The History Of Outlaw Biker Culture In The US, Explained
Melissa Sartore Ranker.com June 4, 2024
https://www.ranker.com/list/outlaw-biker-united-states/melissa-sartore
The roar of a motorcycle is unmistakable out on the road. With just two wheels and a whole lot of horsepower, a motorcycle is a vehicle that evokes a lot of mental images. One of the most prevalent is that of the outlaw biker.
Outlaw bikers are not outlaws in the strict sense of the word. To be an outlaw biker means to be outside the rules and standards established by the American Motorcyclist Association. Outlaw motorcycle clubs are entire groups of defiant riders who unite to have fun, make some noise, and even give back to the community.
The history of outlaw motorcycle culture in the United States traces back for more than a century. With changes to American society, attitudes about motorcyclists shifted while the goals of motorcyclists themselves adapted and defied alike. Furthered in many ways by the media and popular culture, the image of an outlaw biker the minds of most people is part myth and part reality.
Motorcycles Were Gaining Popularity By The Outbreak Of World War I
The Hendee Manufacturing Company and the Harley-Davidson Company emerged as the early leaders in the motorcycle industry in the US during the early 1900s. The former, which changed its name to the Indian Motocycle Company – the “r” was intentionally left out of “motorcycle” – in 1923, outproduced the latter through the mid-1910s.
With other companies like Excelsior, Flying Merkel, and Thor making motorcycles, too, the marketplace was crowded. More than 70,000 motorcycles were sold in the US in 1913, with Indian leading the way. Both Indian and Harley-Davidson exported motorcycles to Europe, but thanks to its technical superiority, Indian was the largest motorcycle manufacturer worldwide in 1915.
American manufacturers like Indian and Harley-Davidson supplied the military with motorcycles and parts during WWI. Harley-Davidson benefited the most from this relationship, at least in the short term. After the war, less demand for motorcycles meant business declined for US manufacturers. Consumers opted for the readily available and very affordable Model T from Ford instead of two-wheeled modes of transportation.
Groups Of Riders Banded Together During The Early 1900s
In Britain and the United States, groups of motorcyclists got together to ride and race as early as 1901. By 1903, motorcycle clubs had formed on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, with the Yonkers Motorcycle Club taking shape in New York. That same year, the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) was founded in Brooklyn with a mission to,
Promote the general interests of motorcycling; to ascertain, defend, and protect the rights of motorcyclists; to facilitate touring; to assist in the good roads movement, and to advise and assist in the regulation of motorcycle racing and other competitions in which motorcycles engage.
Membership to the FAM brought with it voting rights and participation in annual meetings and “any rider of good character” could join for $1 per year. Present at the formative meeting for the FAM was George M. Hendee, president of Indian Motocycle Company. Hendee purportedly brought more than 100 individuals with him to join.
Gypsy Tours United Motorcyclists As Early As 1917
The FAM grew to over 8,000 members through 1915 but WWI caused its membership to decline. When the FAM went out of business in 1919, the gap left by the group was supplanted by motorcycle industry trade associations. The largest, the Motorcycle & Allied Trades Association (M&ATA), supported the Gypsy Tour in 1922, adding members to its ranks.
Gypsy Day Tours, as they were first called, began in 1917 under the auspices of the FAM to promote riding across the United States. Motorcycles ventured out from cities and towns, led by a tour manager, to take part in “moderate” and reasonable rides through designated regions. The M&ATA kept true to this spirit, holding Gypsy Tours, to promote good fellowship among the riders of all makes of motorcycles and to give them a pleasure tour worth taking about until the time for the next annual tour rolls around… [and] to give the general public a convincing demonstration of the practical transportation and pleasure possibilities of the motorcycle.
By 1924, the M&ATA had so many members – in large part thanks to its annual competitions and Gypsy Tours – that an offshoot organization took shape. The American Motorcycle Association (AMA) was supposed to oversee activities within which motorcyclists took part, and as a result, AMA membership was required for Gypsy Tours. The first official AMA Gypsy Tour was held on June 20 and 21, 1925.
