10 Most Notorious Outlaw Bike Clubs
Legend has it that 99% of all bike clubs are comprised of hard working, law abiding citizens - then there are "one percenters". Here's ten of the most notorious, in no particular order.
1. Hell's Angels
Hell's Angels are undoubtedly the most well known bike clubs in America. They were purportedly started in 1948 by members who had just exited the Air Corps after World War II. They took their name from one of the highest performing bomber squadrons in the European theater, the 303rd, known as "Hell's Angels". According to a CNN documentary, their logo was taken from the "death's head" logo of both the 85th Fighter and 552nd Medium Bomber Squadron.
The motorcycle club's activities were little known in the 1940's-50's due to their high level of secrecy. They became notorious in the public eye because of their run-ins with the law and confrontations with other biker gangs reported in newspapers and tabloids. Their notoriety was cemented in a 1970 documentary called Gimme Shelter, which featured a riot during the Rolling Stones Altamont Speedway show in December of 1969, where the Hell's Angels provide security. The club was paid in beer, which was evidently a bad idea; when the crowd started shoving, the Angles shoved back and a fan ended up getting killed.
The club's insignia, or colors have red lettering over a white background. To this day, the Hell's Angels have chapters across the United States as well as South America, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe.
2. Mongols
The Mongols were formed in 1969 by a group of Latinos who were not permitted into the Hell's Angels because of their race. The club is also known as the Mongol Nation or Mongol Brotherhood. Their insignia has the word "Mongols" in black lettering over a guy with a ponytail riding a motorcycle and carrying a type of sword resembling a cutlass. They were infiltrated by the FBI in a sting operation which led to over 100 arrests and even more search warrants - including their president Ruben "Doc" Cavazos. There is now a court order for those involved to never wear their colors or insignia. They are predominantly located in the American West, but have opened chapters in Mexico, Canada and Italy.
3. Pagans
Maryland's Pagans are another of the top bike clubs by reputation. The club's insignia is of Surtur, the Norse devil giant with the flaming sword, as he sits on top of the sun, and the sword has the word "Pagans" in red, white and blue lettering. They keep themselves almost entirely on the East Coast of the US, but the Pagans have been implicated in several crimes including murder, smuggling drugs, even arson. News reports have also linked the Pagans to organized crime in the northeastern part of the United States. Their history includes violent disputes against the Hell's Angels. Several members were arrested in New York in 2002, when the Pagans attended a Motorcycle and Tattoo Ball where certain members of the Hell's Angels were supposed to be, which ended up with ten bikers injured and one Pagan killed.
4. Outlaws
Number four is one of the oldest and most notorious bike clubs in the United States - the Outlaws. They started up in Matilda’s Bar on old Route 66 in McCook, Illinois back in 1935, though their insignia was inspired by Marlon Brando's jacket in the movie The Wild One in 1953. Their colors feature the skull with "cross pistons" as the official patch.
In the more than seventy years since their inception, the club chapters have spread widely across America, and the world. Club president, Harry Joseph Bowman, ran the show until he was incarcerated in 1999 for three murders, after being in the top 10 of the FBI's Most Wanted list. Outlaws have been convicted of countless crimes including, murder, narcotics, arms dealing, prostitution and extortion.
5. Sons of Silence
The Sons of Silence club formed in Niwot, Colorado in 1966, with the motto Donec Mors Non Seperat, which translates "Until Death Separates Us", and their logo is the Budweiser eagle with their name printed under it. . They are another "one-percenter" bike club that gained notoriety and spread their chapters across the United States, mostly along the eastern seaboard. Thirty seven members of the Sons were imprisoned in 1999 on charges of drug dealing and weapons when the Denver division of the FBI confiscated crystal meth,hand grenades, guns, cash - and their bikes.
6. Warlocks
The Warlocks club was formed in 1966 out of Philly, Pa. After Vietnam ended, their membership increased dramatically - but only white males were allowed in. They are predominantly active across Pennsylvania, but have chapters throughout the Northeast US, and also in England and Germany. Their insignia is of the harpie from Greek mythology - a female monster with wings and a human face - with their club lettering in red and white. Several members were busted in 2008 for crystal meth production, transporting and distribution, and it is believed that they sold over 500 pounds worth about $9,000,000.00.
7. Detroit Highwaymen
The Detroit Highwaymen, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1954, officially as the Detroit Highwaymen Motorcycle Club. Their insignia is a skeleton with wings, wearing a motorcycle hat and jacket, and their club colors are black and silver. The group has formed chapters across the state of Michigan, and are also in England and Norway. One of their mottos is taken from the Holy Bible - with a worldly twist: “Yea, though we ride the highways in the shadows of death, we fear no evil, for we are the most evil mother f'ers on the highway.” A big bust came in 2007 when several members were convicted by the FBI on a variety of charges, including murder for hire, cocaine distribution, racketeering, and fraud.
8. Bandidos
Number eight is the Bandidos, whose club was formed in San Antonio, Texas in 1966. Their insignia is a fat Mexican sporting a sombrero with a pistol in one hand and a machete' in the other. The club colors of red and gold were taken from the US Marine Corps, as their founder was a Vietnam era Marine. The club boasts more than ninety chapters in the US, with others in Australia, Germany and Asia. They have a reputation for murder, having allegedly assassinated a well-known prize fighter in the flyweight division in 2006. On another occasion that year, they used sniper tactics to pick off a member of the Hell's Angels. Over time, members have been incarcerated for murder, drugs, racketeering and weapons.
9. Free Souls
Out of the American Northwest the Free Souls, formed in the late 1960's in Oregon. Their insignia is an Egyptian ankh, which represents life, inside of a motorcycle tire and rim. All of their US chapters are in Oregon, with some international chapters in Vancouver, Canada. They had a publicized bust for drugs, weapons and stolen bikes in 2007.
10. Vagos
Last but not least by a long shot is The Vagos Motorcycle Club, formed in San Bernadino, California in the late 1950's. Vagos' club insignia is Loki, the Norse god of mischief riding a motorcycle. The members usually wear green. They have two dozen chapters in the western US, including Arizona and Nevada and three chapters in Mexico. The largest investigation of a motorcycle ever in the history of southern California ended in 2006, which brought the conviction of twenty-five Vagos members for murder, crystal meth, weapons and money-laundering.
Outlaw clubs are fun to read and talk about, but the truth is most bikers and club members are hard-working, honest people whose only intention is to enjoy the sport of motorcycling with others with the same goals. Ride on!
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