Having worn a riding club vest with a bottom rocker, I’ve personally never had an issue, but if you act like an ass hat, I’m sure you will find trouble. I refer many new members in our riding club to read This article so they better understand the “Motorcycle Club” rules/mentality. One word - respect - respect others! I find too many riding club members try to act like they’re 1%’ers and that’s when trouble is sure to find them.

 

Your link is a very good start for any level of rider as it reinforces the basics.

 

Semper Fi.

I don’t wear the rockers, but have a large USMC logo in the middle of my jacket.

I understand the club history with the rockers, but you earned those patches. Many people who wear rockers didn’t.

Ride safe brother.

 

We are all Americans! Far be it from me or others to claim some portion as mine or some club's property. That being said I'm not going out of my way to claim something that is not mine to give away. Dean

 

Veteran patches get a pass for the most part, and your buddy is right about claiming territory.. however, they take this very seriously.. I have a couple dear friends in clubs and one that's a 1%er.. the end of the day I wouldn't do a 3pc patch of anything on my cut.. If it looks like your trying copy them in anyway, they'll take as that..
I wore a support tee for the club my buddy was in across state lines on a bike trip, he asked if I got permission from the dominate club in that state to wear it.. I said no, and he demanded I take it off.. that was just a t-shirt.
99 times out of 100 you'll be fine.. but if you wear a son's of anarchy three piece patch, expect to get your ass beat..

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

A "Veteran" lower patch does not claim territory in any way. You are good to go and have nothing to worry about.

 

When I started riding HD I bought a vest and started adding patches to commemorate places and rides. I was a HOG member and thought I was going somewhere and becoming somebody.😂

Im long past that stuff now. I’m not a joiner and do not wear that vest anymore. I do not see any value or purpose to belonging to a three piece patch boys club. It’s a no for me.

 

I agree. I don’t see any value in the lifestyle and have no desire to wear any cut. I just like to ride, and respect all those who do. If that’s your thing, that’s awesome. It’s just not for me. After all, I mostly ride to get away from people, not to join up with them. 😏

 

Here's my vest, just memories and who I am, no representation of any type of club. Other than natural born killers I fought beside.

 

Here's my vest, just memories and who I am, no representation of any type of club. Other than natural born killers I fought beside.
View attachment 674685
Now that’s a vest I could respect.

 

I really do not understand how anyone can be upset over another man's clothing...imagine being so hurt by the way other dudes dress. I just don't get it. I don't wear a vest, just not my style, but unless you are wearing the exact logo of an MC..why care?

We teenage girls now that get upset when they wear the same dress to a party..FFS.

 

Hey in England they beat each other up at a soccer game if you don't wear the right Red color for your shirt. Go figure.

 

@NorthernVandal - I personally see no issue with your vest, wear it with pride!

 

This video on youtube explains the patch thing pretty clearly. From my experience with local members, they appear more sensitive about 1% patches than anything. This guy seems to know what he is talking about.
fake patches / Do's and don'ts of motorcycle club - YouTube

 

As others have said, it's more about the dominant club in your area. Won't speak to who it is here, but you'd be fine riding like that. Walking into any of the local claimed bars you might get a quick ribbing about how many patches you got on your back ("Is that a 10-piece patch? You must be hard-core!" eyeroll), but that's about all. Most won't get their panties in a twist, just gotta show the respect. You're not claiming any territory with that bottom rocker, and it certainly is an 'earned' patch.

Keep the shiny side up!
Erik

 

I was at the airport yesterday, and a young woman was wearing a three-patch rocker vest. She was, to put it kindly… too damn big to fit on a motorcycle of any sort.

So I looked up the name on the jacket, that’s obviously never been outside for long, or ever on a motorcycle.

Turns out it’s from the Archie comics.[emoji1787]

 

Being in the CVMA, I run into this topic quite a bit...we even have "no-fly" areas at times, due to issues with the dominant club in that particular area. No-fly meaning that we are not supposed to wear our cuts, or soft colors, in that area until National has worked out the issue.

