Indian Motorcycle logo + WWII patches/paint

[greenc]

Hi all,

Hope the weekend was good, and if you're in the States or eastern Canada that you've begun digging out of the storm - what a mess.

I'm hoping for some thoughts on the Indian Motorcycle logo and WWII patches.

I love an A2 with military patches/back panel paint, or a motorcycle jacket with vintage MC patches and club insignia, or a repro Freewheelers/RMC sweatshirt with "USMC," "USN," etc, but I worry there might be implications to wearing them.

Do any of you wear gear that has any of this, and if not, is it because it's not your taste or is it because you're hesitant given the sensitivity around the Indian Motorcycle profile logo, as an example.

By the way, inI heard Indian Motorcylce had dropped the Indian chief profile and was now just going with the name Indian Motorcycle. That said, their website and some of their apparel still shows the Indian chief, so I don't know.

Am I being completely ridiculous or is it appropriate to wear these types of things? I worry I might be overthinking it, but I'd be worried about being too nonchalant about it if I wasn't overthinking it.

What do you all think?

Chris

 

[thekiyote]

Do any of you wear gear that has any of this, and if not, is it because it's not your taste or is it because you're hesitant given the sensitivity around the Indian Motorcycle profile logo, as an example.

I'm of the generation/locale that would probably have the most issue with something like that, and I haven't heard anything about it. I got curious and googled it, and could only find one guy three years ago on a forum posting an email saying that the colored version of the chief head was getting discontinued, but even that could be just someone trying to stir stuff up.

Personally, I think as long as it's clear it's a period piece, nobody cares about old military patches/designs. I think that the WWII bomber jackets look really neat. I would personally avoid wearing anything motorcycle club for any real motorcycle club.

 

[Bennarion]

Don't think about it. If you like a jacket with patches, put it on and enjoy.

 

[greenc]

I'm of the generation/locale that would probably have the most issue with something like that, and I haven't heard anything about it. I got curious and googled it, and could only find one guy three years ago on a forum posting an email saying that the colored version of the chief head was getting discontinued, but even that could be just someone trying to stir stuff up.

Personally, I think as long as it's clear it's a period piece, nobody cares about old military patches/designs. I think that the WWII bomber jackets look really neat. I would personally avoid wearing anything motorcycle club for any real motorcycle club.

@thekiyote thanks for the thought - I really do like the look of patches and paint on a jacket, be it military or motorcycle.

I think they can make a piece really personal, which has always been something that has bugged me about Vanson's flat track offerings - the pattern and colors are cool but every jacket is literally the same, they all have the same patches in the same places.

As well, they seem to use almost the same patch allotment along a variety of jackets, which I think is a missed opportunity. My guess is that no one buying a Vanson flat track cares all that much about Champion spark plugs, or Bel Ray lubricants. The patches add character and texture, design, and color, however, I wish Vanson would vary it.

I keep telling myself that one day I'm going to buy a J100, have the lining opened, and add a bunch of what I think are cool, unique, hard to find patches, to it. Old Lewis Leathers jackets with pins, patches, and paint are some of my favourites because they were personal and unique to the owner(s).

I inadvertently saw a short the other day of a Japanese man adding pins, and sewing charms onto a brand new Rainbow Country bag and I thought that was amazing. The bag was likely north of $1,000 USD and he's probably just wrecked the resale value but he made it his own, which is the most important thing. I dig that.

Anyway, thank you again, I'm gonna find a good jacket with paint at a reasonable price and pounce on it. Keep you posted. Enjoy the weekend.

Chris

 

[greenc]

Don't think about it. If you like a jacket with patches, put it on and enjoy.

@Bennarion you're right, I should just find something cool that I like at a reasonable price and enjoy it. Still, I appreciate the thought as it's good these days to be cognizant of such things - I wouldn't ever want to inadvertently offend or upset anyone. Enjoy the weekend.

Chris

 

[Edward]

It's a very personal thing. I cannot, nor would I attempt, to speak for anyone from the First Nations. The original Indian Motorcycle Logo in and of itself doesn't look especially controversial to me, though I guess that may also depend on whether people care for the name Indian or not. A lot of the WW2 era logos I've seen that depict Native American people (as distinct from, say, a Firebird design) are.... well. Things I can appreciate as part of a historical context in a history book or museum, but as rather racialised caricatures very much not something I would be comfortable wearing. Have seen some of the old designs that also include the ********. As a symbol, it has turned up in several cultures independently of each other (afaik, at least), and long predates the Germany's WWII-era leaderships. Again, personally, it's not something I would want to touch, preferring to alter a design to omit it for regular wear nowadays. Intents and Perceptions can be different things, but I'm far from naive enough to think that in Europe and much of the English speaking world that's a symbol which will ever be fully and successfully culturally deGermany's WWII-era leadershipfied.

WRT vintage motorcycle gear, opinions will vary on whether it's acceptable to wear "unearned" patches, but if you're ever anywhere where there's a chance you'll run into an actual patch club, it would be very, very silly indeed, and you'll be very lucky in deed if all that happens is it's taken off you or they "supervise" a removal of patches. Going around cosplaying an MC member is really just looking for trouble.

 

[thekiyote]

I inadvertently saw a short the other day of a Japanese man adding pins, and sewing charms onto a brand new Rainbow Country bag and I thought that was amazing. The bag was likely north of $1,000 USD and he's probably just wrecked the resale value but he made it his own, which is the most important thing. I dig that.

It's something I do frequently on bags I make, I collect patches and add them to them. This is a recent bag I made for carrying around records.

 

[AerGuitar]

I’d definitely steer clear of any MC club patches or logos.

 

[DiamondJoe]

I LOVE the vintage patches you posted but the Jokers one is/was a real MC. Don't wear that one or anythinglike it. You might run into that one dude who thinks he knows a guy who...blah blah, and then you're suddenly getting threatened or worse. The MC world is a tradition with one foot in military service and one in "street culture." Both have strict honor code that can get sticky. The MC patch set has a top rocker, bottom, center and MC cube. If the bottom rocker has a territory, state, region or town, or NOMAD, what is means is "this area is mine." Whaf it implies is, this area isn't yours, so get out because I WILL defend my claim. The MC cube implies you know what you signed up for.
I ride with a charity club, but do have a 3 piece patch set but our bottom rocker has our chapter name of our club rather than a territory. We are well known in the area and generally liked and respected, but its volatile world. We follow strict protocols anytime we're in an area with other clubs so there isn't any issues.