Black Bikers. Unlike those doctors and lawyers on their Harleys, young, urban blacks are bringing "a kind of Quentin Tarantino sensibility with a dash of Techno Ninja warrior, a pinch of globalism and hip-hop defiance," to motorcycling, reports Brian Alexander in The New York Times. And unlike autoracing, the integration of African-Americans like James "Bubba" Stewart into motocrcross is spreading into urban black culture, as "sales figures show a significant increase in the rate of ownership among young black males and females." In further evidence of this trend, some "350,000 riders, mostly black, are expected to attend the city's Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Weekend Bike Festival in 2005," according to the National Association of Black Bikers, www.nabbweb.org."

Some compare this introduction of motorcycles into urban black culture to "the way modified cars became part of the rural and suburban white culture two and three generations ago." But it is unlike the "old outlaw biker catchet" of "cruisers and choppers" that traditionally has dominated motorcycling's world. Instead, it "has a strong ethos of street racing and stunts that make it a bit like skateboarding, except the crashes can do more damage." That world was stoked in a big way by a 2003 movie, Biker Boyz, which "revolved around extreme stunts and street racing." It also "helped propel sales of a Suzuki model, the GSX-R" -- a.k.a. "Gixxers" -- www.gixxer.com, which "have since become the bike of choice among urban street riders." Yes, Suzuki, and Kawasaki, too.

Urban bikers tend to buy "speedy Japanese and Italian street bikes," which are not only "less expensive, but ... also faster than cruisers ... A new stock street bike capable of speeds up to 150 miles an hour sells for about $11,000. To a 21-year-old with a little money, that sounds like a lot of speed for the buck. " Some motorcycle marketers, perhaps a bit rattled by extreme stunts and street racing, have been a bit slow to embrace the urban biker culture, though. But "enthusiasts argue that a touch of danger and showing off have always been part of the sport," and "urban young people, most of whom are black ... riding fast bikes" are not "much different from white suburban boys souping up a Trans-Am and laying rubber on a highway." In perhaps the surest sign of the mainstreaming of multicultural motocross marketing, Michael Jordan is "sponsoring Montez Stewart, a former Chicago-area street biker ... in an effort to promote the Jordan brand."
Tim Manners, editor