The motorcycle brings together Hells Angels and Sliced Pigs. Mods versus Rockers. Montesistas and Bultaquistas. The history of rock and roll rebellion has always been closely linked to those monstrous contraptions that, on two wheels, can ruin even the most painted. EDI CLAVO, drummer of Gabinete Caligari, reveals himself in this report as a true fan of speed, motorcycles and wild customized bikes.
FROM THE BEACHES OF GUADALCANAL TO THE HOLLISTER INCIDENT, TOURING CALIFORNIA WITH LEE MARVIN, HIS STRIPED SHIRT AND THE SLAVES OF SATAN.
It all began at the end of World War II, when in California, a small handful of veterans, mainly marines, disembarked back home on the sunny West Coast of the United States of America.
- The ideal climate, from southern Oregon to the Mexican border.
- War surpluses (powerful American-made motorcycles, Harley and Indian), which were practically given away at auctions.
- And above all, the desire for action and excitement, were the breeding ground that led to the formation of a Motorcycle Club called "the fighting alcoholics", true spiritual fathers of the "Hell's Angels" of the early 60s.
Well, in a small town in the Diablo Range called Hollister (California), they starred in the first motorized riot in history, on July 4, 1947. All because more than 3000 motorcyclists gathered there. They made good money for the alcohol vendors and the Hollister service station, consuming thousands of bottles and hundreds of gallons of gasoline. The truth is that at midnight the seven police officers in the town could not contain all those guys who had been drinking since morning and who had the healthy intention of organizing their own race down the Main Street of the small Far West town.
Conclusions. The next morning the town was devastated. The small jail was packed and the city hospital had run out of plaster. The bait was served, and with the convenient dressing of the yellow press it was going to be devoured by millions of respectable taxpayers.
Based on these true events, what would be a key film in the subsequent development of various issues, even beyond the pure motorcycle sphere, was made: "The Wild One," produced by an unknown Stanley Kramer and starring a young man from Actor's Studio in New York City, named Marlon Brando. The premiere in 1954 would coincide with various youth movements of rebellion against the conservative post-war era. Many of these movements would assimilate many poses and attitudes from the film, its name: Rock and Roll.
Cinematically, it's an excellent Western where the nags have been replaced by powerful, chrome-laden motorcycles, and the role of the outlaw is masterfully played by Brando (Johnny), as the leader of the "Black Rebels," embodying the wild-tough-just man in contrast to the invaluable Lee Marvin (Chin), leader of the rival gang and expert in the "Upper Cut." The film was banned in England by censorship until 1968, when it premiered in London rated X. In Spain, it's occasionally shown in some film libraries and is a must-see for any lover of motorcycles, Brando, Marvin, and Rock and Roll in general.
Returning to 1955, we find that various Motorcycle Clubs were forming along the entire California coast and mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially in San Bernardino and Oakland, which was possibly where the term "Outlaw Bikers" was coined, under which renowned motorcycle clubs were born, such as:
Hell's Angels, led from Oakland by Sonny Barger. The "Outlaw Elite" as they called themselves. They established the basic rules as well as the division into Chapters, according to geographical origin. Gypsies, from Frisco, California's #2 outlaw club.
Satan's Slaves, #3 in the hierarchy. Specialists in motorcycle adornment and fond of dog meat. Question Marks from Hayward. Apostles; Satan's Daughters; Presidents; Road Rats; Masked Riders; Iron Riders; Galloping Ducks; Comancheros, from towns like Fresno, San Jose, or Santa Rosa. Gypsy Jokers, Cossacks, Galloping Geese. Misfits', Executioners, and Crusaders, all from the various Counties of Los Angeles.
There were also outlaw clubs in the east, though infinitely fewer, most notably the Renegades of Detroit.
All these Chapters were distinguished by their crusty sleeveless denim jackets, long hair with beards (in some cases dyed purple), trousers waterproofed with successive layers of grime and motorcycle grease, earrings in various lobes (nose, ears, and nipples) and various tattoos. And they differed from one chapter to another by their "Colors," inscriptions sewn on the back of the denim jacket, which explicitly stated the chapter and origin of each outlaw.
A general aversion was practiced towards leather jackets and their wearers, non-American motorcycles, especially Japanese ones, the use of regulation helmets, and black people in general, although there were also outlaw chapters made up only of black people, such as the Dragoons of San Francisco.
Their motorcycles were invariably Harley Davidson 74 models; called Pigs or Garbage Cans, on which they made a series of modifications such as lightening superfluous parts, fenders, seat, customizing or transforming the gasoline tank, some like the Coffin Thieves Chapter transformed it into a small, shiny black coffin. The only extras they carried were those required by law in the state of California: a red taillight, a rearview mirror, and a grab handle for Mama, or female passenger. There were some who met the mirror requirement with a small dentist's mirror, which was technically legal.
