Deleuzian Motorcycle: Towards a Theory of Motorcycles and the Other

Esperanza Miyake

A car driver once complained to me about how bikers are a nuisance on the road, casually saying that “all you bikers are the same anyway.” I think he meant to sting me, a supposed obnoxious comment designed to irritate. On the contrary, as a Japanese female biker, I found it liberating simply because I felt it to be true. When I am riding—particularly at certain speeds—my body loses feminine shape … Continue reading

If I had a (Victory) Hammer: Mining the Vein of Male Discontent

John Sumser

It is no longer necessary, I think, to make the argument that meaning is conventional or that objects in the world—guns, human bodies, or, of course, motorcycles—can be made to mean almost anything. It is also generally accepted that meaning is tied to symbolic communities so that there can be multiple meanings for any given thing and those meanings will be braided into networks of meaning within particular ways of life … Continue reading

From Bruff to Bruff: Ten Years of Continuity and Change in the Classic Bike Scene

James J. Ward

The community of classic motorcycle enthusiasts comprises many parts: longtime fans of a particular make or model, older riders returning to the sport with a revived interest in the bikes of their youth, younger riders tired of expensive look-alike machines that defy all attempts at DIY mechanics, organizers and participants in vintage racing, collectors’ shows, and swap meets, restoration specialists … Continue reading

101 Road Tales

Book Review by Jonathan Boorstein

Since 1988, Clement Salvadori has written “Road Tales”, a monthly column for Rider magazine. Salvadori’s credits as a motojournalist since his first sale in 1975 include more than a thousand articles covering everything from travel to test rides. As a motorcycle adventure traveler, he has crossed six continents and more than 70 countries, passing the one million mile mark a long time ago … Continue reading

Breaking the Code: A True Story by a Hells Angel President and the Cop Who Pursued Him

Book Review by Anthony Saia

Violating the outlaw code is seen as the biggest faux pas a biker can make in the “life.” Pat Matter, a former President of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in Minneapolis, Minn., did just this when he cooperated with law enforcement following the in-depth investigation by the Hennepin County Sherriff’s office and co-writer Chris Omodt. What comes from the experience and the story is Breaking the Code … Continue reading

Peer-Reviewed, Timely, Global and Free:
Online Scholarly Publication

Suzanne Ferriss and Steven Alford, Former Editors Revised: 15.05.15 The International Journal of Motorcycle Studies is now in its 11th year of successful publication. Yet, still—occasionally—we encounter a bit of resistance. We might have expected some scholars to question our focus on motorcycles as an area of academic investigation, which is why we included a page called “Why Motorcycles Studies?”… Continue reading