People from all walks of life love to get on their motorbikes. While some top-class athletes have contracts that prohibit the use of motorcycles, there are others who enjoy nothing more than getting comfortably seated and going for a ride.
David Beckham
The soccer star has now retired from playing the game, but is part of a group of investors that owns Inter Miami CF. His glittering career included spells at world-famous teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Milan. He is now perhaps best known for his personal brand and for riding some incredible bikes.
Beckham was the best paid soccer star on the planet in 2013, when he earned more than $50 million. So he can easily afford his collection of chopped Harleys and Triumphs. He also featured on a BBC documentary called Into the Unknown, in which he rode in Brazil using T100 Bonnevilles that had been specially modified.
The former soccer player was even reported to have paid for motorbike lessons for his wife, Victoria, in 2008.
LeBron James
One of the big questions that a lot of people have is whether the NBA has a rule that stops players from riding motorbikes. It seems that the use of them is definitely discouraged, but that hasn’t stopped LeBron James from enjoying his time out riding.
The Los Angeles Lakers star is one of the favorites to win NBA 2020 MVP. He revealed in an interview a few years ago that he owned a Harley-Davidson and a Can-Am Spyder. James admitted that his team at the time – the Cleveland Cavaliers – weren’t happy about it but that they couldn’t do anything to stop him getting his kicks out on the road.
James also has a passion for cycling. He gifted a couple of hundred bikes to students at a new school, saying that when he was a kid he got around everywhere on his bicycle. The star pointed out in an interview at the time that cycling and sport gave him freedom in his early life.
Cain Velasquez
Mexican-American wrestler and MMA fighter Velasquez is another sports star who is known to love motorcycles. Is the use of motorbikes not banned in the world of fighters? Well, UFC boss Dana White came out a few years and said that it is fine for them to ride as long as it isn’t their main method of transportation.
This stance could be due to Harley Davidson being heavily involved in the sponsorship of fights and even offering a bike as the prize in certain bouts. Indeed, Velasquez won a Harley for defeating Junior dos Santos in UFC 155 and has been photographed with motorbikes for fight publicity shots.
One case with a less happy ending was that of UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Shortly after winning the vacant championship in 2004, he was knocked off his motorcycle and suffered a broken femur as well as torn knee ligaments.
Rickie Fowler
This pro golfer famously held the title of number one amateur in the world for several months in 2007/8. Since turning pro in 2009, he has reached as high as number four in the rankings. Yet, golf wasn’t his main passion when growing up.
Fowler dreamed of becoming a motocross star like Jeremy McGrath. However, he suffered a nasty injury at the age of 15, when he foot broke into the parts. This caused him to leave the bike behind and switch to golf.
He has been known to use biking analogies when talking about his new sport, though. So it is clear that he still has a special place in his heart for them.
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