Motorcycles, Outlaws, Rebels, and Brothers

The Oakland chapter of the Hell’s Angels tear down the highway behind their fearless leader.

 “If I ever get too old to ride my Motorcycle, and have pretty girls, I’d rather just rob a Bank and go back to prison.”
-Ralph “Sonny” Barger

The long and colorful history (60+ years) of the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club has been widely documented by the media. Magazines, movies, books and songs have all made attempts at capturing the essence of bike club culture – the look, the feel, and the sound of this other world. Not always successfully either. Because this sordid tale swoops over, around, and through the lives of hundreds of outlaws, felons, rebels, vets, outcasts, and inbetweeners.

We are tranfixed by those who dare to live on the fringe of society, and often make vain attempts to personify and relate to these intriguing individuals.

They have chosen to live their lives the only way they know how…hard and fast; with a screaming engine between their knees and rubber spread down the highway.

For, to them, freedom is nothing but an open road.

Close-up of two Hell’s Angels Berdoo jackets on the backs of two riders. Bill Ray. 1965. LIFE Magazine

Road grime and hardened gazes. This biker personifies the tough as nails “one percenter” stereotype associated with motorcycle clubs. Bill Ray. LIFE Magazine.

Check out those dual exhaust pipes. Probably more effective in looks and sound rather than speed and performance. A real cop magnet, for sure. Bill Ray. LIFE Magazine.

Elevated handlebars and a wide grip. This style came into fashion with Hell’s Angels in the late 1950s, and eventually spread into mainstream motorcycle culture. Not purely for looks, but for comfort on long rides. Bill Ray. LIFE Magazine.

Wives, girlfriends, steadies, and one-nighters. In the club’s early days it was ok for your “old lady” to flaunt the death’s head. Today, relinquishing the patch without a fight are grounds for expulsion. Bill Ray. 1965. LIFE Magazine.

An Angel’s old lady gives us the finger as they cruise down the boulevard. Bill Ray. LIFE Magazine.

Booze and Broads. Hell’s Angels relax at a cafe during the 1960s. Bill Ray. LIFE Magazine.

                                          Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang on the road. Bill Ray. 1965. LIFE Magazine

                                            Hell’s Angels bike rider. Bakersfield, CA, 1965. Bill Ray. LIFE Magazine.

Sonny Barger on a ’46 Harley stroker. At the crossroads of the 1950s greaser look and the long-haired hippie sylings of the 1960s. November 1959

Sonny and Co. congregate outside the El Adobe bar in Oakland just before the Oakland-Frisco wars. 1961.

Barger riding his hog in this undated photo

The legendary Ralph “Sonny” Barger in the driver’s seat of his Harley. I love the look of the dual balloon tires.