Get an inside look at the real beginning of outlaw biker culture with this “raucous and heartfelt recounting of the early days of biker clubs” (Roadbike). The story starts one weekend in 1947 at a motorcycle race in Hollister, California. A few members of one club, the no-holds-barred 'Boozefighters,' got a little juiced up and took their racing to the street. Word of the fracas spread, and soon enough, Life magazine was on hand to tell the world with sensational (albeit posed) pictures of the outlaws. And then the 'Hollister riot' made its way into the movies, immortalized in Marlon Brando’s “The Wild One.”

What was the reality behind the myth? Through interviews with the surviving members of the Boozefighters, current member Bill Hayes and club historian Jim “JQ” Quattlebaum take readers right into the fray for a firsthand account of what happened in Hollister and the formation of the Boozefighters, where the outlaw biker culture truly began. 

The book, "with its great stories and entertaining real-life characters" (MotorcycleUSA.com), is "mandatory reading for anyone interested in American motorcycling history" (Minnesota Motorcycle Monthly). 

Motorcycle Classics dedicates this Special Collector Edition to the remarkable street bikes of the 1950s. Numerous classic motorcycles were designed and built in the ’50s.

Motorcycle Classics has put together a 96-page special edition featuring articles that explore the decade and what it brought to the motorcycle world. The Harley-Davidson KHK, Honda JC58 Benly, Devil Lusso Extra, and many others are all covered in this glossy-page, full-color guide. Whether you’re just discovering these bikes or have been riding them since they first came on the market, you can enjoy this special edition.

Articles in this guide include:

• Unapproachable: 1957 Norton Model 30 – Joe Block’s rare 1957 Model 30 is one of just 70 built that year, but that doesn’t stop him from riding it.
• Big Sid’s 1950 Series B Vincent Meteor – A towering man, Sidney Biberman left a monumental legacy as a Vincent aficionado, tuner, and lover of speed.
• Dad’s 1958 BMW R50 – Shortly after the death of Richard Costello, his son Bill found a note attached to his father’s R50 in the garage. Since then, Bill has devotedly restored his dad’s BMW.
• Speed Twin: Ed Turner’s Triumphant Twin – Emulated by everyone, Triumph sold a parallel twin first.