Why Do Bikers Wear Black?

We’ve had so many emails asking why bikers wear black that I thought the question deserved a detailed explanation and here it is.

The vast majority of the mass population at large imagine that Bikers and other so-called ‘undesirables’ and ’social misfits’ usually wear black attire to make some kind of social statement. Many think that the adoption of a black wardrobe is done to reflect the horror of Hitler’s infamous Schutzstaffel, the SS, who wore black uniforms with lightening bolts and skulls as the units hallmark Others think that black clothes are deliberately adopted to make one look tough and sinister. Where conventional straight society sees white shirts as a sign of success it is supposed that the ‘underclass’ adopts black in opposition just to be different.

Well it may surprise many, including a lot of bikers, to learn that the adoption of black clothing goes way back in time and has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with social statements. It was just an adaptation to environmental conditions.

People whose trade involved working with ‘dirty’ machinery wore black (or dark) clothing to hide dirt and grease.

The common term ‘blacksmith’ referred to a smithy, one who works with metals, and ‘black’, specifically meaning iron. It was the common practice for smithy’s to wear dark clothing to hide the soot, slag and grease deposited on their clothes over the course of their everyday work.

Nothing has changed much over time and even today it is quite common for metal workers to wear wear dark work clothes such as the dark blue and sometimes black worn by maintenance workers in industrial plants.

As the matter of dark clothing relates to bikers who don’t do any metal work the practice of dressing ‘darkly’ was popularized because old motorcycles were notoriously ‘dirty’ machines slinging oil and grease in all directions when they were ridden so light colored dusters were definitely not the thing to wear on one’s bike. In addition it was not uncommon for those who rode motorbikes to be campers and if you’ve ever spent any extended time camping out you’ll no doubt understand that white ‘undies’ or ‘outies’ aren’t the ideal thing to be wearing for days on end.

clothes are simply a matter of practicality when one works on or operates machinery that generates a lot of oily dirt. It’s as simple as that. There is no social statement being made and there never has been except in the minds of those who believe wearing black means something special which it doesn’t.

The Hollywood crowd however loves the black Tee-shirts with all of the anti-social chopper logos printed on the back side and black leather chaps are just the rage these days but I’m personally suspicious of folks wearing black ‘outers’ with white ‘inners’ if you know what I mean.

source: www.chopperhandbook.com

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Dibawah ini gw coba alih-bahasa kan, sesuai kemampuan bahasa Inglaish gw yg pas2an … 

Banyak orang menyangka kalo baju dan atribut serba hitam yang banyak dipake para bikers merupakan semacam unjuk sikap pernyataan sosial. Bahkan ada yang meyebutnya sebagai sebentuk adopsi dari ke-sangar-an tampilan ala ‘paspampres’-nya Hitler, yang kondang dengan sebutan SS (Schutzstaffel).

Selain itu, ada juga yang berpikir bahwa tampilan serba hitam itu supaya biker keliatan lebih tough (kasar/keras? – red) dan gambaran kesinisan (terhadap kemapanan di sekitarnya – red).

Padahal, kalo diliat dari sejarah pemakaian atribut hitam (terutama dikelas pekerja/buruh), gajk ada urusannya sama pernyataan sosial dsb. Itu cuma sebagai adaptasi terhadap lingkungan kerjanya aja.

Maksudnya?
Untuk mereka yang kerjanya banyak berhubungan dengan mesin, pemakaian atribut hitam (dan warna gelap lainnya) gak lain cuma untuk ‘ngumpetin’ kotoran dan oli di pakaiannya. Jadi maksudnya, kotor … tapi gak terlalu keliatan kotor

Nah, di masa bikers jaman opa-opa kita, pemakaian atribut hitam dan gelap ini jadi populer, krn pada masa itu, pada saat dikendarai motor boleh dibilang ‘akrab’ dengan oli dan gemuk yg belepotan di-mana2
(mungkin krn teknologinya masih blm se-’rapi’ teknologi motor sekarang ya? – red)
Makanya pemakaian baju dan atribut warna terang pada saat riding, boleh dibilang, cenderung dihindari. Dan kayaknya, akhirnya kebiasaan biker utk selalu ber-hitam ria jadi keterusan hingga sekarang.

Buat gw pribadi, alasan praktikal “Gak Gampang Kotor” jadi pilihan utk selalu ber-hitam ria (walau kadang gak harus selalu hitam, minimal pake jeans warna dark blue). Untuk baju, pilihan gw adalah kaos hitam. Krn warna hitam lebih bisa ‘kamuflase’ tampilan saat badan gw basah kuyup (krn kebetulan gw gampang banget keringetan … maklum, over-weight … hehe).

Nah, gimana dengan Brader sendiri …?