The Bikers of BACA

[HunterICX]

Usually when I put on the television to watch the Dutch news and the word ''Biker gang'' is dropped it's mostly because they're involved in Criminal activity in the Netherlands like shooting/fighting it out with another rival gang, blackmailing, money laundering etc.

Now in the US they have biker gangs that stand for a good cause, I knew about the cool lot that stand behind your Veterans but I didn't knew BACA - Bikers Against Child Abuse who stand with and protect children who have been abused Awesome guys

[Jimbuna]

Restored a little bit more of my faith in humanity

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by HunterICX

Usually when I put on the television to watch the Dutch news and the word ''Biker gang'' is dropped it's mostly because they're involved in Criminal activity in the Netherlands like shooting/fighting it out with another rival gang, blackmailing, money laundring etc.

Now in the US they have biker gangs that stand for a good cause, I knew about the cool lot that stand behind your Veterans but I didn't knew BACA - Bikers Against Child Abuse who stand with and protect children who have been abused Awesome guys

There are also a large number of " Biker Groups " often times made up of former military personnel that not only visit Veteran hospitals but volunteer at those same hospitals. In addition to BACA, a number of Biker groups hold " Poker Runs " to financially help the families of very sick children who are receiving medical treatment.

A number of groups have also been involved with the " Make-A-Wish foundation which helps fund " last requests " of terminally Ill Children as well as making donations to the Humane Society which provides funding to animal shelters and adoption events for shelter animals. I'm sure some of these groups have been involved with other worthy causes that I'm not aware of as well.

Hopefully, the stigma of wearing functional biker leather and riding a motorcycle are a thing of the past as I know of a number of them that are doctors, police officers, lawyers and other professionals.

[August]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

Hopefully, the stigma of wearing functional biker leather and riding a motorcycle are a thing of the past as I know of a number of them that are doctors, police officers, lawyers and other professionals.

Yeah with price tags upwards of $20-30K a lot of Harleys one almost needs a doctors salary to afford them.

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by August

Yeah with price tags upwards of $20-30K a lot of Harleys one almost needs a doctors salary to afford them.

One can get a nice dresser unit, new, for about 18K and a decent ,used Harley like a sportster or low rider can be had in the 5-10k range, well within the average persons budget.

Most groups don't have a prerequisite that the motorcycle be a Harley, therefore, a decent, used motorcycle in the 750cc to 1100 CC range of Japanese manufacture can be purchased in the 2-4 K and above price range. A number of these motorcycles have an excellent reputation and are very reliable as well. At this engine size, they can cruise the interstates at highway speeds comfortably.

I would have mentioned the vintage Triumph Tiger or Trident but these excellent motorcycles are relatively scarce and pricey as of late and newer versions are not as comfortable on long rides. They are more like sport bikes today.

[Betonov]

Slovene biker gangs are a mixed breed it seems.
They do charity, blood drives, awareness of certain problem etc. and they also like to stab eachother in public.

But lets be fair, they limit their violence on rival gang groups, you're never threatened while in the vicinity of them.

[Rockin Robbins]

Well, in the US bikers have evolved. During bike week in Daytona during the 1970's yes the bikers were wild. They would fight each other (considerately when lethal weapons were involved usually at remote locations), race down Atlantic Avenue over 100 mph at 3 am, ambush and shoot each other, the usual stereotype biker stuff.

But even then more than 3/4 of bikers were great people. I ran a drive-in restaurant on the beachside at that time and we always let bikers park their trailers on our property. Harleys weren't reliable enough to ride 500 miles to get here then and watching their owners push them was a spectator sport for us Yamaha fans.

But they've gotten older and evolved into the greatest group that vacations in the area. I'll take the biker crowd above the spring breakers, NASCAR fans, Hot Rod show goers, RV camper rallies, or anyone else. They are friendlier, more considerate of the locals, spend more money per capita, better drivers than everyone else who comes to Daytona Beach.

And lately I'm seeing a lot of Germans, Austrians and British bikers visiting. I hosted a couple dozen Quebec bikers (many of whom didn't even speak English) at my storage business for a week and we had a great time. I think the character of American bikers will migrate to Europe and replace the outlaw nature. They don't need to be bad to be good!

[August]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

One can get a nice dresser unit, new, for about 18K and a decent ,used Harley like a sportster or low rider can be had in the 5-10k range, well within the average persons budget.

10k let alone 18 is not within the budget of most the the (real) bikers that I know but as you said that's certainly doable for doctors and lawyers that like to play biker on the weekends

[fireftr18]

I have a lot of fire dept friends who are in these biker groups. It seems a lot of them are in multiple groups or all of them.

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by Betonov

Slovene biker gangs are a mixed breed it seems.
They do charity, blood drives, awareness of certain problem etc. and they also like to stab eachother in public.

But lets be fair, they limit their violence on rival gang groups, you're never threatened while in the vicinity of them.

Isn't stabbing people in public and blood drives part of the same thing ?

all jokes aside, people are people which probably has little to do with riding bikes. People who ride bikes like riding with others and if they can raise money for a good cause from their activities, so much the better. If they just want to ride for the fun of it, that's good too.

Originally Posted by August

10k let alone 18 is not within the budget of most the the (real) bikers that I know but as you said that's certainly doable for doctors and lawyers that like to play biker on the weekends

You may be right but as I said, good quality Japanese Motorcycles can be bought for 2-4 K. If you know a little bit about them and can do some repairs yourself, you can buy them for a few hundred dollars.

[Schroeder]

Nice.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

Japanese Motorcycles can be bought for 2-4 K. If you know a little bit about them and can do some repairs yourself, you can buy them for a few hundred dollars.

I ain't ridin' no rice-grinder! I'll stick with my Honda!

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I ain't ridin' no rice-grinder! I'll stick with my Honda!

So, now it's Honda's now. Well, there goes the neighborhood.

As fireftr said, these groups are involved in a lot of worthy events and it should come as no surprise that people like firefighters who risk their lives on a daily basis would be involved in their respective community's and go the extra mile. Rockin Robbins had alluded to the fact that in years past, people who rode bikes were much maligned. Hopefully, people are more open minded and not judgmental. Other then cars not wanting to share the road, I've haven't noticed anything in the way of problems, including at places of businesses like restaurants .

[August]

Originally Posted by Betonov

Slovene biker gangs are a mixed breed it seems.
They do charity, blood drives, awareness of certain problem etc. and they also like to stab eachother in public.

But lets be fair, they limit their violence on rival gang groups, you're never threatened while in the vicinity of them.

That's pretty much how Al Capone's gang operated as well.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

So, now it's Honda's now. Well, there goes the neighborhood.

Actually I was put in mind of a very old car ad, in which someone says "I don't want a foreign car! I want another VolksWagen!"

As to many bikers riding for good causes, I agree. I've even seen a group of Christian bikers, wearing tradition biker cuttes with crosses on them. It's a diverse world we live in.