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Old November 3rd, 2017, 12:50 PM   #1
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[RideApart] - Why Outlaw Biker Gangs Ride Harley-Davidsons

Why Outlaw Biker Gangs Ride Harley-Davidsons

How America’s best selling motorcycle marque became notoriously tied to a criminal underworld.

Photos by Bill Ray/Time-Life

Outlaw biker gangs like the Hell's Angels have been identified with Harley-Davidson motorcycles since the first member of Chicago's Outlaw Motorcycle Club threw his leg over a motorcycle back in the 30s. Over the years, Harley has tried at various times to distance themselves from the outlaw image and embrace it as a means of selling bikes and various pieces of pirate cosplay accouterments. How did this come to pass? Why are Harleys the go-to bikes for biker gangs?

READ MORE: Watson On: Simpler Times

Let's start off by talking about what constitutes an outlaw motorcycle gang. The American Motorcycle Association sanctions competition and organizations such as motorcycle clubs. Some sources say the origin of the term Outlaw Biker Group was in reference to clubs that weren’t sanctioned by the AMA. After several members of these non-AMA-sanctioned clubs made the news as a result of their criminal shenanigans, the term gained a closer association to disregard for the law. The AMA didn’t like the bad rap OMGs gave the rest of the motorcycling community, and actively took steps to combat these clubs via measures. One such famous anti-OMG campaign resulted in the banning of club insignia at races and other AMA-sponsored events.


As of 2015, the US Justice Department reported that there are roughly 500 large outlaw motorcycle gangs active in the United States. If smaller clubs are counted, that number jumps to around 2,500 gangs nationwide. The FBI estimates that about 45,000 Americans belonging to biker gangs. Despite law enforcement combating these organizations, they continue to attract new members and grow. Some clubs, like the Hell's Angels and The Outlaws have chapters all over the planet.

The term one percenter, which is commonly associated with biker gangs, refers to the fact that outlaw gangs make up a minute percentage of motorcycle clubs according to the American Motorcycle Association. The public’s perception of the criminal biker image has been widely ingrained on the American conscience however, largely due to TV and film such as Marlon Brando’s 1953 film: “The Wild One”*(Brando rode a Triumph in The Wild One, by the way. -Ed.) to the more recent “Sons of Anarchy”.


READ MORE: Watch Animation of Hunter S. Thompson Talking About the Hell's Angels

To even begin to grasp how H-D’s became the status quo in outlaw motorcycle gangs (from here on out I'll refer to them as OMGs), you have to go back to the beginning. Supposedly the very first OMG was founded in 1935 in a suburban Chicago bar. The group, which I mentioned in passing above, unimaginatively named itself “The Outlaw Motorcycle Club”. It would be another 13-years before the Hells Angels appeared on the scene in the San Bernardino, California. The Angels, Outlaws, and other clubs experienced exponential growth in the post-war era thanks to a large influx of new members, many of whom were disenfranchised ex-military back from World War 2.

Disenfranchised or not, it’s incredibly common for most ex-military personnel to feel strongly about the country they fought for. With this sense of loyalty, identity, patriotism, and pride, most American veterans in the 1950’s and 1960’s wouldn’t even consider buying a non-US-made scoot. What probably played an even bigger role was the fact that around this era, Harleys were actually THE cheap bikes of the time. This was only amplified by the fact that the US Army sold off an enormous inventory of surplus bikes following the second world war. When these surplus scoots – many of which were Harleys – were sold off to the public, the buyers would chop off rifle-scabbards and radio-mounts that the bikes required for military use, eventually giving way to the chopper movement.


In the same vein many of the ex-military one-percenters possessed a strong sense of patriotism, and many of them also harbored a resentment towards the nations the US had so recently fought. Axis nations weren’t really selling or exporting motorcycles after WW2 as they were busy getting back on their feet, meaning the only other real option for Americans at the time was to buy a British bike. Brit machines typically boasted superior speed and performance, but came at a steeper price. When Japan finally did get back on its feet, OMG’s remained opposed to buying Japanese bikes, especially considering how the AMA embraced Japanese machinery.

In addition to being uniquely American, H-D’s machines embody freedom, independence, rebellion, strength, masculinity, and are just plain badass. Though Harleys have become a lot more expensive since the post-WW2-era, they remain the go-to choice for anyone looking to get involved in an OMG. Many unofficial lists of requirements for joining a 1%er MC all include owning a functioning Harley-Davidson, though some do specify that exceptions such as Indians and Buells are sometimes permitted. In addition to just owning one, members are expected to utilize the V-twin powered American motorcycles as their primary means of transportation.

Throughout the decades, OMGs stuck with their Harleys even when they might have been better served by other marques. This baked-in bike chauvinism – along with other one-percenter elements like*tattoos, club vests, beards – built a mystique around bikers like that enjoyed by Italian mobsters and Robin Hood-like criminals. Harley, never a company to leave a marketing opportunity alone, quickly capitalized on this mystique.


READ MORE: Let’s All Tell Harley-Davidson What to Do

“The outlaw movement has given Harley-Davidson an edge of toughness,” said Adam Wright, the director of Marketing at Harley-Davidson Australia New Zealand in 2013. “We try to appeal to people who do not have much adventure in their lives. Our mantra is ‘Harley-Davidson fulfills the dream of personal freedom.’ Doctors, lawyers, accountants, plastic surgeons … we appeal to all of them. All are attracted by the brand’s hard edge, and the lure of escapism."

With tens-of-thousands of full-patched OMG members in the United States, the vast majority of whom ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles, it’s not hard to see why America’s favorite marque has become notoriously tied to Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs.

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