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Tafadzwa Zimoyo
It is lunch time at Queen of Hearts restaurant and people are suddenly startled by loud sounds as a fleet of motorbikes makes its way into the parking area.

The bikers disembark in uniform style and all the attention is on their two-wheeled beasts and their outfits.
Their arrival is quite a spectacle, when they eventually take their seats in the eatery, most conversations in the house have shifted to their arrival, appearance and bikes.

“What is it with men and motorcycles?” one lady asks a friend.
“I have known or come across many men, especially at high end places that either own or want to own a motorcycle. Is it the new swag that has replaced the suit gang of dudes with heavy wallets and deep wave haircuts? I would want to ride a bike with a guy one day.”

According to some motorcycle mechanic and expert, it is expensive to service a bike, let alone to buy two tyres.
Bikers or outlaw motorcyclists, as some might want to refer to them, have been around for a long time.

Misheck Timburwa (Shacky)

“They have been given names and often accused of belonging to cults because of their style,” said Elroy Chastang, popularly known as Ghost, who has been riding a motorcycle for the past 15 years.

“Bikers are often glamourised and glorified by movie versions of rebels on the road. But a day in the life of a biker can be boring, dangerous and, sometimes, even lethal.

“The recent trend of bikers is taking the country by storm. They are classified under several brackets including ‘Ghost Movement’ and ‘AmaB Riders’.”

Born to a Mozambican father and Zimbabwean mother, Chastang said many people thought that when they see a group of bikers wearing leather outfit and with high scary tattoos, they are a mischievous gang.
“We don’t belong to such gangs, but ours are decent clubs,” he said.

“Being a biker has changed over the years. We are more vulnerable each time we ride on a bike. The secret is to focus at all times, eyes always on the road.”

Ghost said he chose that name because it came from a movement.
“When we say Ghost, we are talking of a person who does not exist, pretty much you only see the shadow because our speed is to the maximum,” he said.

“I am a speed junkie hence cars are too slow for me. I own five cars, but I am always on my bike.”
Asked why he wears the scary helmet with an image of a skeletal skull that is often associated with Illuminati, Ghost laughed out loud explaining that he always gets those comments each time he is on road.

“I don’t even know what is Illuminati and what it is about,” he said. “My designs on our helmets or jackets has nothing to do with Illuminati, it is the brand that I chose.”

Ghost said the longest ride he did was the 2 700 kilometres for two days from Walvis Bay in Namibia to Harare.
He said since it is a lifestyle, his bike is earning more money than him.

“I get hired to be a stuntman at weddings, music videos, parties even escorts at funerals,” said Ghost.
“Mostly they have featured my bike more than me, because not many people know about me, but my bike because my face will be covered in a helmet hence they don’t see me. I also do private photoshoots and I can safely say that it has given me more returns than my other line of work.”

Ghost, who owns a Kawaski ZX1400, 1,5-litre bike with a top speed of 360km/hr, said he was once involved in an accident in 2016.

“I had a serious accident, sometime in November, 2016,” he said.
“Although I only stayed in hospital for 24 hours after sustaining broken tissue, I was a bit shocked. The doctor ordered me to go for physiotherapy but instead, I went back on the bike and I recovered.”

Another biker businessman Misheck “Shaky” Timburwa said riding a motorbike is fun though, it was risky.
He said it is his lifestyle, but he is not affiliated to any group.

“I usually ride my BMW 1600GT,” said Timburwa. “I don’t do stunts, though and I am always on the road from Harare to Chegutu. I am a private person, hence I don’t take part at any bike fests or do groupies. I own two bikes and several cars.

“Motorcycles embody non-conformity. I can say they are the polar opposite of the automobile — that safe and sterilised, seat belted, air bagged, sanitised-for-your-protection vehicle of the masses.”
The tall biker said riding a bike sets one apart from the rest.

“I will not be a conformist,” he said.
“I prefer to ride a thumping v-twin or screaming 4-cylinder rocket, tyres churning up the pavement all the way! I have loved motorcycles ever since I was a teenager. I was 19 and the ink was barely dry on my driver’s license when I first rode.
Walter Wanyanya, a music promoter who also loves bikes, said the lifestyle is a reflection of one’s personalities and character.

“You find people riding speed bikes, cruisers, dirt bikes, motor cross and quad bikes,” he said.
“That is what they enjoy doing. Mine is a cruiser bike and it is Triumph America Boulevard 900 CC, British made. I bought it two years ago, although my love for bikes started 17 years ago.”