Fact or Fiction: Motorcycle Gangs

The Hells Angels might be the most well known of the outlaw motorcycle gangs, but the Outlaws Motorcycle Club is the true original. Founded in Chicago in 1936, the Outlaws is the oldest of today's OMGs. Its members were even the first to wear "colors" on their jackets.

The gang had already been around for more than 20 years when the movie came out, but they were so inspired by Marlon Brando in the 1957 movie "The Wild One" that they adapted the biker logo from the movie for their own.

Today, there are OMGs almost anywhere there are roads. Australia and Canada have had a huge explosion of outlaw motorcycle gangs in recent years, as have countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Often, the OMGs are fronts for international drug trafficking.

The Hells Angel was later acquitted for the murder, and the event itself is still somewhat mysterious. For example, no one is sure whether the Hells Angels were actually hired by The Stones to provide security, as they claim. But the public outcry over the event permanently changed the Angels' reputation for the worse.

It was the American Motorcyclist Association, not the FBI, that made the now infamous "1 percent" comment, in the wake of the Hollister, Calif., biker riot of 1947.

Especially in recent decades, biker gangs have opened up more and more ties with more traditional organized crime outfits like the mafia and street gangs. Just to name a few examples, The Pagan's have ties to the Aryan Brotherhood and the Italian mob, and the Mongols have ties to gangs based in South L.A.'s Hispanic community.

Motorcycle gangs are extremely territorial, and they use the unmistakable patches or colors sewn onto their leather jackets to make their claims as visible as possible.

Supposedly, the Bandidos based their club colors on the Fritos Corn Chips mascot, the Frito Bandito. Even that claim is shrouded in rumor, though.

Although chapters in different countries often don't have much contact with each other, the Hells Angels is the most widespread and well-organized OMG in the world. It still hasn't been able to make much headway with an Antarctica chapter, though.

The various outlaw motorcycle gangs actually fight each other regularly over control of turf, both in the U.S. and around the world. These turf wars can involve, not only brawls and shootings, but also arson and bombings.

The word "Mongols" written in an arch, in a sans serif font, was copyrighted by the gang in 2009. Unfortunately for the Mongols, the U.S. government successfully filed an injunction that year to have the copyright taken from them.

Outlaw motorcycle gangs, for the most part, maintain that they are fraternal organizations. According to them, their members might get into trouble, but their frequent criminal records are mostly a result of government persecution.

Gang members also have to seek permission from club leadership before having the tattoos put on. Usually, permission is granted in return for some service to the club, like incarceration, or an attack on a rival gang member.

The "big four" actually consists of the Hells Angels, the Outlaws, The Pagan's and the Bandidos.

According to law enforcement, OMGs use illicit drug trafficking to fund their operations, and to allow them to buy weapons to combat rival gangs. OMG activity is particularly heavy along the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico, where the gangs are involved in cross-border smuggling.

While multi-colored wings are a staple of motorcycle club jackets, the idea that they represent sex acts is actually a joke played on gullible journalists by the bikers themselves.

Barger actually founded the Hells Angels, and rode with the gang and served as its unofficial spokesman from its beginning until he was incarcerated in the 1980s and forbidden by the government to associate with them. He still remains one of its most vocal supporters.

The Mongols is by no means the largest of the OMGs; it isn't even one of the big four. But it has gained a reputation because of its extremely violent activity, including a decades-long turf war with its rival, the Hells Angels, in Southern California.

Just like the AMA said back in 1947, the majority of motorcycle clubs today are made up of enthusiasts looking to have fun. Only a small amount of bikers can really be considered outlaws, no matter how scary they may look.

A media uproar and a public outcry over motorcycle gangs erupted after Hollister, but the event itself was not as violent as the press made out. While the bikers did ride through the streets drinking at all hours and destroying property, they weren't particularly violent.