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Half a century ago a young student who grew up in Queens, began photographing a motorcycle gang in Chicago. The student, Danny Lyon, assembled the black-and-white images he took from 1963 to 1967 into a book, “The Bikeriders,” that became a touchstone of the 1960s. It helped inspire the vision of biker as outlaw hero in the 1969 film “Easy Rider.”  One of Mr. Lyon’s achievements was winning the confidence of bikers captured by his Nikons and Rolleiflexes. He bought an old Triumph and even joined the Outlaws for a time Mr. Lyon, who is 71, did more than anyone outside Hollywood to establish the image of the outlaw biker. His work marks the transition between Marlon Brando in “The Wild One” and “Easy Rider.” The biker, as a romantic outlaw in the tradition of Billy the Kid or Robin Hood, has long since turned into a set of clichés found in clothing and comedy. [via New York Times] ***You can see Lyon's "The Bikeriders" exhibition at Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto . I man...

Bosozoku ( "violent running tribe")     Japan's leading maverick photographer reveals a unique vision of the notorious Japanese bike gangs, often linked to the underground activities of the Yazuka. A former member of the Bosozoku himself, Masayuki Yoshinga has revealed hidden secrets of Japan's biker gangs.  Bosozokus were first seen in the 1950s as the Japanese automobile industry expanded rapidly. The precursors to the bōsōzoku were known as kaminari zoku (雷族 "Thunder Tribe"), urban motorcyclist more akin to the British rockers. Many, if not most, of bōsōzoku came from a lower socioeconomic class and may have used the motorcycle gang activities as a way to express disaffection and dissatisfaction with Japanese mainstream society. Many of the most hard-core bōsōzoku would become lower-ranking members of the Yakuza after turning 20 years of age.  In the 1980s and 90s, bōsōzoku would often embark on large rides, in which up to 100 bikers would cruise togethe...