Biker culture
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Biker culture is culture related to motorcycles, originating in post-WWII era. Biker culture is often concentrated around legendary motorcycle brands such as Harley-Davidson, Triumph and BSA.
Correction (result of degree level study and family knowledge):
THE BIRTH OF BIKERDOM A tale about the earliest ever motorcyclists and fraternities
“I’m just a soul whose intentions are good/Oh lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.” (The Animals).
Trying to trace the cultural heritage of biking uncovered a strange phenomenon. Bikers I was speaking to in the 1990’s were familiar with recent generations, but prior to the 1940s, Biker culture seemed to evaporate. Coincidentally, it was around then that the media and other forces had misplaced the genuine Biker identity. Because of this, pre 1940’s Bikers were regarded as motorcyclists, with nothing more to their lives than mere mechanistic amusement. Yet while that is the true basic essence, there is evidence showing that a pre-40’s motorcycle culture had been very much alive - and that in its essence, was not so different from latter day biking. The apparent frugal if not funereal mood of the early Victorian era made it an incongruous time for the birth of a free-spirited motorcycle culture. Society still had a medieval feel that centred on people and animal labour. This was in sharp contrast to mechanisation. Being in its infancy, science yet had to make grounds for justification (in the West at least - the Chinese among others had long histories of science). The Industrial Revolution had split popular opinions. Many were against mechanisation, like the Luddites who believed their livelihoods were being taken over. So they smashed the machines, regarding them as harbingers of doom. This divided opinion naturally carried through into debates on motorcycles. So ever since the first self-propelled two-wheelers had rolled, they had ridden into contention. One area of support for machines came from the earlier Enlightenment movement, which had sown the seeds of reason and individuality, and had guided people away from tradition – the art-nouveaux movement is one beautiful aspect of that train of thought. From this arose a condition known as modernity, which included an appreciation of machines. Many believed that a mechanised world would relieve people of manual labour and increase income and leisure time. The fascist writer Marinetti virtually deified the motor car. Some machines did become servants to humanity, but others created a sensation of futuristic awe and were destined to inspire and excite us. The earliest Bikernauts were mostly inventors and engineers who tested their own equipment. It was a remote world of theory, muck and tools that would seemingly be forever banished to the shed. Motorcycling historians tell us that the motorcycle was created because motor cars were expensive; therefore the first bikes had been the result of research for cheaper, lighter transport. They allege that no-one had had the idea of a motorbike in its own right. However, historic records show that the design for a motorcycle ‘proper’ had emerged previously. It eventually became favoured above all the other forms of powered two and three-wheelers. ends - book Being Biker available on internet (again) soon
