‘Hog’ movie premiere lures Harley faithful

More than 200 isle motorcycle enthusiasts cruise to the theater for a free screening

An advance screening of a comedic movie of middle-age friends who take off on an adventurous motorcycle trip got Edgar "Skip" Kudlich revving up a plan to hit the road.

"It made me yearn to get back on the road again," said Kudlich, 65, who took a 3,500-mile motorcycle trip with his son, Chris from Washington to South Dakota two years ago.

Kudlich and more than 200 members of the Windward, Oahu and Honolulu chapters of the Harley Owner Group (H.O.G.) watched the screening of the movie "Wild Hogs" at Consolidated Theatres-Koolau Stadium yesterday.

The movie featuring actors Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy is about a group of friends who decide to rattle their suburban lives by taking a motorcycle trp. It opens in all theaters Saturday.

Kudlich, owner of Kudlich Insurance Services LLC, who has been riding motorcycles since he was a teenager, rides his Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic motorcycle to work every day.

Like many other motorcycle riders, Kudlich enjoys the freedom of being on a bike. "It seems like there's nothing finer than having a nice road, nice weather and being out. I can go for hours like that," he said.

Kudlich, member of the HOG Waipahu chapter recalled his road trip where he and his son, Chris, 36, made a number of stops that included Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore National Memorial. "Riding on the road like that is unequaled," he said. "It's so much fun," he said.

Kudlich plans to take another motorcycle trip on the mainland with his wife, Renee, who owns two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, around the Grand Canyon. "It's unbelievable, the sights and the things to see on the mainland," he said.

Over the years, the wild and rebellious motorcycle rider is no longer the stereotype. Motorcycle riding has attracted those in various professions.

Riders are now doctors, lawyers, accountants and others compared with three decades ago when it was solely the "bad-ass crowd" that rode motorcycles, said Mark Schneider, sales manager at Cycle City Ltd., 600 Puuloa Road, the largest Harley-Davidson dealership in the state.

Women, also, have taken more of an interest in riding. In the last decade, women have moved from the back seat of their husband or boyfriend's bikes to riding motorcycles themselves, Schneider added.

"I should've done this a long time ago," said Renee Quintoa, who has been riding a Harley-Davidson for the past couple of months. Her husband, Kirk, has been riding bikes for years.

"Wild Hogs" is expected to generate interest in motorcycles for those who have thought about riding. After the movie "Terminator II" was released in 1991, many wanted to find out what type of bike actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was riding, Schneider said.

"It's pure enjoyment when you ride," said Larry Holu, coordinator of the Hawaii State HOG Rally.