Have you ever noticed some motorcycle clubs wearing a patch that says "1%"? Or perhaps you've heard some clubs refer to themselves as "one-percenters." If you don't understand the whole 1% thing just keep reading; I'd be happy to explain it to you.
As I understand it (I admit, I could be wrong) the 1% designation derived from a disagreement between the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) and a handful of other motorcycle clubs a few decades ago. As the story goes, there were a few clubs that attended an AMA sanctioned event wearing their leather vests with three-patch colors. Those colors consisted of a main back patch plus an upper and lower rocker; a design mistakenly believed by many to indicate a motorcycle club was an outlaw group. As such, the AMA banned three-patch colors from their activities. Rather than remove their vests or turn them inside out these groups simply left and vowed never to participate with the AMA again.
Allegedly the rift between the two groups culminated when someone in the AMA made the point of 99% of all bikers were law-abiding citizens, implying that those clubs that were not AMA sanctioned were behaving inappropriately. Knowing that wasn't the case, these other motorcycle clubs decided to defy the AMA and referred to themselves as "one-percenters." It's important to note that there is nothing inherent in the three-patch colors that designate an outlaw motorcycle group. There are plenty of squeaky clean clubs that use the three-patch design.
The 1% clubs designate themselves as such just to make it clear they are not part of the AMA nor do they desire to AMA sanctioned. There's nothing more to it than that. If you wanted to designate your own club as a 1%, all you need are the patches.
