Who Are the Black Pistons Motorcycle Gang?
The Black Pistons Motorcycle Club is a violent motorcycle gang associated with the much larger Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Formed in 2002, the gang has around 200 members scattered across 70 different chapters in 20 states. The Black Pistons also operate in Canada and some European countries, including Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The Black Pistons serve as a support club to the larger Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Although the Outlaws are known as a “one-percenter” club (the supposed 1 percent of motorcycle clubs said to engage in illegal activities), the club delegates its most unsavory tasks to the Black Pistons. The Black Pistons serve as enforcers for the Outlaws, dealing drugs and assaulting the club’s rivals and enemies. The rapid growth of the Black Pistons frequently causes violence when the gang begins operations in a new city. In 2002, for example, a new chapter of the Black Pistons starting in Portland, Maine led to significant clashes with several other gangs in the city, and police had to take measures to prevent a possible turf war from erupting. The group has also had conflicts with other motorcycle clubs. In July 2014, a member of the Black Pistons was shot and killed after an altercation with a member of the Iron Order Motorcycle Club, a self-proclaimed “lawful” motorcycle group.
