Can East meet West?
by Marilyn DeMartini
What is it about us? What gets into our blood that we love speed? I've often referred to it as literally in our blood—in our DNA—it's a speed gene. You either have it, or you don't. You get it, or you don't. Just like the Harley T-shirt states, "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand."
If it's powerful, most of "us" want to drive it or ride it, see what the horsepower will do to, or for us—compare it to a similar vehicle or see if we want to add it the stable. Go to an offshore race and you usually see plenty of other vehicles in the pits—from tricked-out 4-wheelers to Harleys or choppers, "Muscle" or sports cars—we're all victims of our gene, craving the wind in our faces, an adrenaline surge and blood pumping through our veins, while 103 octane fuel pumps through the fuel lines.
A premier example of the bond between bikes and boats is Extreme Boats magazine's former cover boy, Roger Bourget. This year, when Cigarette Racing Team invited Bourget, the custom bike builder, powerboat aficionado and now racer, to the Miami Boat Show, an experiment was arranged to test the melding of the markets at Daytona's annual Bike Week. Randy Hartmann from Lake Cumberland Marine agreed to haul his concept 46' Rider, Strip Poker to Daytona to test the waters. Adjacent to Bourget Bike Works' exhibit, Cigarette displayed the impressive boat, maxed out with a Dean Loucks paint job, accessories and Twin 900 Mercs. Lake Cumberland's Bill Tucker—both a biker and a boater--manned the fort, and after a week of hanging with the bikers at the International Speedway he summarized, "Boaters are bikers, but bikers ain't boaters."
So why is that? When roughly one half (a guesstimate, based on anecdotal evidence) of high performance boaters have high-performance bikes, why don't more bikers have boats? We address that question here in Extreme Boats, rather than in Easyriders, because we would probably get assaulted with letters to the editor about tricked-out Bass boats with 300 hp outboards or air boats and pontoon boats. But why didn't serious buyers flock to Strip Poker at Daytona?
Tucker reflected on this question and deduced that the half million bikers who come to Daytona are riding or trailering bikes valued between $2,500-100,000. Only the upper echelon of that group could truly appreciate a behemoth of a boat like Strip Poker. While all admired her sexy paint job, most couldn't fathom flying across the water at 100 mph in a nearly $1million powerboat.
Yet, the two markets share many commonalities says Tucker, "Both groups enjoy the outdoors—you're a part of the thrill of it—you can see it, feel it, smell it—it arouses the senses," he adds. But there is a big difference in the costs to operate a bike and a boat. While one could cost $1,000/year, the other could cost up to $1,000/hour depending on size of engines, fuel usage, insurance, dockage, maintenance, etc. Plus, a boat is somewhat more limited by destination, while you can ride or haul a bike just about anywhere. Both markets seem to follow the sun and warm weather—always looking for some open road or open water with a good bar and restaurant at the end of the route.
Both boaters and bikers run "by the seat of their pants," Tucker explains, "When your really riding a bike or running your boat well, there's a lot of feel that goes into both of them," where you are "one" with your vehicle and are not just reacting to it, but merely guiding it as it carries you along.
And that feel brings up another aspect that boaters and bikers share—each is a unique vehicle--what Tucker describes as "an extension of your personality." "While a biker might customize his bike with a fancy paint job and chrome, or even a nitros tank or ape-hangers, a boater may add accessories, gauges, and creature comforts like a high-tech stereo or air-conditioning as well. "The boat or bike becomes a part of you," he states.
And that's what happened when Roger Bourget created the Strip Poker Cigarette bike—it became an extension of the already huge 46' boat! "It's a new era," says Tucker, "A custom bike to match your boat—it's the ultimate in collecting high-powered toys!"
So while we may see many hard-core boaters at motorcycle events across the country, we may not see a lot of bikers at waterfront Poker Runs. Maybe because no self-respecting "one percenter" would be caught dead in a pair of Top Siders—or because sun and salt water wreaks havoc with black leather. But if you have "the gene," it doesn't matter, you'll be at the track, the show or the dock, ready to drive, ride or fly across the water—High octane isn't just a rating for fuel—it's a state of mind.
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