Rubbies

Doctors, lawyers and celebrities of all sorts were financing new Harleys, earning these buyers the derisive nickname Rubbies, short for "rich, urban bikers," considered by "real bikers" as mere poseurs who didn't really understand what made a Harley a Harley (which, after years of study, I consider to be the bone-rattling noise they produce; in fact, that sound has been trademarked by the company).

Steve Parker: Is Harley-Davidson the Next Casualty? 2009

These are the bikers known derisively as Rubbies; Rich Urban Bikers.

It's Official: Poseur Jesse James Is a Big Dumb Idiot 2010

These are the bikers known derisively as Rubbies; Rich Urban Bikers.

Steve Parker: It's Official: Poseur Jesse James Is a Big Dumb Idiot 2010

Many of the Love Ride participants (and I've been one several times) are some of the most highly-visible Rubbies/Harley owners in the Los Angeles area; if $70 is a big hit for them, then what's the possibility of their buying a new $20,000 motorcycle anytime soon?

Steve Parker: Is Harley-Davidson the Next Casualty? 2009

Of the hundreds, more likely thousands of motorcycle companies which have existed in the US in the past 110-or-so years, only Harley-Davidson, that icon of Milwaukee, biker gangs and those Rubbies, has been an ongoing success.

Steve Parker: Is Harley-Davidson the Next Casualty? 2009