# Harley riders seem pretty old these days - Are motorcycle gangs still strong? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 21, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213 "2008-12-21T19:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213/21 "2008-12-22T22:46:55Z")
Bike clubs aren’t attracting the numbers that they once were. Not that many people out there willing to do time for a club (and you will do time) or to die for a patch anymore. The Feds have made being in a club about as attractive as being in the mafia. It’s not a long term plan for staying out on the streets. That being said if you’re willing to deal with the hassles of constant harrassment from law enforcement and live life with one eye always watching your back the clubs are still there and still taking hangers on and prospecting them. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213/22 "2008-12-23T02:44:34Z")
I had a friend who owned a Harley shop in Santa Cruz many years ago; one of his mechanics built some really great choppers and had some sort of connection with the Oakland Hells Angels. The came to see their buddy when they visited Santa Cruz and my friend who owned the shop said he always hoped for the best and feared the worst. They were NOT a nice bunch of guys. He said they just basically took over the shop, used his tools and did what they pleased until they were ready to leave. He did say, though, that they never stole a thing. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213/23 "2008-12-23T04:04:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So groups like the Hells Angels ended up running drugs in Quebec. Just across the border from Montreal, my small town saw a car bombing related to this. [Link](http://www.wptz.com/news/15882216/detail.html). It doesn’t say in the article itself that it was from gangs and such, but you get the gist from the informant and amount of drugs that it was.. That was only the first thing that came up on google, I’m sure there’s more info on it out there. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213/24 "2008-12-23T04:10:49Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > A few years ago here, the cops broke up a motorcycle gang (they called themselves a “sportsmen’s club”) who had been pretty heavy into drug dealing and branched out to include murder. > > They weren’t old and they didn’t ride Harleys. **I think they rode Honda Goldwings**. That is just wrong, wrong, wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213/25 "2008-12-23T12:46:32Z")
> [@SandyHook](#): > > That is just wrong, wrong, wrong. Oh yeah, and they wore “Pleather” jackets and always wore helmets and made hand signals when they went to make turns. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213/26 "2008-12-23T13:16:35Z")
I used to work for the president of a lesser group of bikers. While not actually Angels or Outlaws, their paths crossed frequently. As others mentioned, they’re loosely connected. The lesser clubs hang out with the bigger clubs without incident. It’s when you get Angels and Outlaws in the same room together that the sparks start flying. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213/27 "2008-12-23T13:22:10Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I think what you’re seeing is the fact that Harleys are so expensive that only the “older” guys can afford them. > > And I think the biker gangs mostly stick to warmer climates (like the Southwest). I came to that conclusion awhile ago myself. I thought about buying a Harley awhile ago, myself. But then i realized that I only wanted it because it would make me feel “younger”. I don’t particularly want a motorcycle and I’m not really good at riding at them. (I had a bike back in the day for awhile in my 20’s. Not a harley though). Also my habit of hurting myself in boneheaded accidents stopped me. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213/28 "2008-12-23T22:11:39Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [Well… you might want to tell someone](http://books.google.com/books?id=-LOkKY5d3bEC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=ammonia+stench+meth&source=bl&ots=nnpQbwwRsH&sig=Xy6JIb8DDFa7-EkeaZUVwX1aC18&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result) Trust me - it’s known. For somewhere in the inner suburbs of Sydney, though, the place is heavily fortified. Bomb-proof glass painted black on the front windows (the place used to be an accountant’s office, I think), bollards sunk into the concrete, heavy-duty gates with shadescreen blocking views behind the bollards, a heavy-duty roll-a-door behind the gates. Cameras everywhere. They’re not exactly being subtle. The fun thing is that the Hell’s Angels are at one end of a T-junction with an alley that runs for a couple of blocks parallel to a main road. At the other end of the alley, facing the T is a clubhouse of the Finks. A while back (mid-'06?), someone tried to bomb the place. The bomb was in a cardboard box, set against the front windows. Which fell over. And then caught fire, rather than exploding. I also note that they’re doing their cooking across the road from a servo. It’s going to be fun when everything finally blows up. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213/29 "2008-12-23T22:39:43Z")
We just recently had a murder here when some Hell’s Angels killed an Outlaw on one of our motorways > **[BBC NEWS | UK | England | Coventry/Warwickshire | Biker gang guilty of M40...](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/coventry_warwickshire/7752925.stm)** > > The final two members of a biker gang are found guilty of murdering a Hells Angel on the M40 in Warwickshire. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213/30 "2008-12-23T22:42:51Z")
> [@Vetch](#): > > We just recently had a murder here when some Hell’s Angels killed an Outlaw on one of out motorways > > [BBC NEWS | UK | England | Coventry/Warwickshire | Biker gang guilty of M40 murder](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/7752925.stm) To be fair, a bikie war with a death toll of one is a little quaint. The filth think that they’ve settled the local one (Rebels and allies against Bandidos and allies) for the time being, but that one’s been ongoing for a fair while, and they’re starting to catch civilians in the crossfire. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213/31 "2009-02-03T21:11:25Z")
> [@BigNik](#): > > I’ve also got a Hells Angels clubhouse down the road from me, and every few weeks there’s an incredible ammonia stench radiating from it. To reactivate this thread, [I guess that this is no longer the case.](http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/blast-destroys-bike-gang-clubhouse/2009/02/04/1233423258002.html) As I’m given to understand it, Hells Angels typically run the protection racket over all tattoo shops regardless of where they are, and the recent upswing in bikie gang wars has involved a number of tattoo shops being firebombed - thus the reference to the tattoo shop around the corner. For the record, I’m about 800m (half a mile away), and was trying to get to sleep at the time. The kaboom was moderately Earth-shattering, enough to open up a couple of pre-existing cracks in the house I’m in, but I couldn’t find any new ones. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harley-riders-seem-pretty-old-these-days-are-motorcycle-gangs-still-strong/478213.md?page=1)