Most MCs, even the 1% clubs, give exactly zero fucks about what you run on your vest...unless you put a State bottom rocker on your back. At that point, it looks like you are "claiming territory", which is a no-go in the MC subculture. Even a legitimate MC that is brand new has to get permission from the dominant club to wear their patch. Now...can the dominant club do anything legally to the members or clubs that did not get permission? The answer is no. That being said, you have to keep in mind that 1% MCs don't always move in legal circles, and if you (or your club, if you are in one) do something to offend them, you could find yourself on the receiving end of a beating, getting run off the road, or worse. The other thing to keep in mind that there are a lot of smaller clubs that have a SoA mentality, and treat everyone else as such.

 

Being in the CVMA, I run into this topic quite a bit...we even have "no-fly" areas at times, due to issues with the dominant club in that particular area. No-fly meaning that we are not supposed to wear our cuts, or soft colors, in that area until National has worked out the issue.

Most MCs, even the 1% clubs, give exactly zero fucks about what you run on your vest...unless you put a State bottom rocker on your back. At that point, it looks like you are "claiming territory", which is a no-go in the MC subculture. Even a legitimate MC that is brand new has to get permission from the dominant club to wear their patch. Now...can the dominant club do anything legally to the members or clubs that did not get permission? The answer is no. That being said, you have to keep in mind that 1% MCs don't always move in legal circles, and if you (or your club, if you are in one) do something to offend them, you could find yourself on the receiving end of a beating, getting run off the road, or worse. The other thing to keep in mind that there are a lot of smaller clubs that have a SoA mentality, and treat everyone else as such.

I had to explain this to my buddy in charge of our IMRG group last night, he made a draft of a patch for the back, and it had what looks identical to a rocker that says our city and state. I was like you gotta take that off. No Bueno with the MCs.

 

Why would a “ dominant” clue have any right to tell another guy what to wear or where to ride? The whole thing seems ver juvenile and mean spirited to me. I do understand that wearing an identical patch would be very insulting and a spark for trouble.

 

Legally? They don't. However, it can (and sometimes does) come down to force-on-force when you brush up against the MC world.

Situation #1: Motorcyclist is out riding, and has his vest on with all the patches he bought at his first rally. On the back, he has a three-piece patch with an Indianhead in the middle, "Indian" on a top rocker, and "Texas" on the bottom rocker. He stops to get gas, or eat/drink, or stretch his legs, whatever, and a few members of the Bandidos (dominant club in Texas) happen to be there. They see his patch, and think that he is claiming Texas as territory. They go over, and after a couple minutes polite conversation, tell him to remove the vest, or cut the patch off the back. He refuses, as this is America and nobody can tell him what he can and cannot wear. They then tell him to remove it, or they will remove it for him. He again refuses, and they throw him a beating, remove his vest, and cut the patch off.

Situation #2: CVMA member runs his mouth to some club members at a rally, and the local club takes offense to it. They reach out and tell the Chapter President that the CVMA is not allowed to fly colors until that member apologizes to the club at their next meeting. Another CVMA member from out of state is riding through to attend the rally, or visit family, or whatever, and has no idea what is going on. The club sees the patch while they are out riding, force the rider to the side of the road, throw him a beating, and remove his cut because he is a member of the CVMA, and the club was disrespected by the CVMA, since when you are a member, wearing the colors, you represent the organization as a whole.

 

Or situation #3 - said target of hurt feelings is situationally aware and armed, and a mop is needed to clean up those who were offended. Throwing a beating isn't what people think these days, provided the target can rightfully defend himself.

Situation #3a: said target of hurt feelings is situationally aware and armed, but so are a few of the MC members, and a mop is needed to clean up the rider and a couple of those who were offended...or do you think that MC members don't carry? To add to that, the MC world runs on respect. If a lone rider were to somehow gun down a few MC members, the rest of the MC would most likely make the rest of his life interesting...

