By Charlie Lecach
In the highly exclusive world of American motorcycling, manufacturers’ new models have often been influenced by street-level movements and bikers. Following on from baggers, bobbers and choppers, the latest trend is Club Style - and indeed, it’s held sway for several years now.
In the years just after the war, members of one-percenter MCs frequently launched fashions that were then taken up by all those keen to imitate them.
Everyone’s familiar with the pictures taken at Hollister on July 4th 1947 featuring bikes stripped down to the bare minimum, marking the birth of the bobbers. Then came the choppers with their long forks, diggers with stretched frames, cafe racers, trackers, and the more radical baggers. Almost every time, the brands adapted to demand, releasing their own, similar machines, albeit somewhat watered-down versions.
Indeed, it was difficult to make rides with forks one metre longer than standard (or with 32-inch front wheels) street legal all over the world. However, the Club Style trend has proved much less complicated in this respect. It emerged on the roads of America at around the same time as the TV series ‘Sons of Anarchy’. This type of bike had been around for some time by then, but the broadcasting (and global success) of ‘SOA’ really popularised the fashion. Now, the target audience is broader and sometimes younger, including some from the worlds of surfing and skateboarding, but the focus is still on those who enjoy a sportier ride. Every detail of Club Style has its significance and purpose.
The narrow handlebars and the lack of any protrusions on either side of the bike make it easier for riders to pass between cars in city traffic, something that makes perfect sense to anyone who’s ever experienced a traffic jam on a Los Angeles freeway in rush hour.
The high shocks are designed to offer comfort to more senior club members in their fifties or older whose vertebra have endured their fair share of abuse on harder rides in their youth. For similar reasons, aficionados enjoy more protection from the wind by having a windshield fitted. Younger enthusiasts seek out these models because they provide the best possible suspension, while the front fairings make the bike more aerodynamic. They may range from simple bubble front-ends to 1980s police-style full fairings via the aftermarket quarter fairing style. The handlebars frequently rise above the top of the fitting in question. This may be by means of risers that are literally sky high, as can be seen from the towering models now available in some catalogues.
Alternatively, T-bars of various shapes and sizes can be fitted directly. Mods tend to focus on performance, so these bikes rarely have stock engines. This means the powertrain is usually adapted; two-in-one exhaust systems almost invariably accompany the trend, too, both to gain a few horsepower and to save weight. In general, the baseline equipment is a large V-twin, already packed with testosterone ex-works.
Indian Motorcycle took its first timid steps in the Club Style look with its 1133cc Scout Rogue; more recently, it’s been a lot more assertive with the 1890cc Sport Chief! This time round the manufacturer hasn’t been shy about its main source of inspiration, for which this model is the perfect base. A few master builders had already had a go at this style based on brand new Chiefs, not least freestyle motocross star Carey Hart. Meanwhile Yaniv Evan from Powerplant Motorcycles in Los Angeles has just handed over his revised and improved Sport Chief to Hollywood actor Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead). Evan has paid tribute to several Club Style standards, the paint job being one of them. While some Club Stylers see black as being de rigueur (along with full face helmets), many others favour glitter, artwork, flames, candy finishes and other decorations running from the fairing to the rear mudguard. In the world of Club Style, performance and aesthetics go hand in hand.
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