The Bikeriders

by Danny Lyon (photographer)

First published in 1968, and now back in print for the first time in ten years, The Bikeriders explores firsthand the stories and personalities of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club. This journal-size volume features original black-and-white photographs and transcribed interviews by Lyon, made from 1963 to 1967, when he was a member of the Outlaws gang. Authentic, personal and uncompromising, Lyon's depiction of individuals on the outskirts of society offers a gritty yet humane perspective that subverts more commercialized treatments of Americana. Akin to the documentary style of 1960s-era New Journalism made famous by writers such as Hunter S. Thompson, Joan Didion and Tom Wolfe, Lyon's photography is saturation reporting at its finest. The Bikeriders is a touchstone publication of 1960s counterculture, crucially defining the vision of the outlaw biker as found in Easy Rider and countless other movies and photobooks.
Danny Lyon (born 1942) is one of the most influential documentary photographers of the last five decades. His many books include The Movement (1964), The Destruction of Lower Manhattan (1969), Conversations with the Dead (1971), Knave of Hearts (1999), Like a Thief's Dream (2007) and Deep Sea Diver (2011). Widely exhibited and collected, Lyon has been awarded Guggenheim Fellowships twice and National Endowment for the Arts grants ten times.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, History, Art, Reference, Short Stories, Adult

94 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1997

Reviews

[Ambrose Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I once had motorcycle fever, so in 1966 I and a half dozen others founded a motorcycle gang sometimes referred to as a club. Alliances were formed with clubs, sometimes referred to as gangs, of cycle groups in the area and those that often visited Indiana, for some reason. The Animals in Lafayette, a gang of old men who rode Harley-Davidson's from Indy, The Outlaws from Detroit, and Hells Angels, were some of our first friends. We had a place to party in Lafayette, an old four story warehouse, where we got together with our friends. We had a blues band (and a jug band). My motorcycle fever ended on September 19, 1967 when I rode my motorcycle into a tree after my headlamp went out. I had a long stay in the hospital to help figure things out. I never rode again. However I stayed active in the club gang. In those days in order to belong, you had to have a cycle. "Have" encompassed quite a bit of territory. The cycle could always be in a state of repair, the cycle didn't have to run and, the best one yet, it didn't even have to be in your possession. Mine was in a junk yard. I traveled to functions in a pickup truck. I will always have a great love for cycles and gawk at them whenever I do I stayed active through the 1970’s.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pictorial history of 1960s bikes culture. First hand writings.follow the link three in an extended afterward.

[Jeff Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photographs are superb. Five stars. A few quibbles: Wish the reproductions were larger, though this is the size of the original book. The images were more arresting when I saw them blown up at an exhibition. Wish so much of the book wasn't taken up with interviews of the bikers, forming a loose history of the scene. Some folks may find this fascinating, but I thought Lyon's eye was far more revealing than the subjects themselves.

[Zach Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second read of this for me, read on an original printing kept in the MIT libraries storage annex. It's specific, but for specific people (Lucero fans), it's a great book. I'm struck by how people who were adults in the 60s are not around as much anymore. Photos like this, from this decade, especially of people who probably were not destined to see 90, are starting to look like artifacts.

I'd recommend reading a few sections, lingering over a few photos, then repeat until finished. The rhythm of the text can take a minute to get ahold of. But once you do you are treated to these small stories of people living in a world that most of us will never encounter or engage with otherwise.

On a Lucero fan note, I'm noticing on this read through that Benny isn't even a central character in the text, but he's the most Lucero fan character, a born loser with a sort of charisma that makes him hard not to like. Dude was always getting into accidents, apparently.

"... as long as Harley-Davidsons are manufactured other bikeriders will appear, riding unknown and beautiful through Chicago, into the streets of Cicero."

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much a time capsule of a time and group of people. I picked it up because I was fascinated by the movie based on it. I could pick out bits and pieces of the photographs, dialogue that came directly from the book. There isn’t a lot (any, really) of context offered, so I did my own additional research on some of the people included in the book. Most of the stories make me feel like I’m reading about a different planet. It’s just so different from how I expected it to be. 🏍️

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, I just can’t figure it out. It can’t be love. It must just be stupidity.

The photographs were really evocative and it was interesting to see how the interviews informed the movie adaptation.

[Jacob Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hunters book tries to understand them. This one observes them with photos and letting them speak without the analysis. Both approaches are ok I guess. Don't remember Cal being that funny in the film.

