Bylaws create the solid foundation that will keep your motorcycle club together. Written carefully and strictly followed, they will ensure that your club survives the many challenges it will face over the years and decades. If you look around forty years from now and your motorcycle club is still in existence, chances are the constitution you create today is in large part responsible for your club’s success.

When you create your bylaws, you should keep in mind that this document will be the great equalizer of the club that will be the law from which no member of the club will be able to step out of rank, ignore or go against. There must have been great consideration and thought put into the creation of this document. Once written, the statutes will be the road map that will guide its members.

This series of articles will show you what your club constitution should contain and give you basic instructions on how to write it:

· Bylaws should begin with a prominent creation/amendment date at the top. This date will let all members know they have the most up-to-date version at a quick glance.

· There should be a table of contents to allow members to quickly find and access the desired sections.

Article 1 must stipulate the date of creation of the motorcycle club. Together with the club’s date of birth, it will indicate what the name will be forever. You must provide the physical address and URL of the website, Facebook page URL, email, phone number and other contact information.

Section II

Section 1 The Club:

Section 1 of Article II should explain what the physical composition of the club should be. It will establish how many members a club contains (or an unlimited number of members) and which will be the male and female members (ie ownership vs. members). It will designate what percentage of the membership should own motorcycles (in Georgia this is 80% of club members) and how long the membership will last (ie until the member dissolves the membership or violates the constitution).

Section 2 Membership:

Section 2 of Article II generally states what is required to be a member of your motorcycle club. You must establish the requirements for regular or prospective (trial) membership. It will indicate the minimum age of a member and what qualifications the member must have on their driver’s license before they can join. It will stipulate how a prospective (remaining) member will be designated as a Prospect and how the Prospect will become a regular member. The minimum age required for membership will also be indicated.

Section 2a: Potential Membership:

Section 2a of Article II will detail the conduct of a Prospect during the prospecting period. It will specify the duties of the sponsor of the Prospect and the duties of the Prospect. It will list all the requirements of a Prospect and will specifically state what a Prospect cannot be asked of and what regular members cannot do to a Prospect.

Section 3a: Auxiliary Membership

Section 3a of Article II will discuss auxiliary membership or club property duties. It will state the age auxiliary members must be and discuss the nature of their association with the club and what it will take for them to earn their colours.

Section 4: Getting started

Section 4 of Article II will indicate what is required during the initiation of a new member by the club.

Section 4a: Inactive Members

Section 4a of Article II will specify how inactive members will be treated and what will be considered a period of inactivity. It will detail how the MC will grant members a leave of absence, emergency leave, or alleviate a member’s service responsibilities for special circumstances. The length of vacation periods that may be granted will also be indicated.

Section 4b: Continuing Validity

Section 4b of Article II will specify what is required for a member to be in good standing with the MC. Generally, if a member is in good standing with its due date, fulfills its duties, and has completed a specified membership term; they could be considered in “Good Standing”, for example.

Section 5: Discrimination

Section 5 of Article II shall contain the motorcycle club anti-discrimination clause, if so desired.

This article has been an examination of the general themes contained in Articles I and II of the well-written motorcycle club bylaws. Join me in my next article as we delve into how to write motorcycle club bylaws.