FAQ
Have questions for us but can't come by? Hopefully you can find out here!
Are all your rides open to the public?
Generally, yes! Anything we put on our calendar found on this website is open to all guests and riders, without need for an invitation from a member. Lots of our events can be found on the District 36 Road Riders page, but we also just go out on weekends, and are always up for meeting and riding with new people.
Are your meetings public as well?
Absolutely! We always encourage people curious about the club and our history to join us for a meeting, or a putt night. Again, no invitation is needed to stop by on a Wednesday night, and it is encouraged to come early if you plan on doing so, as the gavel goes down at 7:30 PM, and we do get down to business in regards to future rides and related affairs.
What is a historical club?
There are a few ways to interpret this, but the short version is that we are one of the oldest continually operating motorcycle clubs in the world! Back in the pre-war period, most motorcycle clubs where based out of your local racing scene, which is why all of the oldest clubs are either AMA affiliated, have deep roots in hill-climbing or flat-track racing, or even both of the aforementioned. In fact, some of the oldest clubs had even earlier iterations that were bicycle clubs that transitioned into their current forms once the motorcycle became commonplace. The San Jose Dons are a pre-war motorcycle club with roots in the San Jose Flat-tracking scene; we are not an outlaw motorcycle club in any way and our history goes back quite a ways further.
I'm interested in joining, what are the requirements?
Your first step is to come down to a meeting, or join us on a ride! While we do welcome all riders and guests, you will need an existing member to vouch for you if you are interested in prospecting, which would be a six-month trial period to see if you are a good fit. Besides having a freeway-worthy motorcycle, as we are a primarily street riding club, we require all members to have a valid M1 license, insurance, as well as be a current member of the American Motorcycle Association; we're a AMA chartered club after all. You do not need to have a specific make of motorcycle such as Harley, Honda, KTM, etc; our membership rides all makes, styles, and years, and nearly every discipline.
I'm not sure about joining a club, or I'm already part of another one. Can I still attend your meetings and rides?
Yes! Many of the guests that we have an a regular basis are people who we have met while riding and are curious as to what we're all about, friends who we partner with for events and charity work, as well as members of our sister AMA clubs who come down to invite us to events that they are putting on; although most of the time they just happen to be in the area and want to drop in to say hello and catch up. You do not need an express reason in order to attend one of our meetings; our doors are always open to the motorcyclist and our rides are too.
My relative was a member of the club, do you have any pictures?
Its possible, but it would depend on what year. From inception to about the early 1950's, photos of the club in general where fairly limited to races, or shots of members going up hills that are incredibly steep for the bikes they are on; it can be tough to tell who was who unless the photo was labeled previously. Our records from the 50's and 60's are relatively rare as well due to a multitude of factors, with most of the history onward being decently archived. We do our best to catalog and label the photos we have, and act as caretakers for many pieces of Bay Area motorcycle history.
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If you have photos or memorabilia that you would be willing to let us take photos of or even copy, please do not hesitate to reach out; every copy made and story told extends the life and times of past members during their tenure as a San Jose Don. Regardless, we greatly enjoy hearing from descendants and relatives and would love to hear your stories too.