sixsicksex Posted June 15, 2013 Posted June 15, 2013 Well now, after the "compromise" with my other half to get a baby dragstar 125, I awoke to the blissful sound of...."baby, for the same price as a decent 125 we can get the 650, and seeing as you can't patch in while on a 125, wouldn't it make more sense to just get the 650?, you should get some insurance quotes today" My grin? Bigger than the new 650 I'm about to buy!!!! All smiles and fucking rainbows people!!!!
jimmy Posted June 15, 2013 Posted June 15, 2013 Well done mate, but pardon this auld buggers ignorance, what does 'patch in' mean
slice Posted June 15, 2013 Posted June 15, 2013 Me to Jimmy WTF is that then? "Patch in" I bet it's some sort of techie thing!
obriens65 Posted June 15, 2013 Posted June 15, 2013 Go from prospect to full member We're not talking about 'Biker Gangs!!!' are we?
Ryan09 Posted June 18, 2013 Posted June 18, 2013 You should always get the bike you want anyway, not what other people tell you to get. Need to be selfish sometimes. Youl enjoy the 650 much more!
Ttaskmaster Posted June 18, 2013 Posted June 18, 2013 Will someone PLEASE talk English to us old farts? In the most general terms, it's about different bike groups. Motorcyclists form several types of group. Each group has a kind of 'ranking', based on many things, one of which is their level of commitment to the biker lifestyle. Starting at the bottom: Bunch of mates. Self explanatory, really. Riding Group Members ride any kind of bike, accepts anyone they like. Regular rideouts to places of interest. May have a committee and a group identity (a name, a badge, etc). Often gets involved in local events, bike shows and the like. Rally Group As above, but rides centred more on attending bike rallies. Owners Group (and occasionally Owners Club) HOG - Harley Owners Group being a good example. Like the above, but centred around a particular brand, or even model of bike. Often nationwide or even international, with regional divisions. MCC - Motor Cycle Club Starting to get serious. The first of the groups typically thought of as the old-style biker gang. Many are male-only, although females are allowed in some and in others are female-only. Members are quite close and a lot of their lives revolve around the Club. Many require specific brands/models of bike for membership. Brotherhood (and Sisterhood) As above, but more committed. The Club often comes over and above most aspects of their lives. MC - Motorcycle Club. These are your top end lot. The Club comes first. Always. Wife, children, no matter - Members will look out for each other first. Once a member, always a member, pretty much. Male only and often restricted to particular ethnic groups, too. It's like a whole different culture, almost, with all manner of rules and ettiquettes that must be observed. The very top end of these are 1% Clubs or Outlaw Clubs. These would be your Hells Angels, Bandidos, Outlaws and so on. Most of the different groups get on well enough together. Go see the May Day run to Hastings, where 40-50,000 bikers all gather on the Hastings streets!! It's mainly the upper end that actually have territories where you get the fights. A heated debate over which group has the better insurance policies down the local pub is NOT a biker fight!! Front, Side or Backpatch Clubs From MCC and above, Clubs have their Club Patches (lesser clubs wear smaller 'badges', as Patch has a specific meaning) and where they wear them denotes the level of Club. Note also that an actual Club (capitalised for a reason) is very different from a motorcycle 'group'. Almost any level of Club might wear their Patch(es) in one of these three locations, but there are connotations behind it and the exact placement is enforced by the senior Clubs. Front Patch Lower end MCCs, mainly and riders or owners groups. Some Brotherhoods and a few more Sisterhoods. Most owners and riding groups wear front patches. HOG are one of the few who have anything on the back. Side Patch Tends to be high end MCCs and Brotherhoods, with the occasional Sisterhood although they tend to be wives of members from a supporting MC. Back Patch Occasionally an MCC, but very rare. This is almost exclusively the domain of MCs, especially the 3-part patches - Top Rocker with Club's name, lower rocker with territory they belong to and central patch bearing the Club's actual logo/banner. You will probably see the letters MC there somewhere, with mid & high level Clubs having it as a separate 4th patch, usually on the right. Outlaw Clubs often wear a diamond-shaped 1% patch as well, often on the back but could be