Bob Sarason has few -- if any -- guilty pleasures in life. In fact, he's quite open about them.

Sarason, a certified laser safety officer in Environmental, Health and Safety and a UC Davis employee for 25 years, knows it's an indulgence to own seven -- that's right, s-e-v-e-n -- motorcycles. But the machines give him plenty to tinker with when he's not studying the martial arts, Japanese history or tending to horses on his six-acre farm in Winters.

"Sure, that number of motorcycles is a bit excessive," he admits. "But it's what I enjoy doing."

Sarason's stable of iron horses includes a '64 Triumph, '45 Harley Davidson chopper and a '85 Kawasaki Ninja, among others. Riding motorcycles has been his passion since his youth in Detroit. He recalls the cult motorcycle movie, "The Wild One," starring brash young Marlon Brando as an outlaw biker with the cocky swagger, the nihilistic nonconformity and lust for adventure that epitomizes the biker spirit.

"When you're on a bike you're living in the moment," Sarason says. "Everything else just fades away. It's like meditation, and the only thing that matters is what's going on in your own little sphere."

California became Sarason's sphere back in 1966 when he left Detroit for a trip to Puerto Rico to go gambling. The teenage Sarason fancied himself a high-stakes roller ("I won a lot of money gambling once"), but in a twist his father convinced him instead to take a job on an Arabian horse ranch in Anza. Sarason eventually found his way north to San Francisco for 1967's Summer of Love -- "we slept out under the stars in Golden Gate Park" -- and then to UC Davis where he earned a bachelor's degree in animal science ('73) and a master's in reproductive physiology ('74). His wife, Christine, is a program manager for Mediaworks.

Sarason worked in a number of university units before arriving at Environmental, Health and Safety about 11 years ago. After getting laid-off from one campus job in the early 1980s, he found work transporting federal prisoners for the U.S. Marshal's Office in Sacramento -- "it was kind of boring with some periods of high excitement."

Sarason has two black belts (one in Tae Kwon Do and the other in Hap Ki Do) and was trained as an emergency medical technician while serving as a volunteer firefighter for the city of Davis. He also teaches CPR in his unit on campus, and even ran a fledging material arts security business that specialized in rock concert events.

"We had the unique selling point of being the only non-drinking, non-drugging, black-belted and EMT-trained security agency around," he says. "We provided security to a couple Rolling Stones concerts."

What do you like most about your job?

I feel good helping people solve safety issues and work safely with potentially dangerous things -- radioactive material, lasers and hazardous materials.

Also, I love the fact the university is very diverse. I took Spanish in high school and German in college, but I've picked up some Russian, Mandarin, Udu and Bengali and some other languages as well. Because I teach Korean martial arts and train in Okinawan Kobudo, I'm learning both Korean and Japanese to an extent. I know just enough in some languages to get me into trouble.

And the least?

Nothing. I really feel blessed working here. It makes me feel like I make a difference in peoples' lives. Keeping them safe from themselves, in other words.

Why do you teach martial arts?

Martial arts has given me so much, and I'd like to give some back. The focus aspect of the art got me through college. It allowed me to see what I could do and just do it. I enjoy watching the light go on in the students' minds when the teaching sinks in and they become one with the technique.

I teach the Hap Ki Do club on campus. "Hap" is coordination, "Ki" is power, and "Do" is The Way. Hap Ki Do uses joint locks, throwing techniques and pressure points to subdue your opponent. I've taught hundreds of students in the martial arts since I began studying combat judo at military school when I was 12.

What is your Zen philosophy?

Apply yourself through concentration and focus. Sometimes by no action there is action. I believe in the karmic life -- that you're judged by your deeds. And the strength of spirit emerges in many forms. You learn something about life everyday, even though you may not know it at the time.

Read any good books lately?

The English Assassin, by Daniel Silva. It's about the double life of an Israeli secret agent. I also recently read the 47 Ronin, which is about samurai warriors.

I also enjoy reading anything by D.T. Suzuki, especially his book, Zen and the Japanese Culture, which I take with me when I'm on a plane. Every time I read it I find something that I haven't thought about before.

What's your favorite movie?

Well, "Apocalypse Now" certainly made an impact, but sometimes you just have to get out of the boat. The TV series that influenced me the most was "Mr. Moto." It was about a Japanese detective who didn't carry a gun but used jujitsu instead. Peter Lorie starred in the show. When I was a kid, Mr. Moto served as my introduction into the martial arts.

What's something surprising about you?

I subscribe to the magazine Bon Appétit. I like to cook, and my wife thinks I'm handy in the kitchen. I work in the garden, make olives and kosher pickles and I'm a regular at Renaissance fairs. I also used to race motorcycles and cars at a Detroit drag strip in high school, and I was on the TV show "The Dating Game" in the late '60s, but that's another story. I still have friends from elementary school. I was raised Jewish, but before I left Detroit I went to a Christian college -- that's kind of a yin yang thing, I think.

When did you get your first motorcycle?

I was 16. When I was 10, my older brother came home and gave me a ride on his new motorcycle, and it was instant love for me. It wasn't easy to persuade my parents. It took me six years, in fact. I'd do things like stick magazine pictures of motorcycles inside of toilet paper so these images would be popping up all over the house. Finally, my dad said enough, OK. So I saved money to buy one -- it's the '64 Triumph I have now, fully restored, too.

Are you a member of any special groups?

I belong to the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists -- yes, there's really such a group. I was nominated by my co-worker Debbie Decker, who wrote, "As you can see, Bob does have luxuriant flowing hair, with ringlets, no less. The ringlets are a bit mashed."

Are you really as radical as you look?

Yes and no. I'm authentic, which may be radical in our society. But underneath it all, I'm a teddy bear and people tell me I have a good heart. Besides, I keep my hair long to look more like Shirley Temple. •