History of Biker Gangs
Motorcycle Gangs, are they all bad? Most likely not. With any organization such as a biker gang, you are always going to have some who cause more trouble than others. While no one can say with certainty that one motorcycle club is actually more dangerous than another, the reality is that there are a lot of dangerous motorcycle groups in existence.
There are many different kinds of motorcycle clubs. In fact there are types of motorcycle clubs that are designed for every type of motorcycle enthusiast. The purpose of these groups is usually to do one thing: to ride motorcycles. While this is a noble cause, there are other reasons why these groups may choose to criminalize their membership.
Some motorcycle clubs have initiation rituals. These rituals can include anything from stripping an existing member’s name and number off of the motorcycle to building a tattoo on the member’s body. Others have “sporting events” where the motorcycle clubs compete with each other based on the skills of their members.
While these kinds of activities are generally frowned upon by the mainstream public and the police, they are not illegal. What is illegal is the use of force or intimidation to get members of these motorcycle clubs to do something they would never normally do. And this is where danger truly lies.
There is a serious difference between a small, peaceful motorcycle group and a dangerous gang that do things like beat other motorcycle clubs.
Now, I am not saying that all motorcycle clubs are dangerous. To the contrary, I think that many, if not most, motorcycle clubs are more or less harmless.
Famous Biker Gangs
In the world of bikers, there is one organization that has gained a controversial reputation: the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club. Like most other bikers groups, the Banditos represent themselves as misunderstood, rough and dangerous motorcycle club members who are routinely mistreated and misunderstood by both the general public and law enforcement.
But unlike other motorcycle clubs like the Hell’s Angels, the Banditos are anything but tough and serious motorcycle club members in reality, many even consider themselves to be worse motorcycle club than the Hell’s Angels. Why is this so? What is it about the Hell’s Angels that have made them the bikers’ group of choice for so many bikers?
The Hell’s Angels are an ancient biker group. They were founded in 1969 and have since been portrayed as a tough, no-nonsense group of bikers who are feared and respected by anyone on a motorcycle. The exact history of the Angels is somewhat disputed; however, most scholars agree that the group was formed in Pittsburgh, PA, after members of a motorcycle club there tried to form a criminal motorcycle club out of their own existence.
This criminal club was called the Hell’s Angels and after a series of clashes with other criminal motorcycle clubs, the name was changed to just the Angels in recognition of their non-conformity with the government’s definition of what a criminal club should be.
Slow Building
Unlike other motorcycle gangs, the Banditos didn’t grow overnight, as they’ve slowly established their empire of bikers throughout the country. The bikers who identify as such, often travel together as a family, which makes them easy targets for authorities. The majority of reported attacks on the bikers are carried out by rival motorcycle gangs looking to take down the larger and more dangerous of the two gangs.
Although the Bandits do carry out some crimes – including the murder of a popular biker writer in 2021 – the real problem for the government and the agencies that monitor organized crime and gangs is that the larger number of reported attacks actually represent a far lower number of actual attacks rather than a number of organized attacks carried out by the Bandits.
If this trend continues, it will become increasingly difficult for the government and law enforcement agencies to distinguish between the legitimate Bandits and the fraudulent Bandits, which in turn makes it more likely that the larger number of Banditos will be able to continue with their criminal activities unchecked.
The Banditos are the primary target of most law enforcement agencies; especially the FBI. Because of the way that they’re established and their methods, these kinds of criminal organizations are usually considered regular fixtures in local areas. As stated before, when these kinds of groups are recognized as legitimate, they tend to simply relocate and reorganize themselves in other areas of the country when the territory becomes vacant.
For instance, the Banditos in Southern California have had quite the reputation as being extremely violent and even brutal in their methods. These types of criminal organizations would then establish another location elsewhere in order to continue their illegal activity.
Another important component in understanding the history of motorcycle gangs is the silence. Silence can often be one of the most powerful weapons when it comes to dissuading law enforcement from taking harsh action against motorcycle gangs and their members. Many times, the reason for this is because many times the victims of motorcycle gangs and their associates are either too afraid or too ashamed to press charges against the Bandits and Bikers.
These kinds of criminals oftentimes operate above the law because the victims simply decide that it is not worth the risk. Or in some cases, if the victims decide that it will be too hard to press charges, they simply decide that it would be better to leave the matter alone and trust that the justice system will work itself out eventually.
It is interesting to note that although most motorcycle gangs throughout the country have been on the radar of the various chapters of the A.C.T.C., there have been a number of occasions where these groups have performed significantly well when it comes to crime. Although it is difficult to pin down any one single reason for this, one possibility is that the various chapters simply do not want to put themselves at the mercy of the law.
In many cases, they may also be trying to recruit more members into their group by targeting those who belong to the various chapters of the A.C.T.C.. In short, understanding the history of motorcycle gangs is important in order to combat this type of criminal activity.
Motorcycle Gang Movies
One of my all-time favorite motorcycle gang movies is Don’t Take Me Alive; it’s about three bikers who travel across the country and get into a lot of trouble. The one good thing about this movie is that they have good dialogue and a great plot; even if you haven’t seen any motorcycle movies before, you’ll find this one interesting. I don’t think there’s anything worse than seeing three bikers getting themselves into some serious trouble, but there’s no question that this movie was well made.
Another really cool biker gang movie is California Split; this is about two punk California guys who travel cross country and they hit everything they can lay their hands on. One of them is a member of the Vagrants and the other is an undercover cop. Both of their paths cross over a couple of bridges on the famous California-Ventura Causeway. This was a really cool movie that star Kurt Russell and John Turturro, and I would definitely recommend it.
The only thing I can say about it is that it may have been a little too “chaotic” for some people, but it was still a pretty funny movie. My favorite motorcycle gang movie or show of all time is Sons of Anarchy of course! Everyone raved about that show when it was on TV!
Look, joining a “gang” or “club” can have it perks. Most motorcycle clubs are great fun, good friends, and do good things for society. Thats the way it should be, so use the term “gang” carefully. Just be careful of what crowd you fall in to, it might not be the best one for you.