Everybody knows about the Hell’s Angels and the Rock Machine and whoall. Are there nice-guy biker gangs, you know, folks who pay their taxes and help little old ladies across the street and roar around on motorcycles?
Well, they might not qualify as nice guys in your book, but there is a group called the Blue Knights which is composed of cops who own motorcycles.
Matt, I get your point, but even most of the outlaw bikers pay taxes and are nice to old ladies (Hey, Jerry Garcia was an Angel and he didn’t seem all that psychopathic to me!) I’d guess (safely) that most outlaws do drugs, but so do a lot of other people in other parts of society. Most of the outlaws are no worse than any other working class stiffs.
I haven’t been around many bikers lately, but in the Eighties, there were a lot more respectable bikers than there were outlaws. There were a lot of RUBbies (rich urban bikers) back then, and considering the marketing success that is Harley Davidson, I’d guess that the typical biker today is middle to upper middle class and bought their hog for the same reason that someone might buy a Chevy Corvette. Remember that new Harleys start at about $10,000.
For starters, a few groups that come to mind are:
-Harley Owners Groups (HOG): These are manufacturer and dealership sponsored groups and probably as dangerous of characters as the thugs in the Mazda Miata club across town. I’d assume that almost every H.D. dealership has a chapter.
-ABATE: Primarily a political action group (mainly for fighting helmet laws and promoting motorcycle safety training, ABATE chapters do sponsor runs (meets) and other social activities.
-Serenity Riders: Well, I didn’t name them, but these are combination AA chapters and bike clubs (hey, if you can’t sober up among friends, but still want to ride…)
In addition, there’s a lot of small local clubs, same as with any hobby. A search for “Harley” and “chapter” on Google.com came up with about 11,000 hits; I won’t list them all.
In my neighborhood there was a lesbian biker gang called the Moving Violations. I knew quite a few of them, and they were all very nice, law abiding women.
There are also a lot of weekend biker gangs composed of doctors, lawyers, and investment bankers. All respectable people. Well, maybe not the lawyers…
You can see a Hollywood version of the nice biker gang in Peter Bogdanovich’s movie “Mask” (1985), starring Cher, Sam Elliott, Eric Stoltz, Laura Dern. The movie gets my recommendation, so rent it if you can.
There is an Australia-wide motorcycle organisation called the Ulyses Club, whose members must be at least 40 years of age before membership is granted. BY and large they are even more harmless than the Harley Owners’ Groups mentioned above, but that doesn’t stop them from using the slogan “Grow old Disgracefully”. They do a lot of charity stuff, like Toy Runs (popular amongst Aussie motorcycle clubs) to benefit underprivileged kids at Xmas time.
There is an Australia-wide motorcycle organisation called the Ulyses Club, whose members must be at least 40 years of age before membership is granted. BY and large they are even more harmless than the Harley Owners’ Groups mentioned above, but that doesn’t stop them from using the slogan “Grow old Disgracefully”. They do a lot of charity stuff, like Toy Runs (popular amongst Aussie motorcycle clubs) to benefit underprivileged kids at Xmas time.
correction:
Thinking it over, maybe I should have said that they’re no more of a danger to society than any other woking class stiff. Certainly, I wouldn’t expect the guy foaming up a latte at Starbucks to start a fight in a bar.
I’ve had to turn down fights with average car driving shmucks (for accidentally cutting them off in traffic and stuff like that), but I’ve never had a problem getting along with the outlaws I’ve known. At the very worst, we just kept a polite, respectable distance(one did stay really pissed about the Harley sticker on my Honda chopper, though, until I got around to painting the tank 
) Of course, the folks in the “respectable” clubs are as normal as any other plumber, dentist or engineer.
I ride a Harley, and know from experience that you can find all kinds of groups that ride. If you are looking for a ‘wholesome’ group, try the Christian Motorcyclists Association (http://www.cmausa.com/)
Actually, most biker ‘gangs’ are ‘nice’. They’re just people like you (whose habits may be a little bit different) that like to ride motorcycles. I’ve seen some golfer gangs that are rowdier and ruder than some biker gangs.
Our local club raises thousands of dollars a year for various charities (mostly related to children)
They are wonderful guys (and gals) and in my opinion donate an incredible amount of time, energy, and money to the betterment of our community.
