The Barbarians were a group of guys that used to run around So. Cal. on their hopped up, customized Triumphs.  They had their leather jackets painted up to reflect their Barbarian spirit.  This free wheeling bunch of guys were just looking for fun back in the late fifties and early 1960s.  They rode around together long before the heyday of the counterculture biker that we associate with So. Cal. and Oakland, CA.  These guys pretty much had motorcycles and good fun on their minds long before the gang rivalries of other clubs.  They were a club of bikers, but not a 1%-er club, although they may have been thought of as a bunch of unruley hooligans.  Check out these pictures of the Barbarians as they ride around So. Cal in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  Looks like some of these pics were taken in Yosemite Valley; apparently the barbarians were fond of road trips too. 

Some of the old Barbarians are actually still around and still rip around on Triumphs, although they are a lot older and more low key these days.  The Barbarians meet every couple of months in Simi Valley, and although they don’t usuall yplay the balloon game any more, they still have lots of fun.  

(via fouracescycles)