled: "I fell in love with it instantly."
Declining to give his exact age, the man in his early 30s, admits that he is
solely attracted by the spirit Harley-Davidson represents, describing it as a
factual realization of his long-desired dream for freedom. "Many people may
think it is cool or stylish to ride a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. But for me,
the reason I love Harley-Davidson so much is because it sparks the deep-seated
aspiration for freedom I've had since I was a child."
When Qin's Harley love affair started, few Chinese people had ever seen or
even heard of the famous American brand. Many aspired to a better mode of
bicycle, but few regarded motorcycles as a hobby.
Luckily, Qin found he had something in common with several other people, most
of them overseas-returned students who had also come under the spell of
Harley-Davidson.
Of course, none could afford a Harley-Davidson then. But what they could do
was to meet and passionately share their feelings about the motorcycle.
In 1993, a loosely-organized club was set up. The club saw no development as
a gathering place until 1995 when a formal commercial operation was introduced.
In 1999, Qin took over the formal operation of the club after he successfully
put together an investment to start Chrome Horse Motorcycles Beijing, a
combination of club and shop for Harley-Davidson fans.
Ten years of experience of running a Harley-Davidson theme club has been a
dream come true. In that time he has seen a steady increase in the number of
people sharing his hobby.
Qin hopes that will now be mirrored by a growing acceptance amongst the
ordinary public: "Many people say I know Harley-Davidson is a great motorcycle
but it is too expensive to take it as a hobby," he said.
Luxury motorcycles
are becoming popular in Beijing. [China Daily]
"They are partly right. For me, I do not think money is the problem if you
want to own a Harley. Of course, one has to be wealthy enough to be able to pay
for a Harley-Davidson. But Harley is not far away from you as long as you really
love life and have something to pursue."
The price threshold for owning a Harley-Davidson is 40,000 yuan (US$4,878) in
his shop. That buys a basic model with small horsepower.
With a fairly wide range of different models and quality accessories, a
Harley-Davidson motorcycle can be sold for as much as half a million yuan
(US$60,386). Qin said it is hard to give specific figures because the models and
accessories can be as flexible as customers' own wishes.
Undoubtedly, this is the most important reason for the specialist appeal of
Harley-Davidson in China. It is estimated that there are around 2,000
Harley-Davidson nationwide.
Qin agreed that there are also other factors discouraging people to own a
Harley. The most obvious is the danger of riding a motorcycle on Beijing's
streets. With so many poor drivers heedless of others' safety, riding a prestige
machine on the capital's streets could prove costly.
As far as Qin is concerned, what widens people's distance from motorcycles as
a hobby are not these factors but the opinions people have.
"There is somehow a bias against the motorcycle in China to thinking that
those riding a motorcycle for fun are not good people, especially when you pass
by on a roaring motorcycle wearing a leather jacket," he said.
"I can tell you that most Harley-Davidson riders in Beijing are mainly people
that we usually think of as a respected, well-educated and well-paid group in
society. There are IT employees, businessmen, diplomats and governmental
officials. No one can call them disgraceful trouble-makers."
From time to time, the club organizes weekend outings for Harley riders. This
gives like-minded individuals a chance to share their passion.
Asked to sum up the lure of the Harley, Qin said: "When you ride it on the
road, you feel like a king, as though everything including the road is under
your control. When you stop, you immediately become friends with other owners as
you are bound up by the motorcycle. People regard it as a spiritual home they
belong to. I love the feeling very much. For me owning a Harley-Davidson is
almost a religion."