(as a side note, they actually tried to donate money to a school, but were turned down because “the image they project was not appropriate for children” I can’t believe people can be that narrow minded!)
I agree with this statement. My husband and I are both members of H.O.G. The only trouble we get into is eating too much Ice Cream after the organized rides. I run into ruder, more violent people at the Bingo hall then I do at our gatherings. There are also MANY religious groups that ride. I don’t think many of them are pushing old ladies around or snorting coke.
Zette 
I have a little experience in this area, my uncle founded a bike “club” or “gang”. They started out as just a group of friends that hung out together, had wild parties and happened to ride motorcycles. Unfortunately,they turned in to a bunch of coke-dealing, pimping GANG members. It has since been absorbed by another local bike gang that is prospecting for the Hell’s Angels. I think it all depends. You can have fringe members or weekend members that are all around nice guys and don’t get in to that bad stuff and you can have die-hard biker mercenaries that do all that bad stuff. Don’t kid yourself though, even if you know some Angels or Bravos or whatever and they seem like cool guys to you, the inner sanctum members are a whole different story.
Have to say that most of the Angels in the SF area are easy to get along with. I used to spend time in a place that was a hang-out to many of them (including “inner sanctum”). Most were pleasant, few drank at all - they would not risk losing or damaging their bikes in a drunken accident, or having a DUI on their records. As with most people, treat them well and they will treat you well. I am proud to call a few my friends.
The four big outlaw gangs I know of are the Pagans, the Outlaws, the Banditos, and the Hell’s Angels. I read about them in a publication of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Very interesting. It outlined the difference between a mama and an old lady.
The term used by bikers themselves is M.C.(motorcycle club), not gang.
There’s actualy a pretty good way to tell at a glance what type of M.C. you are dealing with. The club colors (vest w/ patches) is set up to indicate just what type of club they represent. A code just about any biker can read.
First big clue, on the front breast, usually above the nameplate, there is a patch reading 1%. If present, you are talking to an outlaw, plain and simple. You recall the saying, “Most bikers are nice but that damn one percent gives everone a bad name”? This patch proudly boasts that the wearer is indeed that one percent the saying refers to.
Second, on the back panel where the actual “colors” (club insignia) are, there are clues to be had.
A single patch that includes the club name and emblem is a mellow group. Generally women are allowed as members providing they own their own ride. Members are usually required to have valid licences and insurance on their scoots.
A patch that has a single rocker will usually be a pretty straight laced group. Though they may take a more traditional stance on membership and insist any women who ride wear an “associate” patch. Signifying that they are not voting members of the organization. The licence and insurance aspect is not as strongly enforced.
The three piece patch is the herald of the outlaw club. All 1% clubs also fly a three piece patch. There will be a top bar with the club name, a center patch with the insignia, and a bottom rocker with a slogan. Or some varient of this arrangement. All bets are off on the membership of these clubs. They are enforced by bylaws and may have some pretty tough entry requirements.
The club name is a pretty good indicater as well, an M.C. named the Mystic Unicorns is less likey to be a bunch of rowdies than say, Satans Asskickers.
None of these rules are carved in stone so you will see some deviation. A good rule would be not to wear any colors or patches until you are familer with the local bike scene. Walking into a bar frequented by “Lucifer’s Headbashers” with a knockoff of their patch on is an unhealthy thing to do.
The description of the bottom rocker of the 3 piece patch was supposed to read,
and a bottom rocker with a slogan or the name of the charter city.
Where I live (New Zealand) there in a clear distinction between Bikers (generally law abiding bike owners who gather together to celebrate a common interest) and bike gang members (who are the drug dealing and rapist scum of the earth).
To consfuse the former with the latter is considerd to be an insult and is usually quickly corrected.
Boris: What is the difference between a mama and an old lady? What is the masculine equivalent of these?
You know something Kipper? I think the only clear distinction you have is what hole your ass is.
You aint a biker, that is clear. So where do you get the stones to comment on something you know nothing about?
Notice he’s asking for gangs not Yuppie Riders Clubs. Gangs are not nice, groups tend to be. So, no, there are none. Its like asking if there are any nice terrorists and having lots of replies about responsible gun clubs.
Obligatory m-w.com quote:
Gang (2) : a group of persons working to unlawful or antisocial ends; especially : a band of antisocial adolescents