Appearances can be deceptive.

This is especially true of Qin Huan.

Of medium height with a slightly hunched back, Qin cuts a slender, pale figure with his long hair combed back in a ponytail.

Qin Huan with his beloved motorcycle

His black T-shirt is casually tucked into well-worn jeans with holes in the knees. A conspicuous tattoo almost covers his whole right forearm.

Talking to him for the first time may make people a little uncomfortable. He gives quick and simple answers as if indifferent to the conversation. He often hesitates at questions asked of him, insisting that "there's nothing special to talk about me."

But that absent-minded state vanishes when he starts to talk about his beloved hobby, which seems to have a magic power to transform him into a different person. He becomes much more friendly and talkative.

The magic is Harley-Davidson, the famous brand of motorcycle which has become an integral part of his life since he first encountered the machine as a young student studying in the United States, thousands of miles away from his hometown, Beijing.

"My teacher in the States was such a total Harley-Davidson lover that he did not even get married in his life. He introduced the motorcycle to me."

As one of the first group of privileged Chinese studying abroad in the 1980s, Qin majored in construction design and lived in the United States for about six years. It was then he had that first magical ride on a Harley-Davidson. He recalled: "I fell in love with it instantly."

Declining to give his exact age, the man in his early 30s, admits that he is solely attracted by the spirit Harley-Davidson represents, describing it as a factual realization of his long-desired dream for freedom. "Many people may think it is cool or stylish to ride a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. But for me, the reason I love Harley-Davidson so much is because it sparks the deep-seated aspiration for freedom I've had since I was a child."

When Qin's Harley love affair started, few Chinese people had ever seen or even heard of the famous American brand. Many aspired to a better mode of bicycle, but few regarded motorcycles as a hobby.

Luckily, Qin found he had something in common with several other people, most of them overseas-returned students who had also come under the spell of Harley-Davidson.

Of course, none could afford a Harley-Davidson then. But what they could do was to meet and passionately share their feelings about the motorcycle.

In 1993, a loosely-organized club was set up. The club saw no development as a gathering place until 1995 when a formal commercial operation was introduced. In 1999, Qin took over the formal operation of the club after he successfully put together an investment to start Chrome Horse Motorcycles Beijing, a combination of club and shop for Harley-Davidson fans.

Ten years of experience of running a Harley-Davidson theme club has been a dream come true. In that time he has seen a steady increase in the number of people sharing his hobby.

Qin hopes that will now be mirrored by a growing acceptance amongst the ordinary public: "Many people say I know Harley-Davidson is a great motorcycle but it is too expensive to take it as a hobby," he said.

Luxury motorcycles are becoming popular in Beijing. [China Daily]

"They are partly right. For me, I do not think money is the problem if you want to own a Harley. Of course, one has to be wealthy enough to be able to pay for a Harley-Davidson. But Harley is not far away from you as long as you really love life and have something to pursue."

The price threshold for owning a Harley-Davidson is 40,000 yuan (US$4,878) in his shop. That buys a basic model with small horsepower.

With a fairly wide range of different models and quality accessories, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle can be sold for as much as half a million yuan (US$60,386). Qin said it is hard to give specific figures because the models and accessories can be as flexible as customers' own wishes.

Undoubtedly, this is the most important reason for the specialist appeal of Harley-Davidson in China. It is estimated that there are around 2,000 Harley-Davidson nationwide.

Qin agreed that there are also other factors discouraging people to own a Harley. The most obvious is the danger of riding a motorcycle on Beijing's streets. With so many poor drivers heedless of others' safety, riding a prestige machine on the capital's streets could prove costly.

As far as Qin is concerned, what widens people's distance from motorcycles as a hobby are not these factors but the opinions people have.

"There is somehow a bias against the motorcycle in China to thinking that those riding a motorcycle for fun are not good people, especially when you pass by on a roaring motorcycle wearing a leather jacket," he said.

"I can tell you that most Harley-Davidson riders in Beijing are mainly people that we usually think of as a respected, well-educated and well-paid group in society. There are IT employees, businessmen, diplomats and governmental officials. No one can call them disgraceful trouble-makers."

From time to time, the club organizes weekend outings for Harley riders. This gives like-minded individuals a chance to share their passion.

Asked to sum up the lure of the Harley, Qin said: "When you ride it on the road, you feel like a king, as though everything including the road is under your control. When you stop, you immediately become friends with other owners as you are bound up by the motorcycle. People regard it as a spiritual home they belong to. I love the feeling very much. For me owning a Harley-Davidson is almost a religion."

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