Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs: The Best of the Worst

A group of motorcycle riders that ride and work together are generally referred to as a Motorcycle Club as opposed to a gang or any other term. Most motorcycle clubs are legal enterprises with nothing more than fun and charity in mind when they ride. However, there is an estimated 1 percent of motorcycle clubs, with people falling within this labeled "One Percenters", which have been deemed to be illegally run or "outlaw Clubs." This is a list of the most notorious Outlaw motorcycle clubs with information to help you know who you may be dealing with when you're leaning against a row motorcycles outside a bar.

Hells Angels:
Probably the most well known of the motorcycle clubs, the Hells Angels have been given a bad reputation for many years as drug dealers and having an all around attraction to violence. Whether or not they deserve the reputation is open to personal interpretation and opinion, taking into account all of the different branches of Hells Angels spread out through the world. Naturally some folks are going to be bad.

This club was founded in 1948 in San Bernadino, California. Rumors of the club having been started by ex-pilots from World War 2 are stressed on the Hells Angels official website as a misconception. The name for the club was inspired by flying war squadrons, however the founding members were not pilots themselves.

The main logo for the club is the copyrighted "deathshead", created by Frank Sadliek, it too was inspired by a couple of fighter pilot symbols, as well as the usage of the colors red and white.

Similar to military medals, the club uses patches on the jackets to display different information. One such patch bears the number 81, which many people have come to question. However, the explanation is as simple as looking at the alphabet, for the 8th letter is H and the 1st is A; standing for Hells Angels. The back of a Hells Angels vest is generally comprised of the basics: on the top is Hells Angels, in the middle is the "deathshead", and across the bottom is the location of that individuals charter.