Mature Motorcyclists: Violating Age Norms and Loving It

Abstract

Age norms tell us at what ages members of society consider it appropriate for us to become potty trained, enter and exit school, start and stop driving a car, get married, have children, retire from work, and even die. So, at what age, if any, should a person start riding a motorcycle? More importantly, at what age should a motorcyclist stop riding? The author conducted ethnographic interviews with approximately 90 motorcyclists over the age of fifty. Findings in this study indicate that just as society has established “social clocks” for other personal and social activities, informal norms operate to establish age boundaries for riding motorcycles. Today's Baby Boomers, in their quest to be “forever young,” however, seem to be stretching and breaking those boundaries, redefining previous limitations on a wide variety of activities, including motorcycling. Although the stigma once associated with motorcycling is waning rapidly, some people still view motorcyclists as deviant. Even those who see riding a motorcycle as a non-deviant mainstream activity, however, tend to view motorcycling as the domain of the young and view motorcyclists over the age of fifty as violating age norms.

Notes

¹In this context, “mature” refers only to chronological age and not to level of social and psychological development, judgment, or decision making, although since older motorcyclists are often more experienced in both riding and life, there should be some correlation.

²Age 50 was chosen as the cutoff for several reasons, including: at the time of this writing, the youngest of the baby boomers are turning 50; 50 is the age at which people are eligible to join AARP, the single largest organization representative of “senior citizens,” and in riding circles, it seems that motorcycle riders seem to somewhat naturally cluster into age groups of those who are 30 and younger (who mostly ride sport bikes), riders in their 40s and 50s who are most likely to ride cruisers, and those over the age of 50 who tend to ride large cruisers and touring bikes designed more for comfort and long rides than nimble handling and speed (although many of the touring bikes, especially those designated as “sport touring” bikes are both nimble and fast).

³After widespread media attention focused on a fight between two rival motorcycle gangs at the 1947 rally in Hollister, California, the president of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) allegedly declared that 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens and that only one percent were outlaws. From that time on, hard-core bikers, especially members of patched motorcycle clubs like the Hell's Angels, Mongols, Bandidos, Outlaws, Pagans, and others, began referring to themselves as “one-percenters.”

Additional information

Notes on contributors

William E. Thompson

WILLIAM E. THOMPSON received his bachelor's degree from Northeastern State University, a master's degree from Missouri State University, and a Ph.D. in sociology from Oklahoma State University. He is author of Society in Focus, an Introduction to Sociology in its 7th edition and Juvenile Delinquency: A Sociological approach in its 9th edition. He also has co-edited an anthology in Juvenile Delinquency. His other books include The Glass House, a nonfiction account of his mother's 2-year battle with cancer and Hogs, Blogs, Leathers and Lattes: The Sociology of Modern American Motorcycling.

Mica L. Thompson

MICA L. THOMPSON received her B.A. degree from Oklahoma State University and earned her M.S. degree in sociology from Texas A&M University–Commerce. Her research interests include qualitative methods, feminist theory, sociology of education, and modern American motorcycling.