If your recently departed loved one cherished rolling thunder on the pavement and wind in the face, a last ride on a Harley-Davidson may be just the memorable farewell you seek.

Scott Bodell offers that not-so-ordinary service with his motorcycle hearse, aptly named "Last Ryde."

And you don't have to be Peter Fonda or John Travolta to qualify.

For $565, the tuxedo-clad Bodell will ride with your late kin in the custom-built hearse pulled by a three-wheeled Harley 2000 Ultra Classic from a church or mortuary to a cemetery.

"We can haul people's ashes, too," Bodell said. "I've got a pillow and some tie-downs for an urn."

Bodell, who owns and operates West Valley City-based Superior Burial Vaults, always has loved motorcycles, Harleys in particular, he said this week while waiting for a funeral outside St. Marguerite's Catholic Church in Tooele.

"One night I heard about a motorcycle hearse on the radio. The lights went on. I said, 'Yeah.' ''

He searched the Internet and discovered a half-dozen motorcycle hearses around the nation. And some were for sale. But Bodell decided to build his own.

"I bought some 20-foot pieces of steel and started cutting."

The result is a real beauty. It's not unusual for passers-by to stop and take cell-phone pictures. Wherever he goes, it draws 'oohs' and 'aahs.'

"I've never seen one. It's beautiful," said motorcycle enthusiast Jim Garcia outside the church as he checked out the chrome and shiny black paint. "I guess it fits the occasion."

At the renowned Sturgis Motorcycle Rally last August in South Dakota, bikers gawked and motorcycle traffic parted for two blocks, Bodell recalled, as he and wife Debbie rumbled up the main drag with the hearse in tow.

These days, motorcycle riders run the gamut from lawyers and doctors to the stereotyped tough guys with tattoos - and everyone in between.

"But I haven't met a biker yet, who hasn't said, 'That's the way I want to go,' " Bodell said.

Tooele's Tate Mortuary is among those offering the Harley hearse as an option along with its various other services, said Bodie Topham.

After the hearse's first funeral, in May, "we had people calling up, asking, 'What's that?' '' he said. "We got everything from 'That's neat' to 'That's not for me.' "

Bodell offers the Harley hearse from Brigham City to Santaquin and from Tooele to Park City. And it isn't just for bikers.

"It appeals to all sorts of people who want something different."

csmart@sltrib.com