Total Motorcycle Community Forums

iwannadie wrote:get some guns and go against the angels if they say something, isnt that the fun part of a gang... er i mean club.

from what i understand the canadian government has disarmed the citizenry so that only the bad guys have the good weapons.

Thanks for the good info Gummiente.

Okay - I'm not sure from what decade everyone is extracting their information, but the concept of the Hell's Angels as some sort of gang that rules all the other gangs (clubs) is quite outdated. You don't need to contact anyone about starting a club - especially one that is related to a recovery program. Now... if you were muscling in on their drug and/or extortion and/or loan sharking business, then I'd be a bit worried. Really - they aren't out looking to hassle other riders. They just like to keep their little part of the black market world all to themselves.

Maybe viewing this website can give you some ideas... http://www.messengersmc.com/ Do your thing, and don't worry about the Hell's Angels.

Cheers,
Loonette

That would be my take on modern Ha's too. Their business interests are more dear to them than any simple non-profit upstart non-competing club. If you were selling drugs, however.......

Ask another group for permission to start a club?? Screw that. If they really have a problem with another bike club around, just run them over with an SUV or large truck.

They can keep their "outlaw" lifestyle and elitist attitudes. When someone starts nosing into my personal business and enjoyment, they can either talk to my lawyer, the police, the grill of my truck, or my plethora of firearms. Probably in that order if the previous should fail.

Actually, that is a lie, I would outsource to keep my identity private. I cant have 100 year old bikers comming to my door in the middle of the night, after all. They might hurt themselves on the pointy end of my .30cal projectiles.

//end rant

Sorry to seem grouchy, but one of the things that really pisses me off is gangs. I used to live in LA, so I have firsthand experience with the pieces of crap that join gangs. As far as I'm concerned, any group that would take action against a riding club for something as stupid as "wearing back patches" should have its members rounded up and kicked in the teeth.

Loonette wrote:Okay - I'm not sure from what decade everyone is extracting their information, but the concept of the Hell's Angels as some sort of gang that rules all the other gangs (clubs) is quite outdated.

Loonette, things are perhaps a little different up north. The HA and The Rock Machine have been going at it tooth and nail against each other for many years now in Quebec and lately in Ontario over the usual gang issues. People have been killed, including innocent bystanders (there was an incident in Quebec a few years ago where a young child was killed by a car bomb meant for an HA member) and there have been aggressive takeovers of other 1% clubs by the HA and the RM. The Para-Dice Riders, Vagabonds, Satan's Choice and many others have disappeared and their membership absorbed by the HA. I have a friend who was President of a club, not an outlaw one, but certainly not your average HOG chapter. He was informed a few years ago that he had a choice - disband the club or fly the HA banner. He chose to disband.

Many years ago, I was living in Alberta when I formed a chapter of a military riding club; prior to launching it I paid a courtesy visit to two of the major clubs in the area to inform them of its existence. They had no problems with the concept but they did have issues with our back patch and rockers, so I agreed to their request that we wear shoulder patches only. We never had any problems with them but there were a couple of other organisations including a Christian riders group that did - because they did not pay a courtesy call before setting up.

Make no mistake, if you wear a back patch with rockers in certain parts of Canada you are asking for trouble unless you clear it with the outlaw clubs beforehand. Not only that, but the Canadian government (pretty close to a contradiction in terms there, eh?) passed a law a few years ago making any gathering of four bikes or more to be an illegal event. This was an attempt to give the police some teeth while trying to combat organised bike gangs and the associated crime that surrounds them. It's a serious problem up here.

So just for my own edification, what's so exclusive about back patches? If they don't say HA or look too much like an active club's patch, why do they care if a bunch of coffee drinking dudes want to wear them when they ride together?

The Christan Biker's took offence? I find that strange. Of all the possible biker gangs, I would think they should be the least likely to get wound up about what anyone else is doing. Turn the other cheek and all that.....

What is so sacred about backpatches and rockers?

BuzZz wrote:The Christan Biker's took offence?

It wasn't the Christian Bikers, it was a Christian riders group, ie: composed of born again Christian motorcycle riders (I won't name the group here). THEY didn't take offence, it was the 1% club that took offence.

The back patch and rockers are "sacred" to the outlaw clubs because that is how they identify themselves to their enemies and the general public. They do not want the local Southern Cruisers chapter (just using their name as an example) to be mistaken for outlaws. Territory is a big issue with these boys and they normally do not want to see any other patch but their own in their area.

If you want a more in-depth look, there are a couple of interesting books about the outlaw lifestyle and the HA in particular. Yves Lavigne (a Canadian authour) has written a couple; "Hell's Angels - Taking Care Of Business" and "Hell's Angels - Three Can Keep A Secret If Two Are Dead". Brutal stuff.

Wearing a patch is like wearing a target.

If someone were to set out, without identifying themselves, to systematically (or not, really, I guess) 'end' the HA in the area, all they'd need to do is look for their patches.

What happens to the Outlaws up in the colder climates anyways? Does the biker gang convert to cager gangs for the winter?

Telesque wrote:If someone were to set out, without identifying themselves, to systematically (or not, really, I guess) 'end' the HA in the area, all they'd need to do is look for their patches.

I suppose so, but the 1%'ers aren't in the habit of wearing their patches on every day errands like grocery shopping. They know they are targets, so usually the only time you'll see them flying their colours is when they are riding as a group and/or participating at a motorcycle event. I remember reading many years ago about a member of the Montreal Philharmonic Orchestra being kicked out and banned from performing with them - turns out he was an HA member. He'd been playing cello for three years with the orchestra before they found out his real identity.

Telesque wrote:What happens to the Outlaws up in the colder climates anyways? Does the biker gang convert to cager gangs for the winter?

You know, I've never thought of that! Maybe they leave the Prospects in charge while the rest of them head down to Daytona for the winter?