Motorcycle Club Explained as found to be Ideal but not an obligation....

Motorcycle club

Most clubs are either organized around a brand or make, or around a type of riding (e.g. Cruisers) and also Club defined names .Motorcycle clubs vary a great deal in their objectives and organizations. Mainstream motorcycle clubs or associations typically have elected Presidents and Captains, Treasures, annual dues, and a regular publication basically executives. They may also sponsor sports events ( DayJols), bike wash, Charity Runs and annual or more frequent motorcycle rallies where members can socialize.There are a great many "brand clubs", i.e. clubs dedicated to a particular marque, including those sponsored by various manufacturers, such as the Harley Owners Group. There are large national independent motorcycle clubs, such as R1 Yamaha Motorcycle Owners(Impi Mcc From kwa Zulu Natal) and we also recognize a Team of bikers derived from different clubs riding BMW S1000RR(Alien Nation). There also club defined names which is popular naming around South African Clubs, names Such as Sapa Yopa Mcc, Eagles Mcc, Ayidume Imishini Mcc, Sun Riders Mcc and many more , there are region or geographical described clubs like Vaal Commandos, Cosmic Riders . Those classified by types of bikes they ride such as Sopranos Mcc with cruisers.

The Levels of Club Affiliation

There are currently four basic levels of club affiliation for the most clubs. These are:

1. Friend of the Club:
   This level of club affiliation consists of people who have made some sort of formal or informal contact with the club, perhaps most commonly through a friendship or acquaintance with a full patch member, but who have not announced an intention of prospecting for future membership. Friends of the club may decide to join the club on rides or attend other club functions and may do this on a very frequent or infrequent basis. The key distinction is that they have not expressed any intent to join the club. A friend of the club may be a bike rider, though this is not necessary. Friends of the club wear no official club “colors” or patches and pay no dues. A friend of the club may eventually develop an interest in formalizing his/her relationship to the club by prospecting for the club at some point in the future. Friends of the club should realize that a particular Club respects all patch clubs and with the awareness comes a responsibility to not do anything while associated with a particular club that would bring embarrassment or negativity to this or a member of any other clubs


2. Hangaround:
   This level of club affiliation consists of people who have stated an intention of prospecting for the club but have not either formally announced their desire to prospect yet or have simply not been presented to the club for a vote on their prospect status yet. The “hangaround period” may vary vastly from person to person. It is also possible for one to go from being a hangaround to being a friend of the club or from being a hangaround to becoming a prospect. The former would usually occur when the person, after hanging around the club for a while, decided to no longer have the intent of joining but still wanted to join in on club rides or events. In most bike clubs if not all anyone who intends to prospect for the club must go through some hangaround period first. The hangaround period is a relatively informal time for someone who is interested in the club to spend some time with club members, go on some club rides, etc. It is also a time for the person to get a feel for how much they fit with the Club they desire to join, so to speak. It's also a time for the club to engage in the same evaluation 


3. Prospect:
   A prospect is someone who has stated a clear intention of being a full patch member of the club and has also been voted in by at least 75% of the full membership of their club/chapter of application or executives and has a full member sponsor in the club. The desired club’s bylaws state the prospect period will be 3 months to 1 year in duration. A prospect must be voted in by a majority of the full members in good standing to become a full patch member. Not all prospects will eventually become full patch members. Some will realize during their prospecting period that the club is not for them. For others, the club will realize that the prospect is not a good fit for the club. The prospect level of club affiliation is the first level that includes a clearly stated obligation to attend a certain number of rides, meetings and events of the club. While a prospect has no voting privileges, he/she is considered a “member” of the club in more defined ways than a friend of the club or a hangaround. A prospect is expected to follow the bylaws. A prospect must have his/her own bike. A club prospect wears desired club prospect colors on both the front and rear of the vest. A prospect pays no dues but does pay for prospect colors and is expected to contribute to the well-being and overall good of the club in any way the club officers, his/her club sponsor or any full patch member feels is appropriate. In the some desired clubs no prospect will be asked to perform any task that a full patch member would not also potentially be asked to perform…and, prospects will be asked to perform tasks. Prospects are expected to show a level of respect to all desired club full patch members and to the members and prospects of all patch clubs


4. .Full Patch Member:
   A full patch member of the Club is someone who has been voted into the club by club executive or by a majority of the full members in good standing of the chapter they are a member of. A full patch member has demonstrated being in alignment with the principles, philosophy and bylaws of the club. The full patch member has voting privileges and follows the club bylaws. A full patch member (and only a full patch member) is allowed to wear the full club “colours” or backpatch and other official Club gear and nametags bearing the official club colors. A full patch member is expected to respect his/her brother and sister club members and to show this same level of respect to any patch member of any other club.

NB: All clubs couldn't be mentioned in this article as is not an article about Clubs but to explain what Motorcycle Club is, all names mentioned here serves only as an example.
NB: Secondly not all clubs follow this club affiliation scenario and they go by their own defined affiliation. Personally I find it ideal, as to avoid ending up with motorcycle clubs that are always by-Cars.

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