Five years ago, Mark Moss bought a used 1978 Harley-Davidson shovelhead, painted it canary yellow and adorned it with chrome accents that cause flash burn beneath the bright Florida sun.

Growing up in Kentucky, Moss caught his first glimpse of a vintage hog when the notorious Outlaws motorcycle gang rumbled through town. It was love at first sight.

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"I always wanted a Harley my whole life," the 45-year-old Naples, Fla., carpenter admits. "What's different about a Harley? To me, it's like the difference between a Pinto and a Corvette or a Ferrari; there's just no comparison. It's the Rolls Royce of motorcycles. I didn't want a motorcycle, I wanted a Harley-Davidson."

Like thousands of midlife easy riders, Moss can now afford to be wild. He estimates he has invested $40,000 in his full-dress Harley and spends about $3,000 annually to keep it on the road, part of the price he willingly pays to own a vintage ride.

"They nicknamed them 'troubleheads,'" he chuckles. "The newer bikes are maintenance-free, and they're under warranty, too."

Heading out on the highway
Moss is emblematic of the new biker entourage. The ponytails on Harley riders have turned gray over the years, with the average Harley buyer today over 45, nearly 11 years older than the typical buyer over 15 years ago.

And while men still account for nine out of every 10 Harleys sold, women purchased 10 percent of all new Harleys in 2004, up from 7 percent just six years ago. More than 900,000 members make H.O.G., or Harley Owners Group, the largest factory-sponsored motorcycle organization in the world.

Like their parents, these baby boomers are heeding the call of the open road as the burdens of raising kids and building a career recede in the rearview mirror. Unlike their parents, however, they are not acquiring 30-foot motor homes in which they can carry all the comforts of home.

Instead, boomer bikers are shucking their 9-to-5 wear and donning a whole new persona that dates back to the '50s, when James Dean was a rebel without a cause and Marlon Brando was the original wild one.

"There are lawyers, doctors, businessmen who ride now," says Moss. "They can put on leather and look like an outlaw for the weekend."

The price of a wild ride
According to general manager Jeff Olchawa of Bumpus Harley-Davidson in Collierville, Tenn., you can get into a Sportster for as little as $6,990. The top-of-the-line Ultra Classic touring bike will run you $20,700 tricked out.

Harleys come with a two-year, unlimited-mile warranty. You can purchase an extended service plan covering parts and labor for up to seven additional years; one extra year costs $904, seven will run you $1,349. You can even purchase an extended service plan for up to five years on a used Harley provided it is less than 10 years old and has less than 75,000 miles.

Dealerships offer financing through Harley-Davidson as well as local financial institutions. Harley will typically want 10 percent down; they may offer zero percent down with approved credit.

Olchawa says buyers tend to work their way up the models.

"I think there's a natural progression. You start out with whatever you can afford," he says. "You may start out on a Sportster, then move up into something in the Softtail (the Fat Boy and the Springer) or the Dyna Glide family (the Low Rider and the Wide Glide), which are a larger displacement motor, a larger frame and a better ride quality than a Sportster, but not as good as a touring bike."

"Certainly, buying one bike at the top of the line is more cost-effective than working your way up. However, it just doesn't appeal to everybody. The amount of time you have in the saddle dictates what you get because you learn rather quickly what's more comfortable for you."

Olchawa encourages newcomers to rent a bike and try it before deciding on a model to purchase. Bumpus' Memphis location offers 11 Harleys for rent and at least one in every category, including the newer V-Rod, the company's first liquid-cooled bike. Rates are $100 a day (Monday thru Thursday) or $150 weekend daily rate, $350 a weekend and $600 a week (five days from Monday thru Friday).

"It's a minimal investment in the rental rates to make the proper decision on a bike," he says.

Harley stock? Let it ride!
Even those who prefer four wheels to two have taken Harley-Davidsons for a ride in recent years -- Harley-Davidson stock, that is.

No other company was quite as poised to profit from the aging of the baby boom generation as Harley-Davidson, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last summer with a coast-to-coast rolling party.

From its humble beginnings in a Wisconsin wood shed through its "Easy Rider" imprimatur as the ride of the youth rebellion to its popularity as a high-performing stock investment (Malcolm Forbes is a proud hog owner), Harley is truly a made-in-America success story.

Harley-Davidson stock has split two-for-one five times since 1990. If you had invested $100 when the company went public in 1986 and let your dividends ride, your hog shares would be worth a cool $16,630 in 2002.

A changing, but still appealing image
Numerous rock stars and mainstream celebrities, including Jay Leno, Bruce Willis, Elizabeth Taylor and Dan Aykroyd also have helped elevate the once-naughty Harley hog to a new level of respectability.

And that wave of Harleys zooming past you is likely these days to be a group of riders whose goal is not raising hell but raising money for charity. In addition to attending the gathering of the clans at Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach, Fla., and the annual Woodstock of Harleys in Sturgis, S.D., Moss regularly rides in fundraisers benefiting Toys for Tots and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

"Bikers do a lot of good stuff," he says. "The Toys for Tots run had 35,000 bikes involved, and they all had pledges and were riding for someone."

On the technical side, too, some things have changed about Harleys over the years. In 1984, for instance, the company replaced the traditionally greasy and problematic motorcycle chain with a belt made of carbon and Kevlar that is clean, quiet and maintenance-free.

But one thing that may never change is that distinctive throaty rumble of a hog.

"That's a big part of it," Olchawa admits. "A Harley is a statement of individuality, and it has as much to do with the sound as anything else. A Harley is always going to have a certain lope, that 'potato-potato' sound to it.

"People want to be heard as much as seen. You know one when they roll down the road."

Jay MacDonald is a contributing editor based in Florida.