Page 10 - LHR Biker September 2025

An in-depth cultural feature for Symbols and structure: what
LHR Biker Magazine
There’s a particular geometry to a
motorcycle club: the way jackets
hang over shoulders, the slow
choreography of taps on a patch,
the ritual of ignition and roll-out as
fifteen bikes snake through a
township or along a coastal road.
I n S o u t h A f r i c a , w h e r e
landscapes and histories are
equally complex, motorcycle
clubs are more than riding groups
— they are social worlds with
their own rhythms, loyalties,
obligations and contradictions.
This feature looks beyond the
engine roar to explore what
“brotherhood” actually means on
the blacktop: its rules, its rituals,
who it includes (and excludes),
and how it’s shifting in a changing
country.
Roots and routes: how clubs
grew here:
Motorcycling culture in South
Africa traces multiple lineages:
returning servicemen who rode in
the mid-20th century, urban
motorbike enthusiasts who
organized for sport and social
life, and the adoption — and local
adaptation — of international
club models. Some clubs began
as social clubs around a love of
tinkering and the open road.
O t h e r s c o a l e s c e d f r o m
marginalized communities
seeking solidarity. In cities and
small towns alike, clubs offered
an identity and network — a
visible banner in places that
c o u l d o t h e r w i s e f e e l
fragmented.For many members,
the club was, and still is, a
surrogate family. “If home’s
complicated, you ride with your
brothers,” riders often explain.
That shorthand — family, loyalty,
protection — is the emotional
force behind much club life.
LHR Biker Magazine
mechanical skills and a shared
the patches mean obsession with machines.
A motorcycle club’s visual Outlaw/Traditional MCs —
l a n g u a g e i s p r e c i s e a n d maintaining strict hierarchies,
deliberate. The back patch — top territorial lines and a fierce
rocker, centre logo, bottom internal loyalty. These clubs prize
rocker — communicates origin, secrecy and discipline, and their
name and territory. Colours are code can be exclusionary.
not mere fashion; they’re In reality, many clubs sit
statements of belonging. somewhere between these
Handshakes, ritual toasts at the categories. A club that organises
c l u b h o u s e , a n d a s t r i c t charity runs on Saturdays may
progression from prospect to still prize strict internal rituals and
patched member regulate status a tough public image — and that
and trust. The initiation process blending is part of the texture of
— often involving service, loyalty
tests and long rides — binds
individuals through shared
h a r d s h i p a n d s u s t a i n e d
commitment.
This structure creates security
and predictability. Within it,
members know where they
stand, who they can rely on, and
what is expected when trouble or
opportunity knocks. But this
same structure can produce
rigidity — resistant to newcomers
who don’t fit the established mold
— and sometimes conflict with
l a w a n d c o m m u n i t y
expectations.
Brotherhood, brotherhoods:
different models under the
same name SA motorcycling culture.
“Brotherhood” doesn’t look the
same across every club. There The gender question: shifting
are at least three broad models
that tend to appear: from brotherhood to kinship.
The word “brotherhood” carries
Social/Community Clubs — m a s c u l i n e w e i g h t , a n d
historically motorcycling spaces
centred on riding, social events have been male-dominated.
and community service. These
clubs host charity rides, run soup Women were often relegated to
auxiliary roles or referred to as
kitchens or support local schools.
Their code emphasises inclusion “old ladies” — a term that
signified partnership but not
and civic presence. equal membership. That is
Sport/Enthusiast Clubs —
focused on racing, restoration changing. Across South Africa,
women riders are founding clubs,
a n d t e c h n i c a l m a s t e r y.
Brotherhood here is expressed taking leadership roles, and
reshaping what solidarity on two
t h r o u g h m e n t o r s h i p i n
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October 2025