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A motorcycle club is a group of individuals whose primary interest and activities involve
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
s. A motorcycle group can range as clubbed groups of different bikes or bikers who own same model of vehicle like the
Harley Owners Group The Harley Owners Group (HOG) is a sponsored community marketing club, operated by Harley-Davidson for enthusiasts of that brand's motorcycles. The HOG is "the grandaddy of all community-building efforts," serving to promote not just a consumer ...
. There are a great many brand clubs, i.e. clubs dedicated to a particular marque, including those sponsored by various manufacturers, modeled on the original brand club, the
Harley Owners Group The Harley Owners Group (HOG) is a sponsored community marketing club, operated by Harley-Davidson for enthusiasts of that brand's motorcycles. The HOG is "the grandaddy of all community-building efforts," serving to promote not just a consumer ...
. There are also large national independent motorcycle clubs, for example, the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America, th
Dominar Owners Club (DOC)
an exclusive motorcycle group fo
Bajaj
Dominar bikes only. There are also specific clubs for women, such as
Women's International Motorcycle Association The Women's International Motorcycle Association (WIMA) is a motorcycle club established by Louise Scherbyn in 1950 in the United States. Branches began in many countries, including Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North A ...
, and clubs for
lesbians A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with fem ...
and
gays ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
, such as Dykes on Bikes. Clubs catering for those interested in vintage machines such as the
Vintage Motor Cycle Club The Vintage Motor Cycle Club (VMCC) is a UK-based vintage motorcycle club with over 14,000 members, which aims to promote and preserve all makes of motorcycles over 25 years old. History The Vintage Motor Cycle Club was founded on 28 April 194 ...
are also popular as well as those centered on particular venues. Clubs catering for riders' rights such as the
Motorcycle Action Group The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) is a motorcycle riders' rights group based in the United Kingdom. MAG was formed by Dennis Howard, Mick Griffiths, George Potter and Mohar Singh. The minutes of the first meeting held on 28 June 1973 identifi ...
, and charities like
The Royal British Legion Riders Branch The Royal British Legion Riders Branch (RBLR) was formed in 2004 as a branch of The Royal British Legion, a registered charity that supports past and present members of the Armed Forces. While its membership is dominated by former and current HM ...
are also popular. Many affiliate with an umbrella organization, such as the
British Motorcyclists Federation The British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) is a motorcycle riders' rights group in the United Kingdom. The BMF was founded in 1960 as the Federation of National One Make Motorcycle Clubs to counter accusations of "leather-jacketed hooligans". It ...
in the UK, or
FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
in Europe. Producing national and local branch club magazines and events are typical activities of such clubs. Other organizations whose activities primarily involve motorcycles exist for specific purposes or social causes such as the
Patriot Guard Riders The Patriot Guard Riders (PGR) is an organization based in the United States whose members attend the funerals of members of the U.S. military and first responders at the invitation of a decedent's family. The group forms a voluntary honor guar ...
, who provide funeral escorts for military veterans, and Rolling Thunder, which advocates for troops missing in action and prisoners of war. While neither of the latter two groups require a motorcycle for membership, they are motorcycling-oriented and much of their activity involves rides. There are numerous religiously oriented clubs such as the Christian Motorcyclists Association, a biker ministry,
charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...
such as
Freewheelers EVS Freewheelers Emergency Voluntary Service (EVS) is a blood bike charity based in South West England. Founded in Weston-super-Mare in 1990, it is funded by public donations and staffed by unpaid volunteers. Association with other blood bike cha ...
, which use motorcycles to provide an out-of-hours emergency medical courier service, and clubs which attract membership from specific groups, such as the Blue Knights Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club, for law enforcement personnel. In the United Kingdom, two charities (the
Institute of Advanced Motorists IAM RoadSmart formerly called the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is a charity based in the United Kingdom and serving nine countries, whose objective is to improve car driving and motorcycle riding standards, and so enhance road safety, b ...
and
RoSPA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is a British charity that aims to save lives and prevent life-changing injuries which occur as a result of accidents. In the past, it has successfully campaigned on issues of road safet ...
Advanced Drivers and Riders) have significant-sized motorcycle clubs with trained volunteers to promote
roadcraft Roadcraft refers to the system of car or motorcycle control outlined in two books ''Roadcraft: The Police Driver's Handbook'' and ''Motorcycle Roadcraft: The Police Rider's Handbook''. The books are produced by the Police Foundation and published by ...
and help riders pass an
advanced driving test The advanced driving test is a special exam for motorists who can drive to a skill level substantially above average, and candidates who pass are called ''advanced drivers''. It is available from several societies, including IAM RoadSmart, the Ro ...
.


History

One of the first motorcycle clubs was the New York Motorcycle Club, which in 1903 merged with the Alpha Motorcycle Club of Brooklyn to become the Federation of American Motorcyclists. Later, the Motorcycle and Allied Trades Association (M&ATA) formed a Rider Division which spun off into the American Motorcyclist Association.


American Motorcyclist Association

The
American Motorcyclist Association The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is an American nonprofit organization of more than 200,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights. Its mission statement is "to promo ...
(AMA) is the largest American motorcyclist organization. It serves as an umbrella organization for local clubs and sporting events. As of 2015, the AMA counts over 200,000 active members and over 1,200 chartered clubs.


MCs and MCCs

The abbreviations MC and MCC are both used to mean "motorcycle club" but have a special social meaning from the point of view of the ''outlaw'' or ''one percenter'' motorcycling subculture. MC is generally reserved for those clubs that are mutually recognized by other MC or outlaw motorcycle clubs. This is indicated by a motorcyclist wearing an MC patch, or a three-piece patch called
colors Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
, on the back of their jacket or riding vest. Outlaw or one percenter can mean merely that the club is not chartered under the auspices of the
American Motorcyclist Association The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is an American nonprofit organization of more than 200,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights. Its mission statement is "to promo ...
, implying a radical rejection of authority and embracing of the "biker" lifestyle as defined and popularized since the 1950s and represented by such media as ''
Easyriders ''Easyriders'' is an American motorcycle magazine, founded in 1970. It was published monthly by Paisano Publications for over 50 years. In addition to its coverage of motorcycles (particularly Harley-Davidsons) and related activities, ''Easyriders ...
'' magazine, the work of painter David Mann and others. In many contexts the terms overlap with the usual meaning of "outlaw" because some of these clubs, or some of their members, are recognized by law enforcement agencies as taking part in
organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
. Outside of the outlaw motorcyclist subculture, the words "" carry no pejorative meaning beyond the everyday English definition of the words – a club involving motorcycles, whose members come from every walk of life. Thus, there are clubs that are culturally and stylistically nothing like outlaw or one percenter clubs, and whose activities and goals not similar to them at all, but still use three-part patches or the initials MC in their name or insignia.


See also

*
Shwet Ashwas Shwet Ashwas, a motorcycle exhibition team of the military police in India, holds the Guinness World Record for making a pyramid of 133 men on 11 motorcycles over a distance of 350 metres at Bangalore on September 22, 1995. The team continues to ...
(India)


References


External links

* {{Fandom
Club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...