How do biker gangs make money

Afterward, official motorcyclist organizations — most notably the AMA — fought back against the portrayal of bikers as drunken ruffians.

Their actual statements, however, have been overshadowed by a most likely apocryphal story: that the AMA put out a press statement arguing that 99 percent of motorcyclists were "good, decent, law-abiding citizens," in Dulaney's words.

The AMA has said it has no record that such a statement ever went out. But the story gave rise to "one-percenter," a term referring to members of criminal motorcycle gangs like the Hells Angels and the Bandidos. If 99 percent of motorcyclists were law-abiding, the outlaw motorcycle gang members were the other guys, and proudly so.

Even right after the Hollister debacle, more rough-and-tumble groups like the Boozefighters Motorcycle Clubs were relishing the rebuke. First, a note on terminology: originally, "outlaw motorcycle clubs" was simply used to refer to clubs unrecognized by the AMA. Dulaney, for example, draws a distinction between mere "outlaw" clubs and the true "one-percenter" clubs. But these days, "one-percenter" and "outlaw" are often used as synonyms. Outlaw clubs tend to engage in the same kind of business enterprises as other criminal syndicates: drugs, weapons, prostitution, theft, etc.

But it's worth keeping in mind that while law enforcement thinks about outlaw clubs as criminal operations, members themselves see them first and foremost as fraternal societies. They do toy runs and host motorcycle races and things like that, and that's very much part of their lives and something they're proud of," Quinn says. They're not. There are elements of that sort of organization, they have elements of a gang in terms of loyalty and emotionality, and they have elements of corporate organization.

In his paper, Quinn explained that outlaw clubs began transforming into organized crime operations in the late s and early '70s due to mutual distrust more than anything else. Bike gangs, he writes, "generally define territory in terms of entire cities, metropolitan areas, or states.

One paper that tried to measure criminal activity among motorcycle gangs using news reports found the most common type of crime mentioned were "ongoing instrumental acts" — that is, crimes related to the ongoing criminal business operations of the clubs, like drug dealing or trafficking, weapons trafficking, money laundering, etc.

Next most common were "planned aggressive acts," most notably including violent attacks on rival clubs and other enemies. After that, there are "spontaneous expressive acts" such as bar fights and brawls, and the least common type was "short-term instrumental acts," wherein a theft or other scheme is committed by an individual member rather than as part of a club-wide operation.

Barker and Human conclude that the Big Four clubs more on them below "often operate as gangs oriented toward criminal profit rather than motorcycle clubs. In addition, the Mongols — a Latino gang centered in Los Angeles — have attained prominence in recent years. Barker has also written of a "Big Five" containing the traditional Big Four as well as the Sons of Silence, a smaller group strong in the Midwest.

In addition to these six groups, the Justice Department also names the Black Pistons club a "support club" for the Outlaws, from which the latter recruits members and the Vagos on the West Coast.

Quinn says the Hells Angels and Bandidos are, at the moment, the dominant clubs worldwide, while "the Mongols are a huge force in the United States, and they're starting to go international.

What are the larger implications and what do motorcycle gangs want exactly? According to Edward Winterhalder, a former member of the Bandidos' Oklahoma chapter and bike gang expert, the occasion that brought the Bandidos, the Cossacks, and the other bike gangs together was a Confederacy of Clubs meeting , which gathers members to talk business, suss out new groups, and socialize. Winterhalder told Vice that these CoC meetings are usually peaceful, but there was already tension ahead of Sunday's meeting that led to the eruption of violence.

Kansas police officer Steve Cook, who's worked undercover with bike gangs, told The Washington Post that, judging by the weapons the members had on hand, it might seem that the bikers showed up to the Twin Peaks looking for a fight. Because the Cossacks were wearing a Texas bottom rocker the bottom patch and the Bandidos, the biggest club in Texas, deem themselves to be the only MC allowed to do that.

That might seem silly to an outsider, but for motorcycle club members, their patches carry serious significance and shed some light on what it is that bike gangs want. While Jax Teller, the protagonist on Sons of Anarchy , just wanted to give his family a secure life and get out of the outlaw lifestyle once and for all, it's not always that wholesome in real life.

Here's what real-life motorcycle gangs often really want. Just like with any gang, territory is crucial. The colors mean so much and are so important to a gang member, they will go to extreme measures to protect it.

The second most important step in building a strong business is hiring the best staff. Hiring your staff should be a thorough process, too.

Being a gang member or an employee of a company comes with responsibility -- and there is no room for weak links. People often ask me what makes a business successful. What I have found is that success is directly related to attitude. If a business owner has either a good or bad attitude toward anything in his or her life, it will show up their business.

However, attitude in an outlaw motorcycle gang is entirely different. A gang member has an image to up hold every time he rides his bike. To be taken seriously, he has to give up haircuts and laundry detergent. When he pulls up on that Harley, preceded by the loud thump, thump, thump of the V-twin engine, people anticipate a nefarious attitude.

A biker has to replace his smile with a sneer. A motorcycle club is always recruiting new members to grow the club. To get really big and have market dominance, gangs merge and sometimes acquire other gangs. Sometimes the takeovers go smoothly and all parties agree, but sometimes, there is a hostile takeover. Of course in a corporation, people are laid off -- not laid out! A great business plan or strategy is important in growing any business.

These could be a run, some local bands or a play day. A run is where they get together and ride out to another destination an often have a party there.

When local bands play at the clubs they would typically collect the entrance fee money for themselves, and the club would make some extra money from the bar but not always in this manner though.

A play day is a much like a rally as they set out some activities for bikers to test or show off their skills on a motorcycle. They are also great if you have kids because they often have some activities for them as well. A motorcycle club can own any business, from a construction business to a fuelling station.

It just depends on what the club decides makes sense for them and how far they are willing to take it. There are a lot of legitimate ways to make money, and motorcycle clubs, in general, try to make a substantial income just like everyone else. You came here because you wanted to know if motorcycle clubs really make money off selling illegal weapons and drugs. My answer?