Bikers, just like other people, with the exception of very notorious misanthropes, like to communicate with those people who share their beliefs. Therefore, it is not surprising that they organize motorcycle communities based on interest in motorcycles and are happy to accept newcomers into their ranks who believe in the same values that they do, namely: the ability to decide for oneself, a belief in unlimited freedom, as well as disagreement with existing foundations and unwillingness to obey them.
History of motorcycle clubs abroad and in the CIS
It is hard to believe that just 70 years ago, the words “biker” and “criminal” were equated. The American military, returning to the United States after the long Second World War, could not actually adjust to life without the roar of artillery and the risk of constant death, and could not do anything except kill and drive Harleys. It was then, in the second half of the 40s. In the 20th century in the States, there were reports of gangster groups on bikes, consisting of former military personnel. Of course, these motorcycle communities have nothing to do with modern clubs, because the motorcycle for bikers of that time was just a vehicle to quickly leave the crime scene with loot.
Our country, as usual, went a special way. Little people rode motorcycles, most people simply did not have money for them. Therefore, “rockers” appeared relatively late in our country, in the 80s. 20th century.
Yes, they were called “rockers”, and for good reason. If you put a then-motorcyclist and a rock star side by side, you could get a great illustration for the Find 10 Differences puzzle.
It goes without saying that no one has heard of the foreign word “bike”, therefore the self-name “biker” did not exist.
“Rockers” were informal, but law-abiding guys. In principle, they were not interested in politics or their own future. They just liked to roll on motorcycles through the city streets, wildly roaring engines, and even listen to music at the highest possible volume.
It was only in 1989 in Moscow that the “rockers” decided to organize a formal motorcycle community, and they called it “Night Wolves”. As a rule, a company or organization that appears first in our country in any niche or industry almost always takes a leading position. The same thing happened with the Night Wolves, since not a single motorcycle club in the CIS today can boast of several thousand official members and an extensive network of branches.
However, the above does not mean that other motorcycle communities are absent as a phenomenon. Not at all. The CIS is characterized by the presence of a large number of motorcycle clubs, which are formed according to 2 principles:
- Interest in a particular brand of bike. Here, of course, Harley – Davidson fans are out of competition . Communities of bikers and, concurrently, owners of Harleys are represented in Ukraine and Russia.
- Territorial sign. Due to the large distances in our country, it is easiest to organize a biker club within the same city. Actually, this is how the vast majority of motorcycle communities function: within a large city or region.
Symbolism and traditions
“I need your clothes, boots and a motorcycle,” the Terminator addressed the biker in the second part of the famous film. And, if one can argue endlessly about preferences for specific motorcycle models, then with a leather jacket it is more and more clear. Marlon Brando’s “Savage” and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator firmly imprinted in people’s minds that biker = biker jacket.
Now you may be surprised, but the creator of the biker jacket made it as protective clothing for military pilots and sailors and did not plan that the biker jacket would appeal to motorcyclists. And bikers do not say that she just liked it. They were driven by the usual pragmatic interest: falling from a bike onto asphalt is unpleasant and fraught with injuries, and nothing could do better than leather jackets made of thick leather with protection against fractures. So everyone would calmly live on and would not make a cult object out of a piece of clothing, but, as always, Hollywood intervened, an interesting plot of the film “Savage” and a sex symbol of the 50s. Marlon Brando. Here is such a simple story of turning a military jacket into a biker symbol.
Also, it is traditional for biker culture to wear patches on the back. Patches are usually worn either on vests or leather jackets. The attitude of a true biker to stripes is the same as that of the military to the banner of the unit. If representatives of another motorcycle club rip off the stripes from a biker, then this will be the most serious humiliation in his life for him. It is very similar to military traditions and the humiliating expulsion of a motorcyclist from the community: if servicemen are expelled in disgrace from the army, having previously torn off their shoulder straps in public, then in a biker environment, “embroidery” at a general community meeting is similarly perceived.
The traditional badge consists of 3 parts, although sometimes you can see two parts without a bottom rocker.
First part. Top rocker. It looks a bit like a boomerang with two ends down. The name of the motorcycle community is usually written here.
Second part. The center is the place for the graphic emblem. On some biker patches in the center you can find “1%”, this is a sign showing the club’s belonging to criminal communities.
The third part. bottom rocker. It looks like a boomerang with both ends up. This is the place where the name of the area in which the motorcycle community is based is written. Of course, bikers associated with the criminal environment do not indicate where they come from, so as not to give law enforcement a valuable tip.
Newcomers to the motorcycle scene are often not given full patches, because newcomers must earn them by demonstrating commitment to club traditions by actively participating in community activities. Only as they grow in the hierarchy of the motorcycle community can they count on rewards in the form of issuing new elements of patches.
How to become a motorcycle club member
It depends a lot on where you want to go. There are 2 main scenarios.
First scenario. You set out to join the ranks of a small local motorcycle community. If you don’t need a specific model of a bike to participate in it, then everything is simple: talk to the leaders of the party and, most likely, if you have a motorcycle, desire to participate in the life of the club and adequacy in communication, you will join the club without any problems.
Second scenario. If your goal is criminal motorcycle clubs or large organizations with formalized rules, then you can’t do without a good friend from the club where you are trying to get into. The fact is that such motorcycle communities are aimed at accepting only proven people, so you can’t do without the recommendation of a friend and his guarantee. And this is not a guarantee against failure: it is not enough to get a recommendation, you still need to demonstrate commitment to certain values and “ownness” to old members of the community, as well as pass the proposed tests or a trial period.
What will happen to bikers in Russia and the CIS after the imposition of sanctions
Motorcyclists from the CIS, except for Ukraine and Russia, have nothing to fear, except for a possible price increase of up to 50% for all goods related to their hobby. This will be a small unpleasant consequence of the Russian “special operation”, but fundamentally life will not change.
With Ukraine, the situation is exactly the opposite. It is unlikely that Ukrainian bikers are now seriously thinking about holding a motorcycle season or decorating motorcycles when their country is fighting for survival. I admit that in Ukraine at the present time a biker on a motorcycle is much less common than with a gun or machine gun.
Let’s move on to Russia. The situation is very bad: foreign motorcycle brands, like their products, are leaving the country and it is not known whether they will return at all, the production of Russian motorcycle brands is being transferred outside the Russian territory, Russian dealers are planning to curtail their business by the summer of 2022 due to the complete sale of goods.
Experts are already directly saying that car thefts will soon begin, which will be dismantled at underground car parsing and then selling spare parts at insane prices. I believe that a similar situation will be in the motor market. So owners of Harleys, Behs, Kawasakis and other foreign motorcycles should be on the lookout for theft and hijacking attacks.
It follows that small communities, most likely, will not be up to the motorcycle season. It will be good if they do not disintegrate by the time the military conflict is settled. As for the large motorcycle communities, in this case the forecast is more rosy. They will survive due to the accumulated resources, cooperation with big business or government agencies.