 

Situation #3a: said target of hurt feelings is situationally aware and armed, but so are a few of the MC members, and a mop is needed to clean up the rider and a couple of those who were offended...or do you think that MC members don't carry? To add to that, the MC world runs on respect. If a lone rider were to somehow gun down a few MC members, the rest of the MC would most likely make the rest of his life interesting...

I am sure, however any person threatens to "give me a beatdown" (not that I look for trouble in any capacity) I am not going to sit there and accept it. Say a prospect thinks it's good food to prove himself by assuming my veteran patch is disrespectful. Regardless of any situation, clubs aside, you aren't getting close enough to me to do harm, period. I will walk away, but if I cannot, I have no other option. Not that I would cross paths like that with anyone, hell I like and get along with everyone, but this respect is a two way street, no one is taking anything away from me, even if it's a misunderstanding. Hypothetically speaking, if it happened, sure, they would get me, but some of them are coming with me. I understand they have a culture and it is their brotherhood, that ethos does not supersede my life in any way.

 

I know it's TV but still love this scene. The "you guys watch some bullshit TV show and think a vest and two wheels makes you a club" is why I thought of it for this thread.

However the "sorry he was just picking up on the lack of cognative engery coming our way" makes me laugh everytime.

 

I follow a few simple rules:

1. don't put a patch on your vest that you can't defend or explain
2. don't use a bottom rocker indicating territory
3. steal no valor as it's a sure fire way to get your ass kicked
4. don't pretend to be something/someone you're not
5. don't act like a tough guy or an idiot
6. Give Respect Get Respect

I live in a location with a lot of well known biker bars and hang out in them often and never had any problems. I've seen idiots break the aforementioned rules.......they had problems.

BTW, if you're going to Bike Week in Daytona, the biker bars all generally ask the following:

1. no weapons
2. no colors
3. no attitudes

Ignore the douchebags and have a safe, resposible time.

One last thing. If your girl is prone to flashing her titties them nipples need to be covered otherwise it's off to jail she goes. The Daytona cops tend to be cool exept for public nudity and asshats riding like asshats. Now, what happens inside the bars is a whole other story.

One more last thing. If you have lighting effects on your bike.......if they are blue and/or red and they're flashing, you're asking for a ticket. Cops can also ticket for not wearing eye protection, which they don't often do, but acting like an ass simply invites attention and gives them an excuse.

 

I follow a few simple rules:

1. don't put a patch on your vest that you can't defend or explain
2. don't use a bottom rocker indicating territory
3. steal no valor as it's a sure fire way to get your ass kicked
4. don't pretend to be something/someone you're not
5. don't act like a tough guy or an idiot
6. Give Respect Get Respect

I live in a location with a lot of well known biker bars and hang out in them often and never had any problems. I've seen idiots break the aforementioned rules.......they had problems.

BTW, if you're going to Bike Week in Daytona, the biker bars all generally ask the following:

1. no weapons
2. no colors
3. no attitudes

Ignore the douchebags and have a safe, resposible time.

One last thing. If your girl is prone to flashing her titties them nipples need to be covered otherwise it's off to jail she goes. The Daytona cops tend to be cool exept for public nudity and asshats riding like asshats. Now, what happens inside the bars is a whole other story.

One more last thing. If you have lighting effects on your bike.......if they are blue and/or red and they're flashing, you're asking for a ticket. Cops can also ticket for not wearing eye protection, which they don't often do, but acting like an ass simply invites attention and gives them an excuse.

I’m amazed at how well Bike Week is handled on all sides in Daytona. I’m sure trouble could be found but I’ve had nothing but over the top respectful experiences from all walks of life there.

 

I've been an American Legion Rider now for almost 16 years. Never had a problem with MCs. Generally speaking respect goes both ways. In the bigger scheme of things being a biker is belonging to a brotherhood. If I were to break down out in the middle of nowhere I would gladly accept help from a MC member and would do likewise for him.

