Biker Council sets the record straight

In the wake of the recent attack on two young men at the Elephant and Friends sports bar as well as reports of other attacks by a motorcycle club, the West Rand Biker Association (WRBA) asked the Record for an opportunity to set the record straight.

The Record spoke to two of the three committee members of the WBRA, Dawid Ferreira and Toppies Erasmus.

Ferreira is part of the Stinger motorcycle club and Erasmus of the Hoodlums.

Along with plus minus 90 clubs they belong to WBRA, which is the largest council of its type in South Africa.

“We have received various complaints after the recent incidents and then have to explain to the public that the motorcycle club involved is not part of the WBRA,” says Ferreira.

“Although we do not have a set of rules that we enforce, we have strict guidelines that our members have to adhere to,” says Ferreira.

“Our role is more of a facilitator between parties than enforcers,” adds Erasmus.

“Once a month we meet and then the parties involved are called in. They then resolve their problems through dialogue and shake hands on it. Then the matter is considered resolved,” explains Ferreira.

He also explains that disciplinary steps are taken against guilty parties or those breaking the unspoken rules of the motorcycle association, such as “black patching” where the member has to remove his patch from the back of his jacket. From there onwards he is not allowed to attend functions and rallies or fraternise with other members of the clubs.

For full story read next week’s Record.