anywhere. Many groups, but particularly MCs, wear patches on a leather vest/waistcoat or (less commonly these days) a denim jacket with the sleeves cut off. This garment is referred to as their 'Cut' or more commonly their 'Colours'. This is THE symbol for who they are and Colours are treated with extreme reverence. Mess with an MC member's cut and expect to wake up in A&E... if at all!! Most of the Paramedics I've spoken to have been instructed how to cut the Colours off a biker, if they absolutely have to, without damaging them or offending the Club. Prospects Basically, prospective members. Often recognisible by the single lower rocker that just says Prospect, or one at the top with the lower territory one. There are other ways, but those are the ones I see the most. They spend a certain amount of time on probation, as it were, before being admitted into the group as a full member. Prospect duration and duties vary greatly. As well as paying large dues/fees, the top end Clubs basically treat them as utter dogsbodies and you'll spend a whopping two years, 24-7, at the beck and call of either all members, or perhaps just one specific member (often your main sponsor). You could be doing everything from washing their bikes, to opening their beer, lifting and carrying, running errands and all manner of unpleasant things. If there's a menial job that needs doing, you get the Prospect(s) to do it!! This is one reason why Colours are so protected by members - From little MCC right up to 1% MC, every patched member has FUCKING WELL EARNED IT!!! A lot of people stay well clear of Patched Club members at rallies, but there's not so much of a need to. The key is respect as as long as you are respectful about things, they're cool as. Often nicer than the general rabble, I find! Simple stuff like don't touch them or sit on their bikes without permission, don't just approach them all thumbs-up expecting hugs, etc. If you wish to learn more, find a Club member and ask. Be polite, be respectful and simply say, you're interested in joining a Club, who should you speak to? Typically they will direct you to the Sergeant-At-Arms, Secretary or similar. Who you speak to depends on the club, but most have their title on the front of their Cut anyways!
Sacha Posted June 18, 2013 Posted June 18, 2013 Holy hell that sounds like a lot of bother... I just want to ride.
slice Posted June 18, 2013 Posted June 18, 2013 Thank you!! I now understand, was much easier in my day, you touch my bike your going to hospital!!! We didn't need to wear a patch - badge or name tag you f**k with us your dog meat. 1
obriens65 Posted June 18, 2013 Posted June 18, 2013 Too much like hard work. And I'm too long in the tooth to be anyone's bitch.
pilninggas Posted June 18, 2013 Posted June 18, 2013 Haha, a mate's mate was telling me last year how he was a "prospect and this and that". I just took the piss something merciless about his little club - all sounds a bit ginger beer to me - a load of blokes stood round in leather. I said asked him when he was "actually going to a ride a motorcycle", he just looked befuddled. Some of these 'outfits' have sod all to do with motorcycles and everything to do with wanting social acceptance.
sixsicksex Posted June 19, 2013 Author Posted June 19, 2013 Fucking hell this brought up a whole bunch of questions didn't it, Taskmaster, you forgot hangabouts / support before prospect, and 2 years is a loooonnngg time to prospect, more likely 12 months, but as for you earlier question mate, back patch.
Ttaskmaster Posted June 19, 2013 Posted June 19, 2013 I personally wouldn't consider hangabouts an actual part of a Club, since most of them don't even make it to Prospect. Support... maybe, but more a separate entity and usually driving vans rather than riding, in my experience. Depends on the Club, I guess. Same for yer Prospect period. 2 years is mainly a big four thing, but depends on the Club. Tends to be shorter and easier the lower down the scale you go. Could be as little as a month for some MCCs. This was just a quick layman's general intro to what we were talking about. There's a whole different world once you get into the details!
Ttaskmaster Posted June 19, 2013 Posted June 19, 2013 Politics is the main reason I declined to Prospect for the Clubs that invited me and ended up leaving the other groups I tried. If I want a red & white bike, for example, I'll damn well have one!! There are some fantastic aspects to the life, but I prefer answering to myself alone. I also prefer lone riding. MY road, heh heh!!! 1
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