Title: The Motorcycle Community: Hearts of Gold

By-line: Natalie Davis

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were approximately 8.8 million

motorcyclists on the road in 2023. This number has been steadily increasing over the years and

228,749 of those riders were accounted for in Arizona.

As that number grows, so does a community that has largely been grouped into the same image

as the outlaw biker gangs that continue to strike fear in people’s hearts. So much so that people

outside of the motorcycle culture and community look to those who choose to ride as they would

of those biker gangs.

Andrew H. Maxwell touches on this stereotype within Motorcyclists And Community In Post-

Industrial Urban America calling it, “...a communal lifestyle which is built around the

motorcycle as a form of transportation.” Maxwell continues to pose the question that in part has

inspired this capstone project. He says, “Stereotyped media imagery of the rebel biker and

social science inattention suggests fundamental questions about who

motorcyclists are and why they ride.”

That question is one I am curious about myself and I aim to answer.

(Above: a graph showing the total number of OMGs in the nation in comparison to the total

number of registered motorcyclists.)

If we are to understand where exactly this fear comes from, we have to first understand the

history behind these Organized Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs).

According to Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs: Aspects of the One-Percenter Culture for Emergency

Department Personnel to Consider, OMGS most often contribute to drug trafficking and other

criminal acts.
Although, according to their data, the OMGS truly make up the one percent. The most important

part that I have found is understanding what people mean when they say, “The 1 percent”.

According to Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs: Aspects of the One-Percenter Culture for Emergency

Department Personnel to Consider, This term comes from an incident in 1947 when a

motorcycle rally held in Hollister, California became violent which resulted in The American

Motorcycle Association releasing this statement, “99% of the motorcycling public are law-

abiding; there are 1% who are not.”

Since then people have used the term “1 percenter” to describe motorcycle gangs like The Hell’s

Angels. A clear difference must be understood that not all clubs or organizations are criminals

either. The difference between a “gang” and a “club” has been blurred largely by the media.

According to The Motorcycle Profiling Project (MPP), “The National Council of Clubs (NCOC),

representing the interests of motorcycle clubs and thousands of their members nationwide, is

adamantly opposed to using the term “gang” to describe motorcycle clubs. The NCOC requests

that media outlets and public officials immediately discontinue the practice.”

The MPP has found statistical data that discredits the “gang” label. This data found that 98 % of

motorcycle club members have no criminal record and that 38 % are military veterans.

Motorcycle clubs often are formed by a group of friends wanting to ride together or a group of

individuals united in both their shared interests of motorcycles as well as a certain identity like

race, gender, or military status.

Some examples of motorcycle clubs include but are not limited to The Zulus, an all-black

motorcycle club in Michigan, Stilettos on Steel, an all-female club, and U.S Veterans Motorcycle

Club. All of these clubs were founded with the common goal of providing a community and safe

atmosphere for like-minded people.

Whereas the criminal element, which makes up less than 1 percent of all motorcycle riders are

not simply people wanting to have a community. OMGS engages in many criminal affairs, but

the two that seem to be their specialty is drug and sex trafficking in the United States.

The National Drug Intelligence Center states, “The strength of OMGs lies in their international

connections, which provide them with access to wholesale quantities of illegal drugs, particularly

marijuana and methamphetamine.” OMGS has generated a lot of fear surrounding men on bikes,

especially for men who choose to ride a Harley-Davidson.

I have seen this stereotype come into play myself perhaps in smaller ways as compared to some

seasoned riders, but I recall a time around this last holiday season in which me and my dad went

to the store on his Harley-Davidson Heritage.

(Above: Me and my dad riding his Harley-Davidson Heritage in full gear.)

It wasn’t necessarily that people turned to look as in my experience and from what community

members have told me rolling up on a motorcycle tends to get people’s attention, but it was more

so that people moved out of our way when we walked into the store.

There is a clear difference to riding into a parking lot on a Triumph where people look over in

curiosity, but as soon as some people see that Harley-Davidson logo that stare turns into a glare

of uneasiness.
This isn’t a limited experience either and Ronda Griffith, a general merchandise manager at

Buddy Stubbs Harley-Davidson shared that she is aware of how Harley-Davidson and members

of the motorcycle community including club members are perceived, but that compared to how it

used to be when she first began riding it is changing.

Griffith explained that she finds that the negative stereotypes are slowly fading away. She said,

“I think people are realizing that we wear black and have tattoos, but that is just our expression

of the freedom we feel. It isn’t meant to be scary.” She explained, “You’re going to come across

people who aren’t great people, but there is becoming a larger majority of people who ride

motorcycles who are very kind, caring, and what to help where they can.

(Above: A breakdown of total motorcyclists on the road in western states.)