[Michael Guillot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave me an even deeper appreciation for the movie adaptation. I'm always a sucker for a photography book, and these photos are fantastic - sad, nostalgic, cool, free. Hard to wrap my head around the fact these were taken around sixty years back. Feels otherworldly and timeless.

The text in the back is what got me though. I thought the movie came about from more or less just getting inspiration from the photos and then letting it rip, and kind of creating that semi-plotless film poem. Nope, these recorded interviews that make up the text section of the book were sometimes verbatim scenes that made it into the movie. So cool. Those characters were real people, those were real stories! How great is that.

Including all the "you dig it?"s and natural repetition in speech ("we were goin down there, we were goin down there and we were gonna nab em, ya see? So we goes down there...") made for some slightly tedious reading at some points, and made me really long to just hear the recordings (gives me chills just imagining it!) but I can also appreciate it for giving a really vivid feel for what it was like talking to those guys and Kathy.

Also cool that my ILL copy came from St. Martinville of all places. Cool book, even better that it is so fully realized in movie form.

[Mikey · Rating 5 out of 5]

LITERATURE in PUNK ROCK - Books #64
------------------------
SONG: Bikeriders (2005)
BAND: Lucero
https://youtu.be/NIQbPZXj51E
BOOK: The Bikeriders by Danny Lyon (1967)
-------------------------------
“Bikeriders” is the third track on Lucero’s 2005 album Nobody’s Darlings.
The song is directly inspired by photojournalist Danny Lyon’s book The Bikeriders, a collection of photographs and interviews with members of the Chicago Outlaws motorcycle club in the mid 60’s. The song is a look at the tumultuous relationship of two of its subjects, club member Benny Bauer and his wife Kathy, as well as a window into the life of the club itself.
Notably. This 2005 Lucero song (Bikeriders) based on select photos/interviews from Danny Lyon's 1967 book (The Bikeriders) is, likewise, the shared-basis of the opening narration for the 2023 Hollywood film (The Bikeriders).

[Will Lashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't see "The Bikeriders" until years after it was published, when I ran across it in a college library. Often compared to Robert Franks' "The Americans" or Larry Clark's "Tulsa" for its' grit and immersion in the subject, Danny Lyon’s book of photography was sort of a companion piece to Hunter Thompson's "Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga" - firsthand New Journalism reporting about life on "The Edge", seemingly casual but with a whiff of latent violence in every breath, ready to catch a spark and ignite. Thompson rode a BSA Lightning 650, Lyon rode a Triumph TR6 and the bikers rode Harley Davidsons, but what really separated the reporters from their subjects was violence and the fear of violence. The confidence they enjoyed from the outsiders who allowed them access to an insular tribe was provisional. The threat of violence was an existential fact for the initiated, and the reporters’ option to step away to safety put them at an arm's length. They would never have as much skin in the game, but their provisional status membership in that tribe was highly valued by them.

The chopper riding heroes of the Chicago Outlaws motorcycle club Danny Lyon photographed were all self-styled loners in the American vein, with names like Renegade, Cowboy, Crazy Charlie, Sparky, Rawhide and Gaucho. The Outlaws were formed in the 1930s in Illinois, so they are among the oldest of the 1% outlaw clubs, and the largest in the Midwest. They were one of the Big Four outlaw clubs, whose membership ballooned in the 1960s, the others being the West Coast based Hell's Angels, the Southwestern Bandidos, and the East Coast Pagans. Back before the 2015 Waco shoot-out, the transformation of many outlaw motorcycle clubs into crime syndicates during the 70s & 80s (speed kills!), and the Altamont Speedway rock festival murder, there was a lot of macho charisma attached to outlaw bikers. This book is responsible for a good share of popularising their high speed abandon and raucous camaraderie.

[Jerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Bikeriders is not a very good book, IMHO. The book consists of two parts. The first half is a collection of black & white photographs highlighting the outlaw motorcycle ethos in the 60's. The photos are actually quite interesting, and is what gives the book the two stars I gave it.

The second half is a collection of monologues, transcribed from taped interviews and conversations, given by the bikeriders themselves. Unfortunately, this section suffers from significant problems.

First, the text is hard to read due to the talking style and speech patterns of the interviewees. When transcribed word-for-word, the writing is atrocious.

Second, the stories, to be frank, are hard to follow. There is so much lingo and jumping around, that it is hard to understand what they are talking about.

Finally, several of the monologues are just boring. They discuss inane or simple stuff, and its really not that interesting. It was a slog getting through them all.

