12 Biker Funeral Rituals

Members of a motorcycle club join in a final goodbye to a member who has died.

Of all of the indelible memorials in Alan Ball’s “Six Feet Under,” the biker funeral is perhaps the most memorable. Wanting to celebrate their fallen brother, a biker gang throws a blow-out funeral on Christmas Day in the Fisher & Sons Funeral Home. Money is no object to this group, and their memorial bucks against many of the conservative traditions of American funerals.

The episode begs the question: What are some unique traditions of biker funerals?

Because this subculture relies on tight-knit brotherhood and camaraderie, their funeral traditions demonstrate those qualities. Robert Shabanowitz’s study (and many other biker sources around the web) document some of the most popular rituals. Below we’ve listed 12 of the most common. 

1. Motorcycle Parade – Members of the club or gang (as well as others who want to show their support) drive to the funeral, burial, or whatever other site is involved. This is perhaps the most popular funeral ritual because it unites the brotherhood in life and in death.

2. The Lost/Missing Man Formation – Possibly originating in England during World War I, this ritual shows the bikers holding space in the procession for where the person who died would’ve been. Either that space exists between the funeral car and the other riders, or one rider (usually a relative/close friend of the deceased) rides between the cars and the other bikers.

3. Riding Without Helmets – The parade motorcyclists ride without helmets as a sign respect to the deceased. In states where there is a helmet law, local law enforcement overlooks this infraction, or at a designated point in the funeral procession, the riders remove their helmets.

4. One Passenger – In another unique tradition, the only passenger in the parade is the widow or closest family member of the person who died. This is intended to be a sign of respect.

A motorcycle hearse made by Tombstone
Credit: Sarah Gath via Flickr

5. Motorcycle-Themed Hearse – For many biker funerals, a traditional hearse would be heretical; a true biker would not want a car to represent him in life, so why should that occur in death? That’s why some funeral homes have motorcycle-themed hearses.

6. Club Members as Pall Bearers – Other members of the club serve as pallbearers for the casket (if there is one).

7. The Last Ride – If the person is cremated instead of buried, the Last Ride by the bikers takes the ashes to their final resting place. There are specialty urns for this.

8. Ringing Out the Dead or The Last Rev – In another unique ritual, the attending cyclists rev their bikes one last time. They may do it all at once, or the Road Captain will rev his bike 3-5 times and everyone follows except for the Tail Gunner. Once the Road Captain has stopped, the Tail Gunner gives the Last Rev. This tradition is optional (and is dependent on the family’s wishes). It usually occurs at the cemetery site or the funeral home before everyone leaves. The bikers do this to alert Heaven that their friend is on his way.

9. Clothing Strips – Fellow cyclists tear up an article of clothing that belonged to the person who died and distribute it among the remaining club members and loved ones. Many of the club members will wear that piece of clothing as an arm band during the funeral.

10. Memory Patches – Surviving members may have patches sewn on their jackets with the name or the person who died along with their birth and death dates, and other information (like a motto).

11. Wearing/Displaying Club Colors – The motorcycle’s club colors are displayed as motifs throughout the funeral. A black band on the colors indicates that a member has died. In addition, the club member is buried in his club colors.

12. Party/Celebration – “Six Feet Under’s” portrayal