RIP - Sonny Barger

[KevWind]

Humm tough crowd ..

So RIP sentiment is apparently fairly selective, interesting.

I started riding a home made minibike at age 12 (1962) and have more less had a Motorcycle of one kind or another for most of the time since then.

When I was 21 I had some dealings with 1%-ers when I tended bar at biker tavern for about a year. While it was interesting to observe the dynamic,, I was never much of joiner so there was no appeal there for me..

As far as Barger all I will say is he was very much ( As Grace Slick phrased it ) "A creature of his time"

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Merak

Hunter S Thompson’s book was a good read. Lost any admiration for them after that.

There were some escapades included in Tom Wolfe's "Electric Kook-Aid Acid Test". Barger and the Hell's Angels were a solid part of the fabric of the time, and certainly showed up in various media of that time.

Tony

[KevWind]

opps double

[Mr. Jelly]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

Growing up in California in the 1960s, I remember seeing a lot of press about the Hell's Angels and Sonny Barger. They were always in some kind of trouble and lived by their own rules. Heaven help anyone who got in their way.

However, the weird thing was that it always seemed as if the "normal working stiffs" secretly admired them for living outside the confines of the societal rules they found themselves boxed into. In a sense, it seemed a paradox that "normal" folks both feared and admired people such as Sonny Barger.

I think of this every time I see today's bikers with designer leathers and middle-class moms looking like bad girls. Give me a break. I knew the old school bikers and they are nothing to celebrate.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

I think of this every time I see today's bikers with designer leathers and middle-class moms looking like bad girls. Give me a break. I knew the old school bikers and they are nothing to celebrate.

Ha !! Here is my bad girl in her "designer leathers" bought off the shelf , but to me she all-class no middle about it

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

I knew the old school bikers and they are nothing to celebrate.

Let's face it, many still aren't (but usually they ride much less overpriced crotchrockets ... and I'm not getting into any "don't you want to celebrate posers" debates as too many will think that applies to us Guzzisti too )