Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

IIARGER CGlItinled from PI ce 11 with our patches. But whenever we run Into AMA riders at the dr ags , we're the ones who br ing home the trophies." A ster eo provides a background or esoteric jaZZ and r ock us ually as play ed by a tarther out san Fr ancisc o s ta tion , but a grand plano holds a place of honor . Though Sonny does not play , he loves the pla no and keeps one around tor people who do. When you cr oss the threshold you cr oss Into a wor ld which has the Impregnability of a castle and the tranquilI ty of a mountain cab ln•..all In the hear t of Oakland within sight ot the Creeway to every wher e . . Art Collector He collects paintings and ar t Objects, the most Interesting being his own, a concrescence composed of a We-sized stufC eagle, several death's heads, an ed arrow, a collection oC various caliber bullets, a votive candle and an American !lag. Per C tly at home In Its setting , It ec r elates to mankind' s remote ances try••• the strength ot the Individual and ot the tribe . It reflects the primitive necessity to tight Cor ones elt and one ' s brother s ; the nece ssity tor action which has been cons tantly s ubli ma ted by civiliza tion Into the power oC thought and words . Such Is the power ot Sonny Barger , a power der ived trom within hlmselt, trom the respect tor and contldence In hlmselt. Nowhere within the auto nomous structure ot the Hell ' s Angels Is there a pr ovision tor a Maximum Leader . Though many will say that the monoli thic quality of the club calls tor a leadership sy mbol, there Is enormous Independence ot chapters. Yet the ettect of Sonny Barger upon the club Is apparent to members and outsiders alike. The Era of Barger has seen the Angels go trom the botto m ot the most-despised list to a grudging national respect. This Is due In large . part to the Image-making powerot Sonny Barger. Yet Sonny says, " Fuck our Image. We jus t want the tr eedom to be ourselves." A great deal ot tr eedom could be obtained Instantly by taking ott the patch. But this Is not the point. They won't take r1f tile colors nor will tIIey try to change the title "OUtlaw". "The AMA gave us that title. lt you don't belong to the AMA, you're an outlaw." Sonny reminisces about the longago hassle with the motorcycle "establlsbment." "MotorcycUng was at a low ebb. They Deeded someone to pull It out and they used us. They do the same things we do but they cover It with what you might call a cloak of respectability. They have the money and control who Is and who Isn 't an outlaw. It you don't pay them your $2 a year you're an outlaw." It still ranklell. " What I don't understand, Its almost all EngUlIh bikes but Harley-Davidson runs It. I don't know exactly wIlyl" The Intervening years have seen a gradual shift In the dellcate balance ot power until today In many quarters, outlaw and citizen alike, the Hell 's Angels are THE Club. The antl-estabUshment move Is alive In the motorcycle world as well as elsewhere. And perhaps It Is tor the dme reason...the establishment has drltted tar away trom the ·needs ot the people . .- Barlll, lell, and Joe Hope (polntlnll represented the mo torcycle riders' point 01 view on San FrancIsco TV debaM with pro-helmetlaw uumbly· man John F. Foran, second from lelt. Show's host Joe Dolan Is Ill. m on the riIM. an new chapters. " We Just or ganize thos e who are Angels Into the Angels ." The question of who Is and who Isn ' t an Angel s eems to contuse al most ever yone else . Non- r iders usually consider all motorcycle rider s and motorc ycle r ider s ofte n consi der al l outlaws as Hell's Angels. Every has sle a t motorcycle events and many problems at nonmotorcycle events are attributed to the Hell' S Angels. It jus t ain't so. " Ther e are ten to twenty thousand r iders at som e of those eve nts ; they can 't all be Angels." It might be better It they could , but reallty Is rarely so glam or ous or so simple as tl ctlon. "It's like that thing at Laconia." Sonny recallS. "Two or three years ago now. They had had a riot there every year tor ten years. The Mayor was looking tor a scapegoat. This particular year we had gained a sort ot national prominence In Caillornia. So "the Man" said It had to be Angels, and that we were Communisttrained In Mexico and things like that. " How we were supposed to have gotten away trom there was llke In the Bible wilen God opened up the Red Sea tor Moses ! No one ever saw us on the road. We' r e just supposed to have opened up a super highway which closed In alter us and ridden all the way trom Vermont to Caillornla on It. " They knew there was going to be a r iot, because there alway s was one . They had the National Guard there tor It and the police. But when It happened It had to be the Hell 's Angels .. .and we weren't Full-Tim e Outlaws • ·1 Am W I Want To Be hat It I~ this sort ot mature acc eptanc e ot responsibility