American Biker

In Biker Chicz of North America, Edward Winterhalder and Wil De Clercq have compiled in-depth profiles of twenty-two fascinating women who ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Each chapter features an individual whose life story is compelling, intriguing, fascinating, and inspirational. While each woman featured in this book is unique and extraordinary in her own right, there are, not surprisingly, certain attributes they all have in common. In addition to being avowed motorcycle riders they live to ride and ride to live they are successful, intelligent, freethinking, adventurous, creative, inspiring, and tenacious. They are women who have followed their dreams and dared to live life on their own terms. All are survivors who boldly took on challenges that many of us men or women would find daunting. Some of them came by their success easily, others by triumphing over adversity. Despite their common traits, most are as different as night and day. Some are introverted, others extroverted; some are family oriented, others are loners. They ll be the first to admit, however, that without their Harleys, they would not be who they are today. Their beloved motorcycles are what defines them and what sets them apart from their nonriding sisters.

Take an exhilarating ride through the history of the American bike, biker, and the biker nation in this fascinating and comprehensive chronicle of the biker era and today's ever-expanding legion of motorcycle enthusiasts. Impassioned, idiosyncratic, and razor sharp, Born to Be Wild traces a century's worth of the culture, the bikers, and the bikes themselves. Who are these bikers? Are they those hard-living, leather-clad, tattooed guys often associated with images of the Hells Angels and Satan's Sinners? Or are they those clean-cut, suit-and-tie wearing riders with the sporty helmets you pass on your daily commute? In fact, they are both, for what began as a subculture of misfits and outlaws has grown into a flourishing society of men and women who celebrate the freedom of the open road and the brotherhood they find among bike enthusiasts of all stripes. Today's biker has evolved from the rough-and-tumble antihero to a vast and vibrant biker culture populated by a new breed of rider including the RUBs, or Rich Urban Bikers, and championed by everyone from titans of industry like the late Malcolm Forbes to media celebrities like Jay Leno. And while elements of rebellion still remain intrinsic to the biker mystique, the culture has in fact expanded to include a plethora of riders from the American mainstream -- doctors, lawyers, and executives -- who love the freedom they find on their bikes and the camaraderie they find with their fellow devotees. It is also a multibillion-dollar industry that draws hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators to its annual events. Born to Be Wild, written by motorcycle journalist Paul Garson and the editors of Easyriders magazine, captures as never before the spirit and evolution of the biker era. Beginning in 1895, Born to Be Wild traces the development of the modern bike, with special attention to Harley-Davidson's supreme contributions to the quality of the machines as well as the aesthetics of biker society. Featuring numerous fascinating sidebars that highlight the particular characteristics of the culture, the book also explores the socio-political events that have culminated in the great biker nation that we know today. With more than two hundred photographs of bikes and bikers across the decades, Born to Be Wild is a definitive work that will open readers' eyes to a thriving society, one whose celebration of freedom and the open road precisely reflects what is best about our country as a whole.

This book examines the reported criminal behavior of the entire spectrum of 1% biker clubs and members. It identifies the clubs whose members have been involved in criminal behavior and classifies their behaviors as individual, group, or club- sponsored/condoned behavior. While other books examine the criminal exploits of one or more of what are called the "Big Five" biker clubs because of their size and sophistication, or the sensational crimes of lesser known 1% biker clubs or club members, this book pays attention to the criminal activities of individuals, groups and chapters of other clubs as well. The book is based on journalistic accounts and autobiographies of former and present members of biker clubs, academic/scholarly works, law enforcement/government reports, articles from newspapers and biker web sites, and a content analysis of federal and state court cases regarding bikers and motorcycle clubs. Text enhanced with numerous photos and figures.

There are millions of new motorcyclists hitting the blacktop every year. But being part of the American motorcycle culture takes more than just wanting to be cool. It takes a passion for the open road, freedom, and a lifestyle that even the best financing cant buy. This book, by someone who knows motorcycles as few do, provides a road map to biker culture for anyone new to the experience. Jay Barbieri explains everything a new rider needs to know to become a real biker. He begins with a brief history of motorcycles, and draws on his twenty-five years of riding experience for examples of what works and doesn't in this heady world. Most of all, he aims to spare new bikers the bad decisions neophytes typically make. With hundreds of motorcycle trips under his belt, there is not a mistake Barbieri hasn't made or a situation he hasn't encountered. By sharing the sometimes comical outcomes, he gives the new biker a head start to become more comfortable, credible, and knowledgeable about joining a community that is as much a part of American culture as baseball, hotdogs and apple pie.

Biker Gangs and Transnational Organized Crime, Second Edition, describes and analyzes a rapidly expanding global problem: criminal acts committed by motorcycle gangs. Thomas Barker, one of the world’s top experts on outlaw biker gangs, offers fascinating details about the Bandidos, the Vagos, the Mongols, and other "one percenters" (criminal biker gangs, as opposed to the vast majority of motorcycle enthusiasts). He combines this data with a strengthened conceptual framework that makes sense of this complicated picture. U.S.-based motorcycle gangs like the Hells Angels have proliferated, especially in Canada and Europe, to the point where these gangs have more members in other countries than in the United States. Increasingly more often in recent years their crimes are not limited to rumbles or drug use—these gangs challenge the dominance of organized crime, leading to violent conflicts between the rivals. Germany, Scandinavia, the UK, the Netherlands, and Canada are particularly hard-hit by this rising violence. One of Barker’s unique contributions is his Criminal Organization Continuum, building on the groundbreaking network approach to organized crime proposed by Klaus von Lampe. Introduced in the first edition, Barker elaborates his continuum tool and makes it more multi-dimensional to help refine the definition of adult criminal gangs. The product of years of research, this book lays the groundwork for further study by offering students, police, and researchers the most thorough account available of outlaw motorcycle gangs.

To help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Harley-Davidson in 2003, Bill Hufnagle, aka Biker Billy, has collected 200 righteous recipes from HOG members from sea to shining sea.

Ever wonder how the Hells Angels got their name, or about that little demonic critter on the Pagan's patch? What about the local one-percenter motorcycle club that hangs out at the corner bar? What goes on there? This book answers these questions and more. The One-Percenter Encyclopedia: The World of Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs from Abyss Ghosts to Zombies Elite features concise entries that include information on founding chapters, founding dates, number of chapters and members, club and leadership biographies, and more. This book covers all the major clubs--Hells Angels, Outlaws, Pagans, Mongols, Vagos--as well as lesser-known clubs from around the world.

Truthfully and gracefully depicting the clannish, unconventional world of leather fringes and sacred steel, The Biker Code is a perfect gift book for the merely curious, and illuminated scripture for the true disciple. Perhaps no American subculture is as consistently fascinating and serially misunderstood as the biker movement. Both feared and lionized by the mainstream, the insular, fiercely defiant community of hardcore hog devotees is notoriously difficult to infiltrate. But here comes The Biker Code, affording a revealing, knowing, and warm glimpse of the biker lifestyle for the lifelong rider and the uninitiated alike. With fifty photographs in elegant, spare black and white, The Biker Code captures the iconoclasts, free spirits, and born-to-ride outlaws of Planet Harley. Unlike any book that has come before it, The Biker Code quietly understands and affectionately celebrates the Harley life. The Biker Code features original photographs, artwork, and quotes that honestly depict and cleverly celebrate American motorcycle culture.