They don't drink, they don't smoke, and they carry extra copies of the Book of Mormon in their saddlebags.
But the Temple Riders are as proud of their big bikes and black leather as any other motorcycle gang.Sure, most of the riders are LDS Church members, and many have been members of the faith's lay clergy. Yet they still log thousands of miles each year and attend the big biker rallies.
"We're just a part of the motorcycling community," says Ted Gregory, who joined the group about 10 years ago after meeting members through the motorcycle safety classes he teaches.
Don't be fooled, though. There are some major differences between your local Hell's Angels and Utah's most orthodox motorcycle gang.
First of all, the Temple Riders don't ride on Sunday. They don't drink, smoke or curse. But the mostly over-60 members do wear traditional motorcycle garb, plus a uniform of gray-blue dress vests; and they keep their duds -- and their bikes -- immaculate.
"This group is very clean, very well groomed," said Gregory, 62. "They just stand out; they've got that glow about them." There are about 95 bikes at the biggest meetings, almost all ridden by couples who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. About half of the planned rides include a visit to an LDS Church temple, and some members wear hats bearing an image of Salt Lake City's most famous landmark.
But for most, it's the fellowship that's important.
"The main thing is they're just a good bunch of LDS people," said current president Cliff Beattie, a Salt Lake architectural consultant who at 55 is one of the group's youngest members. He joined about four years ago.
Beattie said his group isn't completely comfortable even with the mainstream motorcycle clubs that shun the rough-and-rowdy biker stereotype.
"They're good people, but they enjoy their beer and their smoking even though they do good things," he said. "We're way over on the other side from the Hell's Angels."
Temple Riders was founded back in 1987 by Frank and Catherine Reese, avid bikers who were frustrated because so many groups rode on Sundays. By the following spring, they had a handful of couples and a regular newsletter. Now the group is growing through word of mouth, Beattie said.
Missionaries on motorcycles are nothing new. The Christian Motorcyclists Association was formed in 1975 and now has some 60,000 members preaching the word around the world. But the Temple Riders -- who claim members in Idaho, Texas and California as well as all over Utah -- are more about lifestyle than gospel.
In fact, Beattie said, more non-LDS people are also turning out.
"You don't have to be LDS to ride," he said. "All we ask is that when people ride with us they keep to the same standards we do."
Though the group is not sanctioned by the church, members say LDS Church leaders are well aware of their activities.
"We do mission work on the trips," but it's not the main goal of the group, said Ted May.
The 64-year-old from Salt Lake City took up motorcycling shortly before he retired from banking and joined the Temple Riders about a decade ago. He said members sometimes have playful competitions to see how many copies of the Book of Mormon they can hand out at rallies.
"You don't try and push it, but if people come up and ask who we are, we tell them. And they always do," he said.
May, his wife and several others from the group are gearing up for a 3,000-mile trip starting July 10. Over the course of two weeks, they will head from Utah to northern California, then up to Calgary, Canada. They plan to visit three temples en route.
But not all temple visits go smoothly. May remembered at least one time when their "hogs" almost got them in trouble when they pulled up to a temple.
"They called the police on us!" he said. "They were worried this big motorcycle gang was rolling in to the temple."
Fortunately, a group member had already notified local police that the Temple Riders were in town, so the cops never showed, May said.
"The police said don't worry about them, they're just a group of old Mormon high priests. They won't cause any trouble."