Think of them as road warriors romancing the chrome.

Vintage motorcycle buffs through and through, these adrenalin junkies spend a small fortune competing in shows, hunting down parts and playing mechanic on their off time. They don’t mind if you ogle the chrome and size up the steel, but no touching unless you have permission.

Mark “Torch” Tortora’s love affair with vintage bikes began when he was a kid growing up in Australia.

“I’ve been into motorcycles my entire life,” said Tortora, 52, of Fort Lauderdale. “I bought my first vintage about 2004.”

Tortora has spent a small fortune collecting vintage motorcycles and chasing parts around the world. At one point, he owned 12 vintage bikes, but his current collection is now down to seven.

His bikes will be among more than 375 steel-and-chrome wonders on display in a Jan. 30 show at Frost Park in Dania Beach. He’s been entering the show every year since 2009.

“Needless to say, the bikes I used to own as a youngster are vintage nowadays,” he says. “Altogether I’ve probably owned 16 over the years. I’m into all kinds of bikes. British, Japanese, American. I’ve stumbled upon some in people’s garages that they really just want to get rid of. I’ve found some on eBay.”

His wife stopped riding awhile back, but willingly tolerates his obession.

“My wife is absolutely into the bikes and supports my sickness,” Tortora says with a laugh. “But she chooses not to ride on the bike with me anymore. It’s not a comfortable ride.”

She still rides, just not vintage.

“We bought her a Vespa,” Tortora says.

Dania Beach resident Albert Owler is somewhat new to the game.

Owler, 57, bought his first vintage bike, a 1971 BMW model, a little more than a year ago after catching the bug from friends.

Owler quickly invested in a second vintage bike, a 1959 BMW purchased from a buddy.His 1959 model goes 80 mph uphill and 100 mph downhill.

It’s a pricey hobby – a fact not lost on his wife. After he bought his second bike, she pretty much did a doubletake, Owler says.

“My wife said, ‘Time for us to take that trip to Alaska we’ve been talking about,'” he says. “This bike cost me a hell of a lot more than what I paid for it originally, because we had to throw in the Alaska trip.”

Clive Taylor, a Dania Beach resident whose collection includes a 1939 Triumph Tiger, says some enthusiasts start off as antique car collectors then switch to bikes.

“Motorcycles are much cheaper and take up less room,” Taylor says. “Some vintage cars might cost $1 million. Some valuable vintage bikes might reach half of that. But most are very affordable to the hobbyist.”

You can pick up a vintage bike for anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000, he says.

Taylor, 72, and most of his bike buddies belong to the Everglades chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America.

That includes Tony Thackham, 54, a vintage bike fan for the past 15 years who hails from England but now lives in Dania Beach.

“I’ve always liked motorcycles,” said Thackham, whose collection now stands at 14, including a 1977 Silver Jubilee Triumph Bonneville from England.

“It’s a limited edition,” Thackham said. “They only make 1,200 of them.”

Thackham figures his bike is worth anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000. But don’t ask. He’s not selling.

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