The Allure of the Open Road: A Look at Motorcycle Clubs
Outlaw motorcycle clubs (MCs) originated in the United States after World War II, formed by returning soldiers seeking camaraderie and brotherhood. These clubs were a means for veterans to find purpose and community during a challenging period of limited job opportunities.
While the vast majority of MCs are law-abiding organizations, a small minority has been associated with criminal activities. This article provides an informative overview of various motorcycle clubs around the world, including their histories, prominent members, and alleged involvement in illegal operations, if any. However, it does not condone or glorify any unlawful behavior. The purpose is solely to educate readers about the cultural and societal factors that have shaped the evolution of these groups.
34. Los Diablos
Date Founded: 1961
Financial Info: Unconfirmed
Los Diablos is yet another biker gang that hails from SoCal and was founded in the ‘60s. The Diablos is a support club (also known as a “puppet club” by law enforcement) for Los Bandidos. Their colors are gold on red to show their affiliation with the Bandidos.
Los Diablos @vancouversun/Pinterest
You can find a tie-in to Los Diablos in the Grand Theft Auto video game series, as they are the primary antagonists in the second version (along with their leader, El Burro). Such is the case for many prominent biker gangs that find their groups put in the media.
35. The Road Rats
Date Founded: 1960s
Financial Info: Unconfirmed
Known as one of the oldest, toughest biker gangs in the United Kingdom, the Road Rats were established in London in the ‘60s. The Road Rats love their beef; the club is infamous for having fallen out with every single biker gang in the U.K.
The Road Rats r/worldwidemclife/Reddit
They’ve even had conflicts with biker gangs outside of the United Kingdom, their home turf. The Road Rats raised hell in the ‘80s and ‘90s, which makes sense, considering they were a street gang before they became a biker gang.
36. Osmanen Germania
Date Founded: 2015
Financial Info: N/A (Banned In 2018)
In 2018, the German interior banned Osmanen Germania, a club founded three years prior by a group of Turkish nationalists. The Turks teamed up with members of extremist groups, and that caught the attention of the German government.
Osmanen Germania @vice/Instagram
Osmanen Germania was a fast-growing group, with sixteen chapters and three hundred members. Though Osmanen Germania had a short run, they still made headlines and had a huge cultural impact in Germany.
37. Notorious MC
Date Founded: 2013
Financial Info: Unconfirmed
Not to be confused with a now-defunct group from Australia, the Notorious Motorcycle Club is based in Germany. The club’s emblem features the split head of a human-skull gangster. One side represents family life from the past.
Notorious MC /commons.wikimedia.org
The other represents loyalty ‘till the end. Notorious is an independent club, and it doesn’t really have strong ties to other MCs. Notorious has made headlines since 2013, namely because of its penchant for feuding with other, rival gangs.
38. The Sons of Silence
Date Founded: 1966
Financial Info: $0 to join, you have to be invited*
The Sons of Silence has been around since the ‘60s when it was founded in Colorado. It’s international now, with chapters throughout America and in Germany (the first one there was formed in Munich in 1998).
The Sons of Silence @toptenfamous/flickr
You can distinguish the Sons, as with other groups on this list, thanks to their 1%’er badge. It is estimated that there are anywhere from 250 to 500 Sons of Silence cruising around America, and the gang has its HQ in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a national tourist destination.
39. No Surrender
Date Founded: 2013
Financial Info: Unconfirmed
No Surrender MC is a 1%’er outlaw club that was founded in 2013. Klaas Otto, a former Satudarah (also on this list) member, founded this club, which now has over 1,600 members as of 2022.
No Surrender @nosurrendermc/twitter.com
No Surrender doesn’t get along with the Hells Angels, and, oddly, they also personally don’t get along with ISIS. In 2014, members of No Surrender headed to Iraq to fight ISIS, joining on the side of the Kurds to lend a hand.
40. Kinfolk MC
Date Founded: 2016
Financial Info: Unconfirmed
It was their longstanding Bandidos rivalry for which the Kinfolk were best known. Kinfolk was actually founded by former Bandidos members, who left the MC because they believed the club’s leadership acted like a “dictatorship.” As you can imagine, the Bandidos didn’t take too kindly to that.
Kinfolk MC @kinfoldMC/Pinterest
The Kinfolk was officially founded in 2016 after that split with the Bandidos. For being a young group, Kinfolk has grown quickly. It now has chapters not just in America, but also South America and Europe.
41. Lost Breed
Date Founded: 1976
Financial Info: N/A (Now Defunct)
The Lost Breed Motorcycle Club might now be defunct, but the town of Nelson, New Zealand, where LBMC was founded in 1976, won’t forget them anytime soon. Lost Breed was the only gang there, repelling any other gangs that tried to set up shop.
Lost Breed @motorscostume/imgur.com
Highway 61 and the Fourth Reich were violently kicked out, but the group was not able to overcome the Hells Angels. It was the Angels that shut them down in 2015, patching over their members to Nelson’s new HAMC chapter.