Definitely disappointed in the book. Hope the movie is better.

---------------
I noticed Amazon and Goodreads have a slightly different meanings to their 5-point scale. I thought it was odd to have a different rating for the same book on two different sites, so I came up with my own scale below. For the record, it is fairly close to Amazon's scale, but allows me to be consistent between the two sites.

5 - Fantastic. Life-altering. Maybe only 30 in a lifetime.
4 - Very good.
3 - Worth your time.
2 - Not very good.
1 - Atrocious.

[Phillip Cash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just recently saw the movie adaptation, and enjoyed it quite a bit. Almost directly upon exiting the theater, I placed a hold at the library for this book.

Much of the basis for the movie's story is can be found in the introductions (it also gives a cool explanation for the title), with some plot points and a lot of key characterization found in the interviews. The interview segments are hit and miss in terms of whether or not they're enjoyable to read—sometimes the interviewees speak like a rambling dude at the bar who is telling a story no one is really listening to, while everyone else wishes they'd shut up.

The photos are truly excellent. Beautiful compositions of precise snapshots in time, of a culture within a culture. I recognized some of these stills as they were faithfully recreated in the film. There's a notable amount of Confederate imagery sprinkled amongst these shots (this is in the Midwest, by the way...), which along with some of the more unsavory bits of the interviews, makes me think the characters may have been sanitized a bit for likability's sake in the movie.

Overall, highly recommend.

[Gabrii_i7 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy chulo cómo con fotos y anécdotas narradas por sus protagonistas reales en conversaciones grabadas se da el contexto necesario para explicar el male urge de acercarse a un sentimiento de inmensa libertad irremediablemente ligado a la muerte a través de un instrumento autoconstruido (moto) y hacer bonding con una comunidad estigmatizada sumida en su propia jerga (y sustancias que afectan al sistema nervioso). Also, cuenta con una descripción en detalle sobre cómo conseguir tragarte una oruga viva a pesar de que esta ponga empeño en escapar y hay un man llamado Cucaracha diciendo que actualmente prefiere comerse un bicho a un c-word. Bastante whitewashing que quitaran las referencias a violencia doméstica en la peli porque el prota era guaperas austin butler.

Términos aprendidos durante la lectura: You hip to it (viene a ser la coletilla you know pero con más sílabas), clink (cárcel), pinko (término despectivo para referirse a alguien que crees que es de izquierdas, ej. un universitario), carry heat (llevar un arma oculta) y mi fav by far candy ass (cobarde).

[Karlita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always had a crush on motorcycles, desperately wanted my own Harley, but motorcycle clubs always creeped me out. This is a great sneak peek into the life of some motorcycle club members in the 1960s. Danny Lyon's photographs are fantastic. They look raw and real, and accompanied by some of the interviews, they draw you into their world. Kathy in particular was the most fascinating storyteller. I do wish there were more photos and less interviews (but more Kathy). I've heard how amazing these photos are in galleries and I so hope to see them in person one day. They're proof that photos can tell a story all on their own.

I watched the Bikeriders movie as soon as I finished, with book in hand, open to the photos being represented in the film. It just made the movie that much more interesting. But it's like the film was the book's companion. I really enjoyed both but this book's photos take the prize for storytelling.

[Michelle Only Wants to Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting little book.

The photos are so good! I wish they were bigger. I wouldn't have minded paying a bit more for the book if that meant the photographs were larger. I loved the feeling and mood they evoked.

The text part is a series of brief snippets or interviews with a cast of characters and sharing some of their experiences that are not connected or give away much information about anything in particular. A few characters have more to their stories than others. I would have loved to have more information or background on some of them.

I decided to read this title in anticipation of the movie that will come out later in 2023. I can't wait to see what they make out of the brief script to go from the book.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. An interesting look into the counter-culture of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club in the 1950’s and 60’s. The pictures were taken by now famous photographer Danny Lyon, who was also a member of the club. The book’s text consists of transcripts of interviews with various club members and their women. The pictures are intriguing and together with the stories, the reader gets a clear view into the lifestyle of the motorcycle club at such a pivotal time in American history. I would have liked more photographs and more stories - yet the book is not incomplete as is.

[Kerry Pickens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danny Lyon is a photographer who interviewed and took portraits of bikers in the Midwest during the late 1960s. The book reminds me of a YouTube series called the Soft White Underbelly that is videotaped interviews of different street people. The Bikeriders book has been recently adapted to film by director Jeff Nichols and stars an ensemble cast that includes Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, Norman Reedus, and Mike Faist. I look forward to seeing the film inspired by these photographs.

