Middle Aged Men on Motorbikes

BigMonka

Dominic said:

underdog said:

Lodious said:

Emp_Fab said:

Tavernor said:

I know nothing about bikes but googled the speedster and they look badass. Would an MC laugh at me if I rode one? Genuine question.

Depends on the MC.  If it's a club for fat old losers with shiny new leathers, immaculate bikes and big moustaches trying to pretend they're all badasses and outlaws, then no, it would fit right in.  If it was a proper MC, then possibly - if nothing else for the fact that it's a Harley; to engineering what Iceland is to fine dining.

Do you know what MC means? 

It means motorcycle club, which can be a vague blanket term that covers anything from your local church ride out group to the international back patch groups. I'm guessing you're using it in the far more specific term here though.

NO........an MC is a 1% 'OUTLAW' Club ..ie H.A.MC, OUTLAWS,BANDIDOS, MONGOLS etc 
They will "licence" MCC clubs in their territory and control it some of which will be support clubs (co-erced )
Some MCC s are also pretty serious.and are allowed to wear a front patch (1 piece)
Everything else is simply Riders clubs.
MC = 3 piece patch with top and bottom Rocker
         Serious Prospecting
          Lifelong club loyalty/ association
         Controls your whole life and family.
          

In case anyone else read Dominic's post and was left thinking "I've no idea what any of that means" I found this helpful guide: https://sabotagetimes.com/life/hells-angels-outlaws-and-the-politics-of-the-patch
I still don't get the 1% thing. Seems to relate to an event in the 40s that got out of hand where 99% of the attendees were decent humans, but for some reason since then the MCs wish to associate themselves with the 1% who were being douches? Odd.

Dominic

You are spot on right about the 1% moniker - the international badass biker motif ......obviously the lawless outlaw image is the ethos of outlaw MCs who relish that distinction.
There is a huge amount of politics within and between clubs and a huge amount of organised crime alleged.
There are also a lot of other patches ,some peculiar to individual chapters of specific clubs with deeper meaning and sinister reference to crimes carried out as a soldier of the club .
For those involved it is a whole lifestyle choice.
The series Sons of Anarchy was a dramatised but pretty accurate interpretation of the American scene .
Although some look like the archetypal biker stereotype - there are those that look like very respectable businessmen .You have to have the brains as well as the Brawn.Lots of the clubs operate ltd companies and business' - you just wouldn't want to end up owing them money and not paying !

Strangefan

To be honest as a daily biker of  15 years I can safely say in my opinion to me and my biker buds the  mc clubs really don't have that outlaw image these days especially in this country, and probably haven't since the early 70s, they're looked upon as aging hairy mullet sporting holier thou 2 wheeled tractor riders, who need to stop thinking they're something special, and give other bikes the biker nod  

Handsome_Chris

So @Emp_Fab, how did this weeks fat club weigh in go?  And also, is there any reason behind this outburst?  

Emp_Fab

Wrong thread for the fatty club, but I've remained unchanged, bar a pound or two.  Mainly because I haven't been on it really.
I saw the doc today about blood pressure issues (too low in one arm, too high in the other !) and he gently but firmly recommended I do something about my weight.  I'm only 15st, but still... 15st and 4'6".  Only joking... !  In any case he wants me to lose weight because of my history etc.

As for what brought on the rant....  I live on a nice coastal road that, in summer, is popular with lots of bikers.  90% of them ride decent bikes with properly silenced exhausts - big buggers, sports, sports-tourers etc and they sail through the village peacefully.  The other 10% are dicks on big-bore twins with straight pipes you can hear a mile away, that can't just ride through the village like the other bikers - they have to blip the throttle so make the bastard things even louder for no other reason than they want attention.  They startle me and scare the shit out of the dog.

When I was a biker myself in the nineteen ahhrrmmmffff--ties, we all used to roll our eyes when one of these "I really wanted to be an American" types rode past on their slow-as-fuck industrial thumpers - all noise and no action.  Usually in pristine leathers with frills and liberally plastered with equally pristine Americana patches.  They were viewed as a bit of a joke by the majority of the biker community round my way.  Harmless though.  Noisy - but harmless.

cruxiform

Strangefan said:

To be honest as a daily biker of  15 years I can safely say in my opinion to me and my biker buds the  mc clubs really don't have that outlaw image these days especially in this country, and probably haven't since the early 70s, they're looked upon as aging hairy mullet sporting holier thou 2 wheeled tractor riders, who need to stop thinking they're something special, and give other bikes the biker nod  

Wis'd. It's a world that I don't understand or want to for that matter. My knowledge ends at watching an episode or two of Sons of Anarchy in the past. 

mike_l

Handsome_Chris said:

And also, is there any reason behind this outburst?  

He's old and needs a regular moan about something or anything......

ThePrettyDamned

Makes me think of the south park episode with the bikers. 

"blublublublublub"