She added, “I think a lot more people know that we look scary because we wear black and have

tattoos but most riders have a heart of gold.” Griffith went on to explain, “What motivates people

to ride is the curiosity and a lot of that is the glamour because not a whole lot of people ride

motorcycles.” Griffith is correct in that statement. While over 800,000 motorcyclists sounds like

a lot, it really is a small number compared to the amount of people living in not just major urban

areas, but nationwide.

In the same shop, I talked to sales manager, Jeff Dennis who agrees that the belief in this outlaw

biker stereotype is changing and losing its credibility.

Dennis explained, “You always hear about the bad, but you never hear about the bad and that’s

in anything in life. Most people doing good aren’t looking for recognition. So, a lot of that is in

the past. Of course, you have 1 percent clubs out there, but the majority out there are having a

good time and doing great things for the community.” He went on to explain how after being in

the industry and involved with Harley-Davidson for 10 years and he very rarely has seen the 1

percent type.

“Most of the people that come in are just your everyday riders who want to go out and enjoy a

Harley-Davidson. They just want that freedom and solitude that we have at times where you just

go ride.” Dennis went on to explain that the reason people choose to ride a Harley machine is

because of the family-like community that the brand gives people.

“I just think from my experiences it’s the Harley family in general.” He said, “You can be

broken down on the side of the road on an import bike and nobody will stop. I’ve been in
situations where I’m stopped on a Harley making a phone call on the side of the road with

nothing wrong [with the bike] and people will stop.” Dennis believes that the brand promises

something superior in both the product and the brotherhood or community that other brands

cannot offer.

Not only is there that tight-knit, family-like community but there is a history with the brand and

its presence in Arizona.

Arizona has a rich history when it comes to motorcycles and the community around these

machines. Unlike other parts of the country, Arizona didn’t get caught up in the cafe racer hype

that came with greasers, rockabilly and other things that people typically think of when talking

about motorcycle history. There wasn’t even a dealership in a large metropolitan area like

Phoenix until Buddy Stubbs arrived on the scene.

The Illinois-born racer was no stranger to motorcycles due to his father, Frank Stubbs owning a

Harley Davidson dealership in the 1930s and Stubbs began his own adventure with motorcycles

at age 15.
(Above: The ground floor of The Buddy Stubbs Museum.)

He didn’t just race motorcycles, but he won a lot of big-name races too including The Daytona

100-mile race in 1963. Despite, hanging up his hat as it related to racing Stubbs never let go of

his enthusiasm for bikes. That enthusiasm led him to open the first-ever Harley Davidson

dealership in Arizona, a dealership that is now open to this day and is still the only authorized

dealer in the valley.

(Antique signs, posters, and motorcycles at The Buddy Stubbs Museum. )

From then, Arizona’s motorcycle culture boomed and continued to grow. From 2002 to 2023, the

number of registered motorcyclists on the road gradually grew. In 2002, there were only 75,800

motorcycles on the road in Arizona, but that number kept growing until another survey

conducted in 2023 clocked in the tally of riders at 228,749.

As the number of motorcyclists on the road slowly grows, the stereotype that all motorcycle

riders are affiliated with OMGS declines. As a community, motorcyclists are rejecting that

stereotype and actively making strides to combat it.

 Source List:

● Bosmia, A. N., Quinn, J. F., Peterson, T. B., Griessenauer, C. J., & Tubbs, R. S. (2014).

Outlaw motorcycle gangs: aspects of the one-percenter culture for emergency department

personnel to consider. The western journal of emergency medicine, 15(4), 523–528.

https://doi-org.libproxy.nau.edu/10.5811/westjem.2014.2.17919

● Andrew M. Grascia. (n.d.). Truth About Outlaw Bikers & What You Can Expect If They

Come to Your Town | Office of Justice Programs. NCJRS Virtual Library.

https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/truth-about-outlaw-bikers-what-you-

can-expect-if-they-come-your

● Teoh, E. R. (2023, June). Motorcycles registered in the United States, 2002–2021.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

https://www.iihs.org/api/datastoredocument/bibliography/2225

● Shields, D. (2012). The infamous ‘one percenters’: a review of the criminality,

subculture, and structure of modern biker gangs. Justice Policy Journal, 9(1), 1–

34. https://doi.org/10.7282/00000134

● Maxwell, A. H. (1998). Motorcyclists And Community In Post-Industrial Urban

America. Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic

Development, 27(3/4), 263–299. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40553345

● Mohn, T. (2021, June 5). Thinking of not wearing a motorcycle helmet? think again.

Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2021/05/31/thinking-of-not-wearing-a-

motorcycle-helmet-think-again/?sh=5964082e301b
● IIHS. (2024, April). Motorcycles: Motorcycle helmet use laws. IIHS.

https://www.iihs.org/topics/motorcycles/motorcycle-helmet-laws-table

● Ronda Griffith. Phone: 902.971.3400.

● Jeff Dennis. Phone: Jeff Dennis. Phone: 602.971.3400 Email:

jeff.dennis@buddystubbs.com