DISRUPTION AND CONFLUENCE
First published by John Rothe in 1948, a study called: Motorcyclists, Image and Reality, contained an aetiological section, looking into causality. It examined the causes for people becoming Bikers, and reflected societal changes. It describes biking as a mechanistic thrift, and as thrill-seeking (even while maintaining a level of safety); it also describes it as a wanderlust for people unable to adjust to normal society. It also reluctantly points out that there is: “A universalistic sense” to Biking.
The views of the public and of various riders were examined, from the extremes of ‘murdercyclist’ to a means for picking up girls. Among the riders, who were from British Columbia, an essence of Cowboy emerges. It is a perception of a Lone Ranger, who looked like an Outlaw but was actually a goodie. This was mainly associated with Harley riders, while those on other machines wished to be perceived differently. The main theme however was of being carefree, and some admitted to giving biking a bad name with their stunt-pulling, even though they alleged to be conscientious most of the time.
The creation of the self was happening in the company of others, who were creating a collective. The pursuit of thrills within this was not always as stupid as some riders admitted, but generally did nothing to improve Biker-public relations. Rothe notes the problem outlined by someone called Durkheim, in 1933, where people as individuals behave differently in a group context. He states that while most Bikers understand each other, motorcycling is a continuum reaching to extremes. At one end, there are unorganised groups, whether they indulge casual ride outs or loose gatherings. At the other, are the gangs and more formal associations. The broader section of biking society is made up of individuals. They all have their own ways of interpreting the biking lifestyle, which are expressed through choice of machine, clothes and riding style. Some of these rider types would have originated in the earliest fraternity. Through this they could understand the tongue-in-cheek outlawry, even be part of it. Even if the post W.W.I world seemed to lay off Bikers momentarily, there were other international activities that would affect them both directly and indirectly.
The arrival of World War Two made some people glad they had partied through the 20’s and 30’s. This altercation, like its predecessor, more or less held cultural progress suspended. It also restricted economic progress, even though it too gave rise to some technological advancement. It was also a hinge, that fluctuated in opposing directions within the biking world.
One positive aspect of W.W.II drew certain people together, in what became known as the Dunkirk Spirit. If anyone was in need, be they a stranger, friend, even an enemy, people would render assistance in acts of selflessness and togetherness. It was an exquisite humanitarian mood of oneness, that people wished to sustain - peace for peace’s sake. It reflected the camaraderie shared by the earliest Bikers - especially as biking had come under attack, and has been sustained through to the 21st century. This, above all other things, is the pure essence that Bikers wish to present to the world as the genuine item.
1 The Original Boozefighters - see Hollister
In society at large, the valour and honour represented by military insignia and international symbols had again become distorted by public and media views. The Rising Sun flag suddenly spoke of suicidal pilots and ingenious killing methods; the Swastika stood for the brutality of Nazism. In this atmosphere, the seeds of misunderstanding and unrest caused by industrialisation and modernity were now sprouting, because the war(s) had interrupted their germination. A break-down of post W.W.II society had been expected if Hitler’s nazism (we shouldn’t blame Germany) had won, however it might have been easier to understand. Nation upon nation had fought for freedom, yet some seemed ungrateful, because they didn’t conform to the norm. But freedom can mean different things to different people, and in a capitalist world, freedom costs money. Even in the countryside, subsistence farming wasn’t possible, as monocropping swept diversity aside. The people who’d crowded into towns and cities for work, now littered them in idleness. Whilst earlier governments had promoted industry and commerce, without that infrastructure to carry their ideas, subsequent ruling bodies had to make adjustments that would allow business to succeed. But financial improvements don’t necessitate healthier societies.
Pluralism was being ousted by schizophrenic values. Society was still in a struggle with itself to eradicate the problems that have been with it since the beginning; crime, prostitution and drugs. This pressure was bound to seek a point for release, and it emerged among those who saw the norm as something to leave behind, rather than rebel against. Peace is meant to be a time when such issues might be pursued freely, but mass society contained polarised views that inevitably led to contention.
Victorian principles with their double values and inhibitions were still predominant. The Christmas farce, and the leave school, get a job, get married cycle was the norm. It was the atmosphere that generated the baby boom of the 1950s. The creation of these norms, coupled with the destruction of extended families (through modernity and war) gave people something new to moan about. Vast unemployment meant that even those keen to follow the norm cycle were frustrated. Conscription was a law-enforced requirement in some countries for youths to enter military service for a minimum period. While the powers saw it as an insurance against invasion, the youths it affected often objected. It was yet another drudge to try and escape, and was seen by some as corruptive rather than character-building.
Mass society’s schizophrenia was reflected to some degree in the biking world. To be with humanitarianism yet against Victorianism was polarising Bikerdom. During the next few decades, it was the greater upsurgence of the generation gap that created further problems of polarity, as the new generations were themselves trying to avoid societies hang ups, if not create their own version of a purer society.