Harley-Davidsons Became The Dominant Bikes After WWII
With motorcycles and motorcycling engrained in American recreation and transportation alike, the leading companies in the US were Harley-Davidson, Indian, and Excelsior-Henderson through the 1920s. Excelsior-Henderson, a subsidiary of Schwinn, folded in 1931, but both Indian and Harley-Davidson were actively making motorcycles for another war effort during the 1940s.
Indian Motorcycle Company designed and built a new bike for the United States Army, the Model 841, and supplied the Allies with $24 million in parts and motorcycles during World War II, but it was Harley-Davidson who produced the main motorcycle used by the US Army – the WLA.
Dubbed “The Liberator,” the WLA was made according to army specifications and included saddlebags, leg shields, and safety bars, among other features. Harley-Davidson also supplied other allies with motorcycles including Russia, China, and France.
The reach of Harley-Davidson motorcycles during WWII was so broad that the company thrived after the war. Veterans returning to the US, many of whom had driven Harley-Davidsons during the war, bought their own bikes. Indian Motorcycle Company was unable to keep up and, in 1953, halted production.
World War II Veterans Upped The Numbers Of Motorcyclists In The US
In addition to riding and working on motorcycles during WWII, many veterans found camaraderie comparable to that of military units with fellow bikers when they returned home after the war. The end of the war meant hundreds of thousands of men suddenly found themselves in structured jobs and with family obligations, aspects of daily life that were in stark contrast to the independence and excitement they had overseas. The experiences of war often left veterans feeling isolated and restless in their new surroundings, making a motorcycle an option to escape, albeit a brief one.
Many motorcyclists in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s took part in the newly revived Gypsy Tours and other activities organized by the AMA. Not all motorcycle riders were willing to follow the structure and rules of the AMA, however. In 1947, at a gathering of motorcyclists in Hollister, California, over the Fourth of July weekend, racing and partying got out of hand, when thousands of riders took over the town.
The Rally In Hollister, CA, In 1947 Changed Public Perception Of Motorcyclists Forever
Motorcyclists from groups across the US descended on Hollister, California, in July 1947. The town was generally a biker-friendly location, but one that was unprepared for thousands of bikers that weekend. A handful of police officers in Hollister tried to keep things under control while bars closed early, people slept on sidewalks, and motorcyclists raced up and down the streets.
While Hollister was a bunch of “moderately wild activities” according to locals, reporter C.I. Dourghty, Jr., filed a paper with the San Francisco Chronicle on July 6, 1947, describing what he saw, State Highway patrolmen tonight imposed informal martial law in downtown Hollister to curb the riotous activities of an estimated 4000… The outburst of terrorism – wrecking of bars, bottle barrages into the streets from upper story windows and roofs and high speed racing of motorcycles through the streets – came as participants in the annual “Gypsy Tour” sponsored by the American Motorcycle Association converged on Hollister for a three-day meeting.
Dourghty also quoted Hollister Police Chief Fred A. Earin who called it “just one hell of a mess” and listed the names of several individuals who were injured at the event.
Barney Peterson, a photographer from the San Francisco Chronicle, also took a picture of a drunken rider (one he staged for the occasion) that would later epitomize the event as it made its way across media outlets nationwide. After the image appeared in Life magazine, additional stories about the violence, drunkenness, and debauchery at the Hollister Riot, as it was called, tarnished the image of motorcyclists across the US.
The Idea Of The ‘Outlaw’ Biker Was Articulated In 1947
The Hollister Riot, admittedly an overstatement in terms of moniker, was what large swaths of Americans came to believe motorcyclists were, what they did, and what dangers they imposed. In response to Hollister, and the image that ran in Life magazine on July 21, 1947, the AMA president said that 99% of the group’s members were decent, law-abiding citizens and that only1% of motorcyclists were problematic. This was the birth of the 1%-er and essentially the origin of “outlaw” bikers.
