A cruiser motorcycle is a motorcycle in the style of those made by American manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson, Indian, Excelsior and Henderson from the 1930s to the early 1960s.
A cruiser motorcycle is a motorcycle in the style of those made by American manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson, Indian, Excelsior and Henderson from the 1930s to the early 1960s.
An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or bikie club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture and loyalty to the biker group. The subculture emerged in the United States in the late 1940s and has since spread globally.
In the United States, such motorcycle clubs (MCs) are considered "outlaw" not necessarily because they engage in criminal activity but because they are not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and do not adhere to the AMA's rules. Instead, the clubs have bylaws reflecting the outlaw biker culture.
In the market, there is a wide variety of types of motorcycles, each with unique characteristics and features. Models vary according to the specific needs of each user, such as standard, cruiser, touring, sports, off-road, dual-purpose, scooters, etc. Often, some hybrid types like sport touring are considered as an additional category.
There is no universal system for classifying all types of motorcycles. However, some authors argue that there are generally six categories recognized by most motorcycle manufacturers and organizations, making clear distinctions between these six main types and other motorcycles. For example, scooters, mopeds, underbones, minibikes, pocket bikes, electric bikes such as surrons or talarias or even skark vargs, and three-wheeled motorcycles are often excluded from the main categories within these classifications, but other classification schemes may also include these types of motorcycles.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer and lifestyle brand headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with its historical rival, Indian Motorcycle Company. The company has survived numerous ownership arrangements, subsidiary arrangements, periods of poor economic health and product quality, and intense global competition to become an iconic brand widely known for its loyal following. There are owner clubs and events worldwide, as well as a company-sponsored, brand-focused museum.
Harley-Davidson is noted for a style of customization that gave rise to the chopper motorcycle style. The company traditionally marketed heavyweight, air-cooled cruiser motorcycles with engine displacements greater than 700 cc, but it has broadened its offerings to include more contemporary VRSC (2002) and middle-weight Street (2014) platforms.