Motorcycle Future

Although the basic design of the motorcycle remains the same, motorcycle engineering continues to enjoy innovation and gradual evolution. Consider the two vehicles shown below. The B91 Wraith from Confederate Motor Company is a $50,000 motorcycle with a carbon-fiber frame and a molded carbon-fiber fuel container placed under the engine. The Dodge's Tomahawk is not even a motorcycle in the strictest definition. To handle the massive V10 Viper engine, Tomahawk designers had to add two more wheels. They also had to move the gas tank to the front fender to shield it from the engine's heat.

B91 Wraith
Photo courtesy Confederate Motor Company
The B91 Wraith

The Tomahawk is essentially a concept vehicle, but it demonstrates America's fascination with two-wheeled transportation and underscores why people ride motorcycles in the first place -- speed, power and the thrill of the ride.

Dodge Tomahawk
Photo courtesy David Zatz, Allpar.com
Dodge Tomahawk

Motorcycle accessories are becoming more high-tech as well. For example, BMW's K1200 LT Elite offers a built-in navigation system that dictates turn-by-turn directions through speakers in the helmet. The prototype Blue Eye Helmet features the world's first head-up display -- a 320- by 240-pixel color LCD positioned two inches from the eye.

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Motorcycle Gangs
Easy Rider
Photo courtesy HowStuffWorks Shopper
Although most motorcyclists are safe and law-abiding, the stereotype of the reckless drifter on two wheels has thrived in modern pop culture. Maybe this is why motorcyclists tend to band together. Motorcycle owners also tend to be extremely loyal, both to the lifestyle itself and to the brand of motorcycle they ride. Nowhere is this more evident than with motorcycle gangs.

Motorcycle gangs first became popular after World War II, when they emerged as a symbol of youthful rebellion. Some of the best-known gangs, such as the Cafe racers of the 1950s and the Mods and Rockers of the 1960s, formed in England. But the Hells Angels is the gang that most people think of when they think "biker gang." The Hells Angels began in California in 1948, but it wasn't until Hollywood glamorized the gang lifestyle in two seminal movies -- "The Wild Ones" in 1954 and "Easy Rider" in 1969 -- that mainstream America took notice. By the 1970s, nearly 900 outlaw biker gangs operated inside the United States.

Today, gangs are highly sophisticated and highly organized. Members of biker gangs often advertise their affiliation by wearing gang colors, gang tattoos or articles of clothing with gang insignia. They often ride Harley-Davidsons and may or may not be involved in illegal activities, such as drug trafficking, prostitution or money laundering. Hells Angels have more than 3,000 members, with 228 chapters in 25 countries.