In truth, many of the troublemakers at Hollister likely weren’t members of the AMA. “Wino” Willie Forkner, for example, had been a member of the 13 Rebels from Los Angeles, but his behavior clashed with that of his club. Forkner broke from that group and formed the Boozefighters, a non-AMA-sanctioned club with three chapters represented at Hollister.
Being a 1%-er meant operating outside of the perimeters of approved motorcyclist behavior – essentially as an outlaw. The Boozefighters, while not the first, were among the most feared early outlaw motorcycle clubs. As part of this 1%, Forkner and the Boozefighters were, rebelling against the establishment… You go fight a goddamn war, and the minute you get back and take off the uniform and put on Levi’s and leather jackets, they call you an a**.
Forkner continued, “In the early days of biking, they immediately thought you were an outlaw sort of person. We didn’t think we were. We didn’t go around banging heads.”
Founded In 1948, The Hells Angels Epitomized Outlaw Bikers
Roughly a year after Hollister, a rally in Riverside, California, escalated the “moral panic” that had attached itself to motorcyclists and motorcycle culture. Fewer bikers were present in Riverside for the rally, but the death of one of the biker’s girlfriends – she was riding with him when he crashed – meant negative press reports went nationwide. While the Bootleggers were incorrectly linked to the events at Riverside, there was another motorcycle club taking shape that would usurp them.
The Hells Angels were founded in March 1948, although the early history of the club is ambiguous. In one telling, the name of the group came from local motorcyclist Arvid Olsen who had flown with the Hell’s Angels squadron during WW2. Another version attributes the name to a movie by Howard Hughes called “Hell’s Angels.” That said, the club itself insists its name is Hells Angels – no apostrophe included.
According to future member of the Hells Angels Ralph “Sonny” Barger, the mission of the club was “to be a thorn in the AMA’s ass.” Alongside wearing their outsider status with pride, the Hells Angels also inextricably linked Harley-Davidsons with outlaw motorcycle clubs. Barger explained how club members would customize Harley-Davidsons to meet their needs:
First, we would take the windshields off, then throw out the saddlebags and switch the big old ugly seat (with springs) with a smaller, skinny seat. We didn’t need all of those lights either. We converted the oversized headlight to a smaller beam, replaced the straight handlebars with a set of high bars, and replaced the bigger gas tanks with smaller teardrop-shaped tanks… Next, we’d toss the front fender, then cut the back one or make an even thinner fender from the tire cover mount of a 1936 Ford.
After adding the appropriate paint and designs, a Hells Angel would officially have a “bobber” or what would come to be called a “chopper.” These bikes allowed Hells Angels to ride American-made motorcycles their way, with the bike functioning as “the cornerstone of his identity, the master symbol of his lifestyle and a metaphor for his personal freedom.”
The Wild One’ Was The First Of Many Movies About Outlaw Bikers
Alongside negative press, the image of the outlaw biker was shaped by the presentation of defiant motorcyclists in movies like The Wild One. Released in 1953, The Wild One was the first real biker movie and was based on Frank Rooney’s short story “Cyclists’ Raid” from Harper’s Magazine.
Rooney’s work was a sensationalized account of the Hollister Riot in 1947. Descriptions of “motorcycles moving rapidly up and down the street” and beer bottles hurled at buildings were brought to life by actors like Marlon Brando. As the leader of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club, Johnny Strabler (Brando) famously answered the question asked by one of the locals about what he was rebelling against with the line:
Whaddya got?
The Wild One ended with the death of an elderly man named Jimmy who was hit by a runaway motorcycle. Nothing like this happened at Hollister, but it didn’t matter. The image of the outlaw biker stuck.
