Motorcycle clubs use personalized patches for leather jackets in order to identify their members. Some also wear it to identify members from the same territorial locations. They are mostly worn on cut-off vests. This practice commenced a very long time ago, but nowadays it is mostly used to identify the elites among motorcyclists. In fact, it is widely used now and recently it became commercialized.
These motorcycle vest patches are used to identify important members of clubs or rank. In most cases, they are made by sewing embroiled patches into clothing. Emblems can also be stenciled into the paint on a motorcycle.
Origin of biker patches
The use of biker patches started in the United States in the year 1929. In that year, the American Motorcyclist Association known as AMA was founded. This association registered the first biker clubs. Being in a biker club at the time didn’t really mean anything because most people join clubs for fun. Then, after some time, biker clubs started to become a really serious thing, and various clubs created identities, including emblems.
These emblems were made for their clothes. AMA complimented this move by organizing competitions to award the clubs with the best motorcycle vest patches. After the Second World War came to an end, lots of soldiers decided to work as motorcyclists. They were very much different from the old ones because they wore military clothing. In fact, they started organizing other competitions different from the ones organized by AMA. After a long period of time, the AMA decided to respond to this illegal move.
They affirmed that about 99% of American motorcyclists belong to them and decided not to recognize the remaining 1%. This 1% mainly made of soldiers decided to also recognize their own members too. They did this by dividing their back patch into 3.
They named the combination “colors” and opted to wear the colors by spreading them in waistcoats. The top patch is named “top rocker”, second central patch named “central rocker” and the bottom patch “bottom rocker”. The central patch is made to contain the logo of the club.
The real meaning behind biker patches
To people who don’t know much about biker patches, they may seem like ordinary personalized patches for leather jackets. Biker patches mean a lot and can actually say a fair bit about the person wearing one. It represents a ranking system or a club itself. It can either mean a biker is in a particular club, or someone who just likes to get involved. Different patches located on biker vests have different meanings.
The first, rockers consists of information about the territory of the club. The other rockers display the biker’s club name. Since different clubs design patches in different ways, it might be hard to decipher the information on a biker’s jacket.
Biker patches law and orders
A member of an outlaw club can be identified by checking if there’s a specific large club patch on his jacket. In other clubs, there are different rules on how the custom made biker patches are treated. There are also specific rules on when they should be worn.