42. The Finks
Date Founded: 1969
Financial Info: $4 million* (Senior Member Martin Klein Senior Member Net Worth)
With a name that came from the Wizard of Id cartoon strip, the Finks might seem comical, though they are anything but. This outlaw motorcycle gang has chapters throughout Australia, and it is famous for its secrecy.
The Finks @dailymailuk/Instagram
The “bikie gang,” as it is called Down Under, has a public presence in Australia, and they often conduct motorcycle rides on long journeys, giving the public a chance to see them in action. The Finks are an enigma; they show only what they want the rest of us to see.
43. The Head Hunters
Date Founded: 1967
Financial Info: Unconfirmed
You can find the Head Hunters all around New Zealand’s North Island and East Auckland areas, as the HQ of this biker gang is located in Ellerslie. It was founded by a man named Wayne Doyle, who was a “Godfather-like” figure to the group (which was then called the Freaks).
The Head Hunters @arcpublishing/imgur.com
With a membership of 275 people as of 2016, the Head Hunters aren’t anyone to mess with. Their main rivals are the King Cobras, and they call the Hells Angels, Nomads, and Filthy Few their friends.
44. The Gate Keepers
Date Founded: 2013
Financial Info: Unconfirmed
The Gate Keepers is a motorcycle club that was founded in Nova Scotia relatively recently in 2013. It’s a puppet club for the Hells Angels, and the Gate Keepers aren’t afraid to show loyal support to the HAMC.
The Gate Keepers @cbc.ca/imgur.com
In recent times, the motorcycle club made headlines in 2021 for teaming up with the Hells Angels to protest inmate treatment at EMDC Prison. This protest gathered a thousand people together peacefully, a feat for biker gangs who usually don’t gather in such large numbers due to safety reasons.
45. Los Homietos
Date Founded: Unconfirmed
Financial Info: Unconfirmed
Los Homietos is a biker gang that has become more well-known in recent years, despite having a rather mysterious history. It is a rival to the Bandidos, and it has leadership and activity in Kansas City, Texas, and Oklahoma City.
Los Homietos r/motorcycleclublife/Reddit
The Homietos have activity and leadership throughout Kansas City, Oklahoma City, and the state of Texas. Though it seems unlikely that the Homietos will overcome the Bandidos, the world of biker gangs is always changing, so it is not impossible.
46. The Mongols MC
Date Founded: 1969
Financial Info: $500,000* (Senior Member Ruben Cavazos Net Worth)
A huge player on the biker scene in Southern California is the Mongols MC. Mongols hate the Hells Angels, from whom they snagged control over parts of SoCal in the ‘80s. The Mongols’ allies are the Outlaws, Bandidos, Sons of Silence, and Pagans, all of which are also against the Angels.
The Mongols MC @heraldsun/twitter.com
The Mongols are only slightly smaller than Hells Angels, at least in L.A. Mongols aren’t a shocking sight in Los Angeles, as, throughout the world, they have as many as 2,000 members, ready to ride.
47. The Blue Angels
Date Founded: 1960s
Financial Info: Unconfirmed
The Blue Angels is one of Europe’s oldest biker gangs, having been formed in Glasgow, Scotland in the early 1960s. The Blue Angels is one of the U.K.’s largest, most powerful clubs, and it also has chapters in Spain, Belgium, and England, too.
The Blue Angels @blueangelsMC/Instagram
The name “Blue” stands for “b*stards, lunatics, undesirables, and eccentrics,” according to MC lore. The Blue Angels are major rivals to the Hells Angels, viewing them as an “American presence” they don’t want in the United Kingdom.
48. Cannonball MC
Date Founded: 1991
Financial Info: Unconfirmed
Founded in 1991 in Helsinki, Cannonball MC is most active in Finland and Estonia, and it was a huge player in the Nordic Biker War of the nineties. According to those who are familiar with Cannonball MC, each chapter has a president, VP, treasurer, road captain, and sergeant. The positions come together to form the chapter’s officer corps.
Cannonball MC @CannonballMC/Pinterest
Other members are subordinate to the officer corps. That is what many people might not realize about biker gangs; they are actually quite organized and hierarchical, as they have to be, if they want to last in the 1%’er world.
49. The Breed
Date Founded: 1965
Financial Info: N/A (Now Defunct)
The Breed Motorcycle Club was around for over forty years until its disbandment. The Breed started in New Jersey, and it had around four-hundred members in the 1970s. The club called it quits in 2006, after over forty years.
The Breed r/Mafia/Reddit
The MC was famous for its rivalries with major gangs like Hells Angels, the Pagans, and the Warlocks. Now, the dominant group in New Jersey is the Pagans, a group that has taken over the East Coast.
50. The Black Uhlans
Date Founded: 1970s
Financial Info: $400 million* (Senior Member John Higgs Net Worth)
Founded by former Fourth Reich MC members, this highly secretive motorcycle gang is known as the Black Uhlans. Though still around today, the Black Uhlans are far less organized and dominant than they once were.
The Black Uhlans @bordermail/Pinterest
Occasionally, the Black Uhlans will have a poker run, games, and other events. Perhaps they are trying to promote a better image for themselves, as they do not have many members left in Australia (or anywhere else).