Motorcycle gang
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A motorcycle gang (also known as a biker gang, outlaw motorcycle club, or simply outlaw club)Rick Anderson, [Bad Boys], Seattle Weekly, July 12, 2006. Accessed online 17 July 2006. The citation for numbers of Bandidos and Hells Angels is apparently for patched members; other counts can be considerably higher. is a controversial term primarily used by law enforcement and non-motorcycle riders to describe a club who are motorcycle riders. Members are also known as 1%ers (spoken as "one percenters").
Members who have been through a full initiation are "patched members"; they may, in turn, sponsor budding "puppet members".
Membership in a motorcycle gang can be expensive. For example, Bandidos membership costs include "$275 paid to the national treasury, $275 for a new patch, and $500 for any member whose Harley is inoperable for more than 30 days." Prosecutors have claimed that gangs also "tax" the criminal activities of their members.
Major motorcycle "gangs include:
- the Bandidos, 2,400 members, "possibly 600" in the U.S.; 170 chapters in 15 countries.
- the Hells Angels, the largest, with 227 chapters in the United States and 29 foreign countries and 2,500 members.
- the Outlaws
- the Pagans MC
- the Gypsy Jokers
- the Rebels
- the Straight Satans (notable for having members in the 1960s involved with the Manson Family)
- The Finks (Mainly in Australia).
- the Rock Machine, Canadian affiliate of the Bandidos
- the Renegades
- the Annihilators
- the Loners
- the Satan's Choice
- the Para-Dice Riders
- the Vagabonds
- the Warlocks
- The Iron Horsemen
Notes
See also
- Bousouzoku, Raggare, Greaser
- Rock and roll, Rockers, Punk Rockers, Anarcho-Rockers
- Teddy Boy (youth culture)
- Gang
- One percenter
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