[Julie Burchardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

After watching the movie, “The Bikeriders,” with Austin Butler, I was intrigued to read more about the motorcycle clubs in Chicago and Milwaukee. The movie was closely based on the interviews that Danny Lyon conducted for this book. It was fascinating to see photos of the clubs meeting in locations so closely nearby. I chuckled aloud when I learned that the Chicago Outlaws disbanded when half of their membership quit and joined the Chicago police force. I really liked this book and am happy to report that the movie only took on a few creative liberties from the truth.

[Rahul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following a biker gang in Chicago, photojournalist Danny Lyons documents the stories of individuals from the group, including family and friends associated.

At times a tough read, this photo book mostly contains still black and white photographs until the end where there are several pages of interviews showcasing the stories of people involved. In these interviews, some dark subject matter emerge which makes you look at the biker crew differently post-reading.

An overall incredible visual documentation incorporating the highs of adrenaline to the lows of tragedies.

[Terry Lakins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book works as a companion piece to the movie the Bike riders and is originally the basis for the film. Half of the book is old photographs, and the other half is transcribed interviews with the bikers. A lot of the transcriptions are spot on to the film, sometime almost word for word. There are some added details that are exclusive to the book, and they were probably omitted either for time or to make the film more accessible. An interesting read but the wealth is in the historical pictures.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some excellent black and white photos followed by transcribed interviews with some of the subjects reveal a bygone era of cycling.
Mostly taken in Chicago and around the Midwest, this glimpse into the nascent world of motorcycle racing and the outlaw biker gangs is a great little record of obscure history.
I wish the text and photos would have been combined together so that the picture of the person was with their story, and that there were more photos overall.
It's worth a look, whether you're a cycle enthusiast, or just like great photography.

[joaqui. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It's a big world, man. If you don't get shoulder to shoulder an' learn to roll with the waves you're gonna get either walked on or awful frustated. You want to see just what its like just step out into a nice big old fat ocean all by yourself in a little rowboat and see just how microscopic you are."


Very cool photographs. And I'm sooo excited to see Jodie and Tom as bikeriders 🫠🥵

adapted film:
the bikeriders (2023) dir. Jeff Nichols.

[Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the photographs and the transcribed interviews were mostly interesting. There's not much to it, which feels a bit unfortunate because I think some sort of narrative, or maybe just more general context, could have made this even better.

The book jacket says "This is how it really is. Who the bikeriders are. What they do." Much as I liked what was there, I don't think it really lives up to that. Seems like a lot was left unsaid.

Still, it was good and worth reading.

[Thirteen Orange Ivy Designs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fascinating to me as someone who knows nothing about motorcycle groups but also the photos surprised me the most. I always picture the 1950s/1960s in a particular way but these photos could have been taken yesterday. It was just cool to see and read real people's lives and accounts of things that they've been through. I really enjoyed this.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

as far as a book with narrative, structure, or any kind of story line, this isn’t it.

but the photographs are an amazing view into another world that no longer exists and the interviews (oral transcripts) are interesting (but lack any real development).

a must-have on your big bad biker boy bookshelf.

[Justin Malone]

The star of the show in the interview section isn’t any of the bike riders but Benny’s wife Kathy, who talks so much like my grandmother I was a little worried she WAS my grandmother under a different name. An interesting slice of life, excited to see what Jeff Nichols does with the movie coming out this summer.

[lorena ౨ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Everyone wants to be a part of something. You want to carry a flag or wear an emblem or do something [...] But they don't want responsibility. They just want to be a part of something." Statement of Rodney Pink, p.61

Came from the movie that I watched a few weeks ago, stayed for the beautiful photography and the conversations of the people in it.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading challenge category - 2023 Booklist Queen: becoming a movie in 2023

Sure the photos are cool and show the life of an MC. But; the stories are mediocre and even offensive - looking at you Kathy.

[Adam Schrader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you hip to it? This is one of the most compelling blends of photojournalism and oral history I’ve ever read. The photos are beautiful. The people are beautiful. Their stories are compelling to read. Really, a must-read for anyone interested in photo essays, documentary photography and the like.

[Sally Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was interesting. Set in the 1960. Very expensive to purchase. Interviews with bikers; true to the language used by them, interesting dialog. Not sure if I would recommend purchinf the book, maybe just borrow