which has brought about steadily Incr ea sing pr estige and com ments like the one made to me recently by a lead1ng member ot the manutacturIng community, " It would be good It all outla ws behaved like Hell ' s Angels." Per haps the gr eates t sl gnlt lcance of the Hell's Angels and their leader In the waning hal! of the twentieth century Is <:I<"1I"'lI'"Il"'llnnnrlnl'"Il"'llnnnrlnl'T1Imnr1l"1l'T1Innnr1l"1l'T1InnnrrrT1lnnrTrrT1lm nrrrTlI"I:I Another Year ... ... Another Law Over 6,000 bills were introduced in Sacra.mento last vearl As ma.ny, or more, will be introduced in the coming year I United Motorcycle Enthusiasts Of California followull bills which Involve motorcycles from Introduction to puup or failure. • In 1967 we stopped mandatory helmets and eye cover. • In 1968 we stopped mandatory helmets and eye cover, and footwear. • In 1969 ???? even there.1t Angels Don' t Look For Trouble I asked about the apparent lack of other outlaw clubS In Caillor nia . " Mos t outlaw clubS only r ide In the su mmer . When winter come s they put It all away and go back where they cam e tr om. We're tile only year-round outlaw club. Being an outla w Is a tull ti me job ." Being the pr esident ot an outlaw club Is a tull ti me job too, and being Maximum Leader of all the Angels keeps Sonny Barger busier than many grey nannel executive. The Hell' s Angels are incorporated In Cali tornla and their symbols, the small Death' s Head, used by the Frisco, Ber doo and Dago chapters, and the large Death' s Head, used by the r es t, are pending Ceder al patent. From a bome oftl ce where the phone Is never s ile nt he rides out (usually by plane) to take care of busines s , s tatewide and national. " I love to ny," Sonny says. I asked which alrUne he like s best. " PSA has the prettiest s tewardesses." Business Involves, among other things, chartering new chapters. The Hell's Angels presently have eight chapters In Caillornta and c hap t e r s In Mass achus etts, Ohio, Minnesota and Nebraska. Being a Hell's Angel Is like a twentieth century vers ion of the fastes t- guo- Inthe-west. There's al ways a challenger, always someone who wants to pr ove som ething . Hell ' s Angels member s soo n !Ind they don' t have to pr ove anythin g. " Angels don' t have to start things . We don't look tor It; It !Inds us ." The genuine Hell' s Angels still have their tamous " r uns " , several ti mes a year when chopper s and Sportsters vonverge trom everywhere tor days of party-time . But they' r e not quite the tlarn boyant a tta lr s shown In cycle movies. This year' s six- day r un to Bas s La ke, Caillornia, for example, netted two dr unk arres ts and not a llne or newswl re space. " It was very relaxing," says this: In the midst ot standardization they do their own thing and they do It well. It Is not an easy s cene they have chosen and they carry It ott with considerable aplomb. It's a ca tching- on trend, doing your own thing. But Sonny Barger ·and the Hell' s Angels didn't catch It trom anywhere. It's always been their trend. It you tell Sonny Barger quite truly that he could have been anything he chose to be, he will tell you Jus t as truly, "I am what I want to be. And that 's more than mos t people can say." (she Is sti ll paralyzed) and the Hell's Angels made a s izeable contribution to It. • • We Recognize •Em' Not all outla ws are Angels or potential Angels. Sonny commented once on the Les Crane TV Show, "We don't recruit ' em, we recognize 'em." So It Is with As a m otorcycle enthusiast, you have a voice in the U.M. E. of C. Let your voice be heard in Sacra.mento III u. .E. ----------------------------, MAILING ADDRESS: U.M.E. , Box 1154. Reseda, Calif. 91335 . . Pl ease enroll the foll owi ng as a member of United Motorcycle Ent husi ast s 01 Californ ia: ~ :! Q (name of person, fami l y, dealer or cl ub app ly ing for membership) S .• U' :. (mailing addres s, unles s member wishes to remain anonymous) Sonny. The people fr om the Department of Parks say the Hell ' s Angels leave the parks In better condition than they tound tIIem and they wish the average citizen were as good a guest. During a run last year to Mend1clno County National Park, the Angels were touched by the pllg ht ot a local g1rI who had been kidnapped alo ng with her boytrlend by a couple at young punks who were not motorcycle people. Her com panion was killed and s he was shot, thrown trom a clltt and lett tor dead . A tund was being organized tpr her car e ,... (ci ty) (state) ( Zip) =-= o L T ype of Membership Applied For . Student or ASSOCiate• •••• $3. 0 Full Membersh ip ••• ••• • 5. O Family Membership ••• •• • 10. 0 Club Membership • ••• • • • 12.0 Dealer Membership • • • •• • 25.0 Sponsor or Lile Member •• 100.0 Pl ease enclose currency, check d or money or er, Z Z 0 ~ MAIL TO UNITED MOTORCYCLE ENTHUSIASTS, BOX 1154 RESEDA, CALIF. 91335 _

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