The female figure painted on your motorbike seems rather ominous, who is she?
Santa Muerte, a very diverse deity. On the one hand, she accompanies outlaws safely to the other side, and on the other, she can be called upon for prosperity, healing and protection. The latter made me put her on my motorbike.
And did it work?
So far, I have not had a major accident, so we could say that my motorbike is under magical protection!
Do your fellow riders ever ask you to do the same?
Every spring, before the season opener, we hold a séance to keep the negative energies away from our team in the Budapest H.O.G.®
How long have you been a Harley-Davidson fan?
I have been riding for 20 years now, but I visited my first festival in Alsóörs without my motorbike. My friend Laci Lukács took me with him; I liked the company and they took me in very quickly. However, most of the guys have factory motorcycles and I am not really into them, so I have a custom-built Harley®. Even the original frame was cut apart to make it completely to my specification.
Have you taken it to an exhibition yet?
It has won awards in several categories at the Hungarian Motorbike Building Championship for best painting, among others, but has placed many times at international competitions as well.
You are probably looking forward to visiting the Custom Bike Show at the Harley-Davidson Festival on 22-25 June in Budapest, where some real specialities can be seen.
I will make sure to visit all the custom bike-related programmes, but I think I will enter the arm-wrestling and rodeo bull riding too, because these are just made for me.
Which of the concerts are you excited about?
Definitely EDDA Művek: we are old mates with Attila Pataky, so I cannot miss that. Then I will see where else I can get to.
Do you go on motorcycle tours?
I have been on some longer rides. For example, I left Budapest and travelled through Venice, Verona, Monte Carlo, Cannes, Saint-Tropez and Lake Garda, before heading home through Croatia. We also had a good time when we took our motorcycles from Spain to Morocco by ship and we visited some famous cities, including Casablanca and Marrakesh. While at home we organise summer gastro tours: we choose a restaurant and roll along there to have dinner and a good talk.
How did you find the Riding Experience?
We sometimes participate in kids’ activities like this with the members of the Budapest H.O.G. chapter. It is a joy to watch the children’s eyes sparkling when hanging out on these big iron machines. It is a great experience not only for them but for us as well.
By Beáta Csanálosi