Why is it that authorities see tattoos, motorcycle and a 3 peice patch and automatically assume we are criminals? I was pulled over twice today for "noise violations in a residential neighborhood." When my Soft-tail Springer is completely stock and therefore legal. HMMM......  Well i guess somethings will never change and profiling is one of these things.... Not a 1%er, but they are not excluded from this. 

Well you will just get used to it, it happens all over the world.

Its funny how some groups will scream holey crap about profiling and it seem to happen to us all the time. Every time I get pulled over I ask just why he even ran my tags and have been told "I run every one on a bike" If I was black and told "I run every black person" there would law suits flying.

I think a lot of it is the fact that there are just looking to make money for the state. We have a cop around here that only pulls over Harley's. Same write up. illegal exhaust, Non DOT helmet. On Thunder Thursday's and weekends they were told to pull over all bikes after 10 PM. Complaints were rampid and the harassment is at a minimum.

agree it sucks but...it's nothing like it was in the 70's and 80"s. Maybe our grand kids will not be bothered.

I don't mean this as sarcasim at all, seriouslly, but if you dress like a duck and it's duck season... I know that "ideally" it's not right, but welcome to the world I guess. There are several non-1% 3 peice clubs out there, but we can't expect jonny-law to always know the difference. best thing you can do is be polite and proffessional and represent you're club well when they stop you. Maybe the boys in blue will figure it out. If you scowl and act indignant, it just confirms their suspicion. just my two cents.

On another note, I commend your tenacity to be in a non-1% 3 peice club. It's no mans land. The world lumps you in with all the 1%ers, and the 1%ers just want to take your patch cuz you're not with them. But you're doing your thing anyway. Right on!

All i can add is to be polite and keep your registration and insurance card handy so that your on your way in a short amount of time. Remeber their just fishing and if you swallow the bait they always win, IE their the ones with the guns!

I guess I feel priveledged. I have only been pulled over once, and the cop did it because a bunji had come loose and was sparkin on the road.He was afraid for my safety. In Florida you have to have a special liscence to ride a bike. I have a friend that has been riding since 08 without one.The $200 school was more than he wanted to pay.

Talked to a LEO one day on the subject of what he looks for on a biker to justify pulling you over. First on his list was a loud exhaust, second on his list was the bike itself, he said that Harley Ultra Classic and Honda GW were hardly ever pull over for the fact that in his eyes if you had that much invested in your ride the chances of you doing anything to illegal were not enough to warrant a pull over, third was the clothes, jacket and patches, in his eyes the three piece patch was like a warning light that you were up to no good. This he said had been passed down from several fellow LEO who all thought the same way. If is a shame that the MC have been targeted like this, but like it has been said in other threads, if you dress the part then be prepared for the what happens next. I now have ditched almost all my black leather for brown, and I even have noticed a difference in the way people treat you with just a color change. I am sorry it is just the stereotype they we who ride have to deal with, as if we didn’t have enough to worry about.
turtleman

We can thank those wonderfull folks in Hollywood for all the attention.They used bikers as the bad guys in too many movies to count,so I really think its a mindset goin back to the 60's..as usual its a few bad eggs that give the rest of us a black eye !!! umm ..now where did I put those brass knuckles?!? ; )

Five outlaws wounded at Sturgis (Custer State Park).
One Outlaw shot. Two Sons of Silence members stabbed.
Red River run...Mongol stabbed to death. Two HA shot to death.
Certainly these aren't the result of a 60's mindset. It is what it is and it ain't a fantasy.

Peace

Hi Jimmyacorn

I agree with you in that respect,yet I am refering to the general mindset of the public as it involves any biker.After being treated like dirt by my fellow citizens in public establishments all cause I rode up on a motorcycle,not wearing any sort of patches or looking like a tough guy,I pondered why all the resentment?? Searching back thru my mind I recall a lot of stereotyping done in HWood with respects to all sorts of different groups of people,as hardened criminals.For example being Italian doesnt mean your in the mafia or know someone that is,or cause you ride a motorcycle n belong to a club means your a drug dealer & killer,its part of the media picture painted in folks minds.Its not fantasy to percieve how the media has enflamed the topic with irational fears about people who ride motorcycles,99% of us are very law abiding citizens if we were half as bad as pictured we would be in congress & the white house ;)

Stay Safe n Enjoy the Ride !

Actually I miss "The Good Old Days" when riders were the bad guys & business people the good guys.
Try to watch popular entertainment & know that when a 50 something guy in a good suit enters the room he is the bad guy & there is no point in watching futher, tho one in awhile the liven it up by making a leggy 30 somehing female weaing a business suit & real hi heels the bad guy. - Why I mostly watch the History Channel

if we were half as bad as pictured we would be in congress & the white house  - Hope you don't mind if I borrow that