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Post W.W.II, motorcycle leisure-time was indulged by die-hards regardless of the weather and other vagaries. One adventure in 1953 was engaged by airman Peter Taylor and a friend, Tony Monkman. They headed out for Scotland on a 1930’s BSA, leaving Bradford with just a vague plan to go north. The rationed ‘pool’ petrol was only just being replaced by branded types, at around four shillings per gallon. There were coupons, but only for those who could prove they needed petrol. Hand pumps were still in use, and the further from the petrol refineries you went, the price rose, and availability decreased.
Although it was in May when they struck out, they soon hit trouble. Heavy rains washed out the Scottish roads, and deposited everything from railway ballast to large rocks in their path. At times they had to push and pull their machine over this debris and through mud. When they arrived at a place called Fort Augustus, the locals found it hard to believe they’d got through - it took several days afterwards for the roads to be cleared. There, in Augustus, and in many other out-of-town places, there was no stigmatised trauma. Motorcyclists were cared for in the expected way that any hard-hit traveller was welcomed. It shows a marked contrast between cities and other areas, in that only where people believed there were problems did they exist. The creation of mass societies brings social problems that can outweigh financial benefits.
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Economy and the need to travel to work produced more small machines, including Britain’s first scooter, the Swallow Gadabout. Soon afterwards, the Italian scooter manufacturers took advantage of the Suez crisis, which in 1956 again hit the availability of fuel. The Italian firm Innocenti made the Lambretta, while Piaggio had made the Vespa. Lambretta had fingers in other pies, making them a stable and influential force. Sales pitches for scooters varied from the sensible transport ideal to a fashion statement. They were sold as something that “Even a woman could handle”. Eventually, the mood of the 1960s caused the inclusion of sex (not just sexism) to be used.
Things Italian and stylish were making inroads everywhere. Whole families and young couples (in Europe but not the UK or US) were seen on scooters. With their small wheels that fell down every pot-hole, and other mechanistic flaws, scooters were a case of art before functionality. For the market they were intended, they were practical enough, but they could never satisfy the motorcycle enthusiast’s need. They were never supposed to, but the trendsetters were doing such a good job in dictating who liked what, that some bike manufacturers felt threatened - the commuter end of their market looked set to disappear.
By the 1950s, there were branches of scooter clubs in the UK that had backing from Douglas Motorcycles, who built the Vespa under franchise and the Agg concessionary that was importing Lambrettas. Some were formal, but others assumed their own names like the Vagabonds and the Mitcham Goons. They had patches and other regalia similar to bike clubs, and would go on runs to various places - the fabled Clacton among them. Competitive events (which some say dispelled the effete image of scooters) and trips abroad did much to further scooter popularity. They were often put through similar trials and tests that their motorcycle cousins underwent. Scooters also appeared in films, used by trendy but good-natured youths; like in Summer Holiday, starring Cliff Richard and featuring the Lambretta. This clean-cut ideal was meant to be exemplary for misguided youth, but was too much removed from street life to attract any youths but those misguided in other ways - by propaganda. It was the eventual dresser scooter fad, with excessive accessories, that found its way into the Mod set.
The use of the word scooter in America rises from the verb scoot, to make rapid progress. You might scoot along on a motorcycle, so it became a scooter. The idea of calling a bike a scooter was repulsive to some Europeans, especially the British. Many Brits actually liked Harley’s, but the resemblance of the over-dressed ones to the European scooter made them unacceptable, an American over-statement.
An unknown source said that scooters were: “Not ridden by the traditional motorcyclist, who might be identified by enveloping storm-coat, waders, goggles and cap, but by people who were (to judge by their light-weight clothing, often light coloured too, which would be anathema to any seasoned rider used to the grubbiness implicit in motorcycle ownership, and by their sometimes shaky riding) refugees from bus and tube travel.”
Complex language, making an assumption that biking was eternally grubby, but the point was clear; scooters weren’t popular with those who considered themselves biking enthusiasts. Those bus and tube refugees were also finding sanctuary in the cheap Mini (a tiny light car designed by Alec Issigonis in 1959), that was competing with the three-wheelers. The availability of cheaper cars allowed working class people to acquire symbols of status, as part of their aspiration to an improved post-war society. Some even thought that the bike’s usefulness was over. However, in a hard hit economy, bikes were not totally succeeded by other forms of transport. By now, the Czech Republic had begun making small two-strokes, and production numbers were eventually comparable with the entire UK output. Despite any quality (and some times for lack of it) there was some reticence about buying foreign machines among enthusiasts. So at least British firms building larger four-strokes had some chance of recovery.
The 1950s were dubbed The Second Golden Age of motorcycling, and riders enjoyed the refinements of telescopic forks, rear suspension, and automated tasks like ignition timing. Among other developments on the big bike scene, Rex and Cromie McCandless had developed a new frame for Norton in 1949, which became known as the Featherbed. The Dominator model that used this frame later became the basis for many specials. Harley Davidson, BMW, and a few Italian firms like MV Augusta seemed the only threat to British manufacturers. This mood of virtual complacency enshrouded the West. Disruption was swept under the mat as older generations looked to a new future. The world was however changed, and attempts to carry forward a happy confluence were met with new ideologies.