CONTENT WARNING: drugs and drug trafficking, violence, violence against women, gang and outlaw culture, and murder.

Now paging Charlie Hunnam...Charlie are you there? We need someone to take us on a motorcycle ride! On this episode we explore the history of motorcycles, motorcycle riders, and the original outlaw motorcycle gang (aka, the OMG!). Questions/comments/concerns/recommendations? Email us at: ragingromantics@nopl.org

Pics:

Reitwagon
Motorcycle ad
Orient Motor Pacer
Motodome
Johnnie drinking coke
Johnnie the pig
Knucklehead
Varsity riders club
Hollister Riot

Books/authors we mention

Tillie Cole
Joanna Wylde
Devil's Game by Joanna Wylde
Reaper's Property by Joanna Wylde
Tm Frazier
Kristin Ashley
Christine Feehan
Cate C Wells
Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah Parker

Sources

"Bonds of Brotherhood: The Origin and Growth of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs" (Hamilton, 2002)
"Outlaw Motorcycle Club" (Wikipedia)
"The Rough History of Biker Cuts" (Muzquiz, 2020)
"Cut-off" (wikipedia)
"Hollister Riot" (wikipedia)
"American Masculinity After World War II" (national ww2 museum, 2021)
"Counterculture as a Gendered Post-War Legacy: The Latent Case of Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs" (Hatta, 2020)
"Motorcycle Club Culture: Embracing the Brotherhood & Exploring the Rich History" (Leather Face Gear, 2023)
Commodification and Popular Imagery of the Biker in American Culture (Austin, 2010)
A Brief History of the Motorcycle (Bellis, 2019)
A Brief History of Motorcycles" (Windy City Motorcycle Company, 2023)
"Motorcycle" (wikipedia)
"History of Motorcycles in the United States" (Indian Motorcycle of Austin, 2022)
THE MOTORDROME - BOARD TRACK MOTORCYCLE RACING (Panhead Jim, 2012)
"Not Just a Knucklehead: The 1936 Model EL" (Harley Davidson Museum)
"A Century of Motorcycling | The 1930s (Motorcyclist Staff, 2012)"
"Davidson: There’s a Reason It’s Called a Hog "(Wells, 2024) - note that this website might not work correctly.
"THE MOST RECOGNIZED PHOTO IN HARLEY-DAVIDSON® HISTORY: RAY, JOHNNIE AND THE HOG LEGACY" (Harley-Davidson, 2020)
HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLES (Online Museum.net, 2020)
"Choppers" (wikipedia)
What is it about choppers? (quora)
What are some criticisms of Sons of Anarchy regarding its portrayal of biker culture? (quora)
Longing and Belonging: Toward a Cultural History of Gay Motorcycle Clubs in the US (gurman, 2019)