An outlaw motorcycle club (sometimes known as a motorcycle gang or biker gang) is a motorcycle subculture which has its roots in the immediately post-World War II era of American society. It is generally centered around the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals which celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture and loyalty to the biker group.
In the United States, such motorcycle clubs are considered "outlaw" as they are not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and do not adhere to the AMA's rules. Instead the clubs have their own set of bylaws from which the values of the outlaw biker culture arise.
Read more about Outlaw Motorcycle Club: Organization and Leadership, Membership, Biker Culture, Identification, Gender and Race, Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and Crime, Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, Relationships Between Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, Cultural Influence
Famous quotes containing the words outlaw, motorcycle and/or club:
“The price on the wanted
poster was a-going down, outlaw alias copped my stance
and moody greenhorns were making me dance; while my mouth’s
shooting iron got its chambers jammed.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“Kicking the heart
with pain’s big boots running up and down
the intestines like a motorcycle racer.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“I spoke at a woman’s club in Philadelphia yesterday and a young lady said to me afterwards, “Well, that sounds very nice, but don’t you think it is better to be the power behind the throne?” I answered that I had not had much experience with thrones, but a woman who has been on a throne, and who is now behind it, seems to prefer to be on the throne.”
—Anna Howard Shaw (1847–1919)