Profiles

Profile on Rat Braun

He's been called the unofficial head of the bikers in South Georgia, but once you get to know him you realize - he's just a regular guy doing what he loves to do. He must love motorcycles, he has been riding since he was five years old.

His first bike was a 1945 Harley Davidson, 45 cubic inch. He has owned a bike ever since. 48 years worth of owning too many Harleys, Indians, Nortons, and other brands to count. But never once has he owned a Jap bike.

That may come as a result of one of his first loves in life - reading. His favorites have always been war stories, books on WW1 or WW11, growing up and appreciating the American way, the American pride, and resenting the Japanese invasion on our land and our way of life. And still today that invasion continues with products designed to fail and equipment that's cheaper to replace than repair. Or it may be that, as a young man growing up, he was always around American Iron, hot rods built in the backyard. It was there that he learned to appreciate a job well done and knowing that he had put his everything into the job at hand. Those principles in life still apply today, as the owner of the Hogg Farm, a local Harley-Davidson Repair and Maintenance Shop

A self professing mechanic all his life, he came here via Moody AFB from his home in Minnesota in 1966. Shortly thereafter he realized that you can ride 12 months a year down here, and he decided to stay. His love for hot rods, motorcycles and racing at times gave way to a career as a truck driver, but the mechanic in him always came out.

Rat is one of the original founders of the Outback Riders. He remembers a group of friends on a ride to Tallahassee stopping at a rest area and deciding to have a cool one. As they joked around about forming an informal club, they realized that the car next to them was a Florida State Trooper. The Outback Riders was started as a joke, riders with no rules, no officers, only volunteers. They have now been meeting every week for sixteen years. Not many organizations can claim such longevity. Maybe it's the attitude, just good friends getting together to have fun and do some good. And that they have!!

When asked about the current state of motorcycling, Rat recalls when riding meant you were an outcast, looked down upon and even scoffed. Now he sees that "its cool" to ride, now you are accepted. Still he prefers "motorcycle enthusiasts" over the term "biker" The old school bikers are getting few and far between and sometimes these NEW hard core bikers seem to have never learned an old truth that never looses its power. "Respect is earned, not demanded"

Rat, being the humble down to earth man that he is, was reluctant to give any advice to anyone interested in motorcycles. But you could tell, it came from a place deep within his being when he said "Be honest with yourself and be yourself. Motorcycling is not a fashion statement, it's a sport that we do because we love it" "And don't be stupid, be safe, observe, don't get run over"

Rat Braun is a name that you will hear often around these parts. When you can count him as a friend,,,, that is when you will know what having a friend means!