In a wood-paneled clubhouse in the Mission, dozens of bikers gathered to rage for the San Francisco Motorcycle Club’s 120th birthday.
Club member Robert Gonzalez served beer after beer from behind the “fountain” in the back at the Friday night celebration while couples danced to live music, members checked out each other’s bikes, and grizzled graybeards reminisced about the old days.
The room swelled with club members, their children, grandchildren, and friends from sister clubs like the Pasadena Motorcycle Club and the San Jose Dons, who were in town for a weekend of festivities. All these groups are old, but SFMC is the the second-oldest American Motorcycle Association club in existence, younger only than the Yonkers Motorcycle Club, which started in 1903.
The weekend included the kickoff party followed by a ride through wine country and up to Middletown Saturday and Sunday.
But Thursday — meeting day — was strictly business. President Barry Hobbes, 48, called the room to attention.
“This will be a short meeting,” he began.
“Motion to adjourn!,” a member from the back shouted to laughs.
Bikers in flannels, denim vests, and leather jackets emblazoned with club colors filtered into the main hall from the fountain. (“We don’t call it a bar because you’re not paying for drinks,” Hobbes explained. “We’re paying for your drinks. You’re making a donation.”)
The clubhouse was decorated with American Motorcycle Association pendants dated from 1938 to 1956, framed photos of members racing, and a pool table with a black leather cover.
Skyler Forge, a prospect for the club who lives in San Francisco’s Ingleside neighborhood, circled the room selling raffle tickets. Forge is halfway through the three-month prospectorship required to join the club, which means he spent six weeks so far changing the oil in members’ bikes, picking up food, and learning how to take care of the clubhouse.
“The club is about service,” Forge said outside the building on Folsom and 18th.
As he spoke, an ailing minivan clunked and rasped past the entrance. “People think bikes are loud — listen to that thing,” he said
Hobbes, who took over as president earlier this year after 11 years as a member, said he aimed to change the classic model of prospectorship, which tends to be more like hazing. He said SFMC is an accepting club — its members ride all kinds of bikes — and he strives to preserve the culture of equality and mutual respect. His jacket sports a patch that says “JAM” — “just a member.”
Kalle Hoffman, a member since 2006 and one-time president, has seen Bay Area motorcycle culture change over the decades.
“Motorcyclists are an aging demographic,” Hoffman said, arms crossed. “The part of the community that I stepped into is aging with me.”
That part of the community was strongly represented at the meeting, with white hair tumbling down over mechanic shirt collars.
The new guard, Hoffman said, is more interested in meet-ups advertised on social media than in traditional clubs. He compared the club model to dating, and the new model to hooking up.
And what about the dirt bike gangs that tear through city streets? Hoffman said they’re fine by him. SFMC welcomes all riders.
AJ Murphy, 24, grew up in the club. His father Clay is a member, and AJ started riding at 5 years old in the streets of the Sunset District. A year later, he started racing, and at 16 he got his license. By the time he joined the club as an official member at the age of 18, he was already family.
“These people watched me grow up,” Murphy said.
Now, Murphy owns a dirt bike himself. His dual-sport is street legal, unlike some of the bikes on the road, he said, but he doesn’t have anything against the dirt bike crews that rile up so many residents. Dirt bikes, he said, can be cheaper than other motorcycles, and have fewer breakable parts, making them more accessible.
“It’s all about being on two wheels,” he said.
Hobbes agreed, but said the two cultures were distinct.
“The stunters and ‘12 o’clock boys’ — no helmets, no safety gear, no plates — is a very different culture from us,” he said, adding that the club falls back on California law when its own regulations and standard meeting rules don’t apply. There have been burnouts in the clubhouse, sure, but SFMC members aren’t criminals.
Tucker Perry started riding in 1999 at the age of 24.
“I had a car I really liked, and I moved to the Tender Nob,” he said. “I didn’t want to watch it get beat to shit, so I sold it and bought a bike.”
He quickly fell in love with riding. Unlike in a car, he said, “you’re in the environment you’re traveling through.”
Dave “Papa Chili” Schiller joined SFMC in 1980. “If you wanna know me, go to the wall,” he said, pointing to a plaque: The Century Award. The club honored Schiller with the plaque 20 years ago, at its centennial celebration, for outstanding service.
When Schiller joined the club was a little rougher — members mingled with the Hell’s Angels, and sometimes got into trouble. Schiller said his best friend, Rebel, was assassinated in 1991.
“Executed. Shot in the head,” Schiller said. But he wouldn’t say why.
Now, though, things have changed. The club is family-friendly. And the core values of friendship, honesty, and mutual aid persevere.
“We’re in the best position we could be in today,” Schiller said, chewing on his false teeth. “Now I just have to watch it run smooth.”
