I've been riding Harleys since the late 70's. Only culture I recall was if you rode HD (or British iron), you wrenched or you walked.

 

Well, I bet that back when you and I entered the bike scene, there were those that looked at us and wondered where there culture had gone. Maybe I should just speak for myself.

 

It was more a matter of survival creating a culture. In the 70's (and earlier, of course) there were no computers, no easy access to parts and accessories, except what you made. No forums, ebay or Craigslist and information was harder to come by. Yeah, there were magazines but that was about it, so you tended to hang out with people who supported each other.

 

This is a really good topic and I'm looking forward to some interesting commens.

I came to Harleys post-AMF. I remember that Harleys always came with an oil leak (tranny in my case), there was a packing list of tools and such that you always carried (back in the days when Harley marketed the fork bag as a "tool bag" (I laughed out loud at that memory), and, even if you didn't know crap about engines (my case!), your bros could do it a 2 a.m. in the dark and drunk off their collective asses.

I even used to patch for a veterans-based club in North Carolina. But it became a decision of club vs. job and family. Two decades later, I don't regret leaving the club but I carry some very, very fond memories of some great folks that I still miss.

 

I think the "biker culture" has evolved into more of an "upscale" recreational thing for the majority. During the week the riders are successful in their chosen fields, have some money to spend on a reasonably expensive "discretionary" item. Then they spend beaucoup bucks modifying the bike, dress up "in costume" to look like a "bad a_s" biker, maybe get a tatoo or two, scream down to the local watering hole, poker run, or some bike rally, with a few like-minded friends; or, hook up the trailer with bike to the RV, ride up to the Dragon or some such place, and they call themselves bikers. The biker you described, I think, was born more in a time of trying to find their identity and place in this world, with blue collar jobs, limited incomes, and a need to keep their bike running as it was their primary mode of transportation. Many were as you, ex-servicemen coming home from some dangerous place like WWII, Korea, or SEA and looking to fulfill the adrenaline rush that they were suddenly missing. Some of today's servicemen returning from SWA and the Horn of Africa are feeling the same way I believe and finding similar ways of replacing the "high." The original biker still exists, he's just the minority now among bikers. I think I work with one. He's a smart Electrical Engineer in his day job. But his passion is building and restoring old vintage bikes, one made up from many. They have kick starters, carbs, solo saddles, and are Knuckles and Pans versus Evos and TCs. He's an individualist doing his own thing his own way. The bikes can barely go from Orlando to Daytona without something breaking or falling off, but he loves the challenge of bringing it back to life versus riding something that can go from here to Alaska and back.

 

That right there just about says it all.

 

..there are no good old days..this is as good as it gets..live, and let live..we'll all be gone soon enough..

 

It comes down to one thing. Money.
The outlaws were not spending any and HD had to tap into a market that had money to spend. That's where the new crowd came in.

Honestly, most of the motorcycle community doesn't want the rough 1% crowd around. People want to enjoy being out on their bike with no threat of gang activity.

 

The culture is still around. The whole "whos a biker-RUB-poser-trailer hauler" thing is an addendum to what already existed. It's made it a bigger piece of society I think. I've told the story before of having a "real biker" pass me on the road one evening without so much as a nod when I was kneeling next to my pan with a broken clutch cable-this was in the 70's before we had any of the above mentioned controversy. I think these days as then it's what you as an individual make of it. If you want to be in the real culture it's out there. If you want to just ride solo do that too. There are plenty of opprtunities now to find folks who think more or less like you to hang with and ride with.

 

I've been riding bikes for over 40 years and I've never had any interest in the biker culture. I just like to ride. Nothing more. Nothing less. When my wife and I are on the road touring, we always clean up at the end of each day's ride and put on our tourist clothes and don't go to the biker bars. We just don't feel like hanging out with the bad asses who trailer their bikes to the edge of town, put on their pirate gear and then come roaring into the bars for a night of faux hell raising.