WAGON: A stock motorcycle with
standard parts and fittings. Most clubs' bylaws
forbid members to wear their colors while riding
a garbage wagon.
GARBAGE
[Glossary)
GANG SLANG
From "Hell on Wheels: The Outlaw Motorcycle
Gangs," fry Columbus B. Hopper and Johnny ("Big
John") Moore, in the Journal of American Culture, Fall 1983. Hopper is a professor of sociology at
the University of Mississippi. Moore is former president of Satan's Dead, a motorcycle club on the Gulf
Coast of Mississippi. The authors estimate that there
are 250 outlaw gangs today, and that the number is
rising.
HOG: A Harley Davidson.
LEGAL: In conformity with club bylaws and cus-
toms.
MAMA: A woman who is willing to "pull a train,"
or have sex with all members of the gang. The
term is used only for women who regularly associate with a club.
ORIGINALS: Jeans that have not been washed in
three years. In some clubs, a member's originals
are "baptized" at his initiation when all members
urinate on them.
Le
outlaw motorcycle club subculture is
based on esoteric terms. In order to understand
outlaw bikers, one must know a few of the terms
they use. The following list is not complete, but
it does include the basic concepts.
ounAW: A term applied exclusively to motorcyclists wearing the colors of an outlaw club.
PARTICIPATE: To aid a member in a fight by gang-
COLORS: The club emblem and jacket.
ing up on his opponent.
CHOPPER: A customized motorcycle.
RIGHTEOUS: This term is similar to the term
ClTlZEN: A nonmember of an outlaw club.
legal
but it is more subtle. It refers to a broader range of
things of which bikers approve. If an individual
is described as righteous, you know he meets the
character standards of the outlaws.
CRASH: To pass out drunk; it also means to have
an accident. When one has an accident because
of going around a curve at excessive speeds, however, it is referred to as "going over the high
side."
RUN: An all-day or weekend trip the gang makes
as a group. It is an occasion for parties. A club
has a run about once or twice a month.
SHEEP: Clubs sometimes require that a new member bring a woman to his initiation. As part of
the ceremony, all members have sex with the
"sheep," as the woman is called. She might become a mama if she becomes a regular associate.
SHOW CLASS: An individual shows class when he
does something malicious or shocking to citizens. If one shows exceptional class, he might be
awarded a "Gross Badge."
SNUFF: To kill or be killed.
TURN OUT: To be initiated as a member. In the
case of a woman, to pull a train for the first time.
WINGS: Many outlaws wear a set of wings on
their jacket, indicating that they have performed oral sex on a woman in front of other
members of the club. The wings can be red, purple, brown, green, or gold, depending on what
the member has done. Green, for example, indicates that the woman had venereal disease; purple indicates that she was dead.
"I thought I might stay in tonight and read
my jacket."
From Punch, the English satirical weekly.
34
HARPER'S I AUGUST
8
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