Additional movies from the 1950s about bikers included Motorcycle Gang from 1957 and 1958’s Dragstrip Riot. These films incorporated elements of juvenile delinquency, corruption of women, violence, and alcohol abuse in a way that would continue through the 1960s.
By 1969, the release of Easy Rider – with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper riding across the US on Harley-Davidsons – represented the anti-establishment nature of bikers as well as the aspirational nonconformist counterculture of outlaw bikers in society. Bikers were the new American cowboys, anti-heroes people both loved and hated.
Bikers Became Entrenched In Mid-20th Century Counterculture
The myth and reality of outlaw motorcycle culture developed as part of the larger social tumult of the 1960s and 1970s. The Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, feminism, and a host of other shifts across the United States caused tension between younger and older generations as protests, artistic expression, and social mores changed. Clothing, music, sexual behaviors, and family structures all reflected political and cultural pushback against traditional life in the United States.
Motorcycle culture was one way that younger individuals during the 1960s and 1970s embraced freedom, but there were more acute links between specific outlaw biker groups and happenings of the 1960s. After hundreds of Hells Angels arrived at the Labor Day celebration in Monterey, California, in 1964, members of the outlaw motorcycle club were accused of sexually assaulting two women. The incident sparked an investigation into the Hells Angels by California Attorney General Thomas C. Lynch. The Lynch report indicated that 445 members of the Hells Angels in California had “criminal records totaling 874 felony arrests, 300 felony convictions, 1,682 misdemeanor arrests” and that members were prone to violence toward women.
That report was Hunter S. Thompson’s impetus to find out more about the Hells Angels. Thompson embedded himself with the group for a year, the experiences of which were recounted in his book, Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga. After accompanying the Hells Angels on various excursions – and getting beaten up – Thompson ultimately offered insight into the harsh world of outlaw motorcycle clubs. He made it clear that much of what the public found out via law enforcement and the media was over-dramatized.
That wasn’t the end of bad publicity for the club, however. After the Hells Angels were hired as security for the Altamont Speedway Free Festival in 1969, the deadly violence at the event further tarnished the club. The Hells Angels’ role at the festival remains unclear but, after Meredith Hunter lunged toward the state, a member of the outlaw motorcycle club reportedly pulled a knife and pushed Hunter back. Hunter then waved a revolver in the air, prompting a member of the Hells Angels to grab the gun and, according to one witness, stab Hunter twice in the back. Hunter later died from his wounds.
Crime And Charity Collided During The Late 20th Century
Not all outlaw motorcycle clubs were like the Hells Angels, but many other clubs followed the same path as their better-known counterparts. As notorious Hells Angel Ralph “Sonny” Barger put it, “We started the club to have fun as a group. In the ‘60s, we started gettin’ in trouble. The ‘70s, we got into a little bit of crime and stuff, and by the ‘80s we were all in prison.”
Groups like the Mongols, the Banditos, the Pagans, and the aptly named Outlaws all had chapters in the US and many members of those groups similarly undertook criminal activities during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1989, for example, “35 members of the Pagans–including the national president and vice-president–were arrested for their involvement in a large-scale narcotics operation” while an on-going war between the Outlaws and the Hells Angels “over territory and control of narcotics operations” continued into the 1990s
.
Criminal activity was underway, but so were efforts by motorcycle clubs and motorcycle manufacturers to boost their reputations. Harley-Davidson became a sponsor of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) in 1980 and, as a result, motorcyclists like Ted Press got involved. In 1988, Press said at a MDA ride in Utah,
The biker image has a lot of negative connotations but I’ve ridden with Hell’s Angels and clubs all over the country and they’re all nice guys… they may look a little rough, but they’re nice guys.
At the time, law enforcement officer Norm Steen noted,
The guys are really cool, we’ve never had any problems… Oh, they like to go a little fast, once in a while, but that’s the only thing.
Events like Rolling Thunder in Washington, DC, continue to take place annually on Memorial Day to “to bring awareness to and demand accountability for POW’s and MIA’s.”