The resemblance of a Sliced Hog (customized Harley 74) to the factory original is limited to the frame only. All the perfect chrome, the chopperization of the fork and front wheel, replaced in some cases by a bicycle wheel, the seven layers of paint on the tank, the high handlebars and the Fishtail exhausts, could be turned into a shapeless mass of twisted iron if the outlaw "went over the top," which was, in slang, going off a curve at 110 km/h; and then the 3 or 4000 dollars of the pig customization would end up in the pockets of the nearest traumatologist.
All this happened in the peaceful mid-60s, in tranquil and sunny California, whose governor was a certain R. Reagan. The glorious times of the Rock and Roll explosion had passed. Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and Big Bopper were dead, Elvis was a caricature of himself, Jerry Lee and Chuck Berry had been in the shadows and the Beach Boys no longer surfed in Mendocino. An indigenous musical movement (West Coast Sound) was brewing, boosted by the appearance of the first hippies, successors of the beatniks, admirers of poets like Ginsberg, consumers of free LSD mythologized by Timothy Leary, staunch pacifists, opposed to segregation and the Vietnam War. With them, logically, the outlaw motorcyclists did not have many points in common, which led to various confrontations that made many Chapters, especially in Berkeley, unwelcome by any of the antagonistic segments of American society.
Another significant event, which was a wake-up call for the Frisco Hells Angels Chapter, happened during the free concert given by the Rolling Stones on December 6, 1969, in Altamont, as a farewell to their American tour that year. The Hells Angels were entrusted with security, and during the performance, a black boy died from stab wounds and blows, although it is true that the black man in question was trying to get on stage with a revolver in hand.
That same year, "Easy Rider," the quintessential 60s road movie, which has become a symbol and metaphor for more than a decade, premiered. Starring Henry Fonda's son, Peter, a.k.a. Captain America, and Dennis Hopper; also directed by the latter. Special mention for Jack Nicholson's brief and forceful appearance. The script, well-known, places the two protagonists on a journey from L.A. to the Mardi Gras carnival in New Orleans aboard two chopped Harleys; all paid for by the profits obtained from a coke business. Although neither Fonda nor Hopper wear the colors of the Outlaw Bikers, they do have some things in common, such as when they reject the hospitality of the hippie commune and then leave in search of what really interested them; fun, drugs, and action in the city of New Orleans, where after the carnival they are shot dead on the highway by two southern bumpkins from a van.
The soundtrack featured The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, Roger McGuinn (covering Dylan's "It's All Right Ma"), Electric Prunes, and above all Steppenwolf with their "Born to be Wild," automatically becoming an anthem for anyone who vibrated with two wheels and an engine.
During the 70s, outlaw motorcycle activity was confined to the state of California. None of their gatherings were reported in the press, forming part of a closed circle that was and is very difficult to access.
As for other types of American motorcyclists, almost all of them are grouped in the American Motorcycle Association (AMA), which organizes the championships there. The most famous races are those held annually at the beginning of March in Daytona, on an oval-shaped track. On the city's Main Street or on the huge nearby beach, everyone from the prim new Kawasaki owner to the degenerate descendants of the Outlaws Bikers gather, betraying their principles with gargantuan Honda Aspencades, which are the closest thing to a bathroom on two wheels with various masonry.
The American championship is called the Grand National and is mainly disputed on oval dirt tracks (Dirt Track), with a great tradition in the USA and from where great stars who later triumphed in Europe have emerged; Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer or Fred Merkel.
As far as outlaw activity is concerned, large annual gatherings are still held today where it is traditional to destroy and burn a Japanese motorcycle under slogans such as; "Two bombs were not enough." Another entertainment is "light to light" races, that is, between two traffic lights: and as a culmination, a magazine is published: "Outlaw Bikers," with international distribution, which aims to keep alive the embers of a legend forgotten by time.
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND GOD SAVE THE QUEEN; OR NORTON VERSUS VESPA.
In June 1955, the film "Rock Around the Clock" premiered at the Trocadero cinema in the London borough of Elephant and Castle. An incident-spark occurred, like the one in Hollister in the USA, which would set all the British sensationalist press ablaze simultaneously. Protagonists: The Teddy Boys. They were front-page news in newspapers like The Sun or the Evening Standard until the end of the 50s; when Rock and Roll, Rebellion, and Ted-Style had been aired and commercialized ad nauseam. Then, a series of motorized ramifications with new ideas and approaches of their own were born; Ton-Up Boys or Coffee-Bar Cowboys. "Motorized maniacs who will hit you with a motorcycle chain as soon as they see you," so defined the yellow press Evening Standard, in January 1961.
While the Teddy Boys traveled by subway, on foot or in old Austins, Anglias or tricycles, and directed their tailcoats towards dance halls and neighborhood cinemas, the Ton-Up Boys worshipped motorcycles, English, of course. Norton, Triumph, B.S.A., Vincent, A.J.S., Royal Enfield, etc. Not admitting other European or American brands into their club. (The Japanese at that time only knew how to manufacture mopeds).
Their meeting places were the Coffee-Bars. (No alcoholic beverages are served) in the surroundings of the large English cities, London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Blackpool, Yarmouth or Scarborough; or at the English circuits where Continental Circus (Motorcycling World Championship) events were held; Brands-Hatch, Snetterton, Crystal Palace, Silverstone and above all the legendary Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man, to admire the stars of the era; Geoff Duke, Les Graham, Bill Lomas or John Surtees.
“There are two types of young people in Great Britain today, those who are earning the admiration of the world for their brave and disciplined service in the mountains, jungles and deserts of Cyprus, Yemen or Borneo, and on the other hand there are the Mods and the Rockers, with their switchblades.” (Evening Standard, 18-06-64).
These and other press pronouncements, not only in England, but also in France and even Spain, escalated the Rockers-Mods conflict and served, as on other occasions (Hell's Angels, Teddy Boys), to commercialize and vulgarize what in principle was a desire for action and trouble.
On one hand, the Rockers represented the entire rebellious tradition of England from the late 50s, heirs of the Teddy Boys and the Ton-Up Boys, followers of the most traditional Rock and Roll of Elvis, Cochran (who died in Bristol in 1960), Vincent (who would eventually settle in G.B.) and local stars; Vince Taylor, Johnny Kid & Pirates, Billy Fury, etc…, in years, 1963-1964, of frank decadence for the style.
On the other hand, the Mods, newly arrived 16-17 year olds, who spent their days sitting in Wimpy Bars (a kind of Fast Food cafeteria). Their way of dressing was, compared to that of the Rockers, truly unsuitable for riding a motorcycle; with Op-Art shoes, berets, Ready, Steady, Go! T-shirts, and army parkas, although from another point of view, that mattered little when it came to riding their scooters (Vespas and Lambrettas of 150 c.c.), which they did with great skill, considering that a fall on the slippery British roads could ruin the entire setup of attached mirrors, auxiliary headlights, and satellite dishes.
As is evident in the film "Quadrophenia", many Mods and Rockers were school friends, from the same neighborhood and even kept their machines together in the same garage. The basic reasons for the confrontation were, above all, the need for fun and to make a statement in the stuffy, conservative England of 1964. Proof of this is that in less than two years, the pitched battles, pharmacy thefts and sexual promiscuity disappeared from the press as front-page fodder, and in 1966, the activities of other groups such as Greasers, Trogs or Thunderbirds, wilder than Mods and Rockers combined, or when in early 1967, a plague from across the Atlantic, which the press called Folk Devils, better known as Hippies, gained notoriety.
A DERBI ANTORCHA WITH THE CHICKEN ON THE SEAT
In Spain, everything has always been more meager and, for many years, kids have moved through cities alone or in gangs, walking or by subway, observing motorcycles as luxury items within reach of a few.
However, there have always been "burnouts" who have been able to gather enough money to get the machine of their dreams.
At the beginning of the 60s (I'm going to refer to Madrid, even knowing that Barcelona has been the cradle of motorcycling in Spain and has a longer tradition than the capital), those who had managed to get the 20,000 pesetas that a Montesa Brio or a Bultaco Tralla cost, would meet on the terraces of Moncloa, on Saturday afternoons or evenings, after having been dancing in the Virginia Gardens or the Club Consulado.
Afterwards, and under the effects of a Scheppes with Larios, the customary rivalries and challenges would take place, establishing two very defined antagonistic sides; Montesistas and Bultaquistas, depending on whether they admired one brand or the other. These struggles were almost always settled, either in the Paraninfo of the Ciudad Universitaria or on the Cuesta de las Perdices, where the distance between winner and loser was measured by the lampposts that one had pulled out from the other. Favorite places for Madrid motorcyclists of the time were the curves of the climb to the Dehesa de la Villa, the Retiro circuit (the Jarama did not exist), or the Casa de Campo without radar-controlled speed. The most hardcore preferred the Barajas highway, where at 120 km/h they could leave all the Seiscientos cars that came into range. These and other entertainments ended at the Casa de las Chuletas de San Fernando and later at the Motocine.
In 1969, in the midst of the Economic Boom, Development Plans and the invasion of tourists, one of the moments of greatest boom in national motorcycling occurred; legendary motorcycles such as the Bultaco Metralla MK-2 or the Montesa Impala appeared, Angel Nieto won his first World Championship with a Derbi 50 c.c., and the lamented Santiago Herrero achieved third place overall in 250 c.c. with the Ossa Monocasco.
In the early 70s, there were two fairly defined groups; on the one hand, the so-called "children of privilege," whose dads had bought them a Bultaco Lobito or an Ossa Mick Andrews for passing their sixth-grade exam, and on the other hand, the "horteras" with Derbis, as Ramoncín defined them, "who let off steam by making noise and showing off a lot by taking their dates (chickens) on the tail. Their biggest frustration is that at dawn they find that all that's left of the lamppost where they had tied their Derbi are the chains and the frame."
Currently, motorcycles are still, for the most part, luxury items, difficult for young people in general to acquire. Japanese machines dominate all markets, the powerful British industry only lives in the memory of some true motorcycle enthusiasts, and national factories can be counted on the fingers of one hand, with fingers left over.
Text: Edi Clavo (Ruta 66 magazine, July/August 1986)