 

I used to be the VP of a local riding club; we wore a 3-piece patch on our cuts. At a bike rally, one of our members was confronted by The Bandidos, who took his cut and removed the bottom rocker. Following that, I had to work through some friends of mine with the Boozefighters, who had connections with them. I had to attend church with the support club in our area to recover our patch and follow their rules to get things worked out. We ended up removing all bottom rockers.
Some may think these rules are silly. But they take their rules seriously. Show respect. Mind your business. You should be fine.

 

I'm not an expert and don't really care, but I'll share an opinion as an average Joe and life-long rider.
From what I've read over the years, the 3-piece patch system started with "1% Clubs" that differentiated themselves with the 3-piece patch design from the regular AMA Clubs and patches of the late1940s, as the AMA was calling the "Outlaw Clubs" the "1%" of the riders that create trouble in the sport. LOL
If this is true, then the 3-piece design originates with the 1% clubs and other formally organized clubs, ie "Outlaw Clubs". It's theirs.
Why it is so important to emulate these club's cuts is lost on me. Want to wear a 3-piece cut? Join a club.
There's a million different cool designs out there I'm sure that one could use .....just like I'm sure to be flamed for my opinion. YMMV

 

It's a different lifestyle that many people fail to understand. I'm not saying it's right, it is what it is. Where most get in trouble is when they play the wannabe.

 

I do understand willingly looking like a wanna be and getting in trouble. Maybe I’ll just let this issue alone since I have already voiced my opinion about being negative about the three piece patched culture.

Good day all.

 

From my experience, wear what you want but DON’’T put a city or state as your bottom rocker. That’s what might get you in trouble. Listing a city or state as your bottom rocker is claiming a territory. As long as you’re not sporting a fake club patch or listing a city/state on your back patch, you should be fine. And please, for the love of God, don’t wear a “Sons of Anarchy” patch!

 

My last comment and I'm done, as I'm not looking for a debate and I really don't care what other folks wear.
What is the appeal, and draw, of wearing a 3-piece cut if you're not in a club? It's clearly a Club thing.
Please don't reply with "because I can and it's my right", as I don't see many male riders in Yellow Bras and Panties .......
I mean you have the right .....right ?
Wish a PH would chime in on this. Oh well, great fodder for healthy conversation.

 

My last comment and I'm done, as I'm not looking for a debate and I really don't care what other folks wear.
What is the appeal, and draw, of wearing a 3-piece cut if you're not in a club? It's clearly a Club thing.
Please don't reply with "because I can and it's my right", as I don't see many male riders in Yellow Bras and Panties .......
I mean you have the right .....right ?
Wish a PH would chime in on this. Oh well, great fodder for healthy conversation.

I belong to two riding club. Both of the clubs have bottom rocker. One is my Veteran UN-NATO Canada, because we have numerous chapters et the other one is the Indian Motorcycle Riding Group 1948 and our territory is the Province of Québec. Neither are involved with dealing drugs, guns and whatever else they are involved with. So it should be no problem.

 

iTs mY RiGhT!

 

One thing about women underwear is that they can wear a pair of panties for one day, put them in a plastic bag and put them for sale on the internet for $50. That would be about $40 profit / pair tax free. Did someone said at one time that women were sitting on a gold mine?

 

A 1%'r club makes no pretense regarding being outlaws willing to break the law so the fact that they can't legally stop someone and take their property is a moot. They literally don't care.

I personally do not ascribe to that lifestyle. However, I always compare it to how a Veteran feels about Ol' Glory. The Supreme Court has deemed burning and defacing the Flag is legal. Anyone who trys to stop someone from doing so would be a criminal. But I've seen Veterans do exactly that. Personally I've never ben in that situtation but I feel that I would as well. The reason Veterans feel that way is becuase of what they've done for the Flag. Some would say they hold the Flag as scared.

A lot of 1%'r are just as passionate about defending their patch and lifestyle as the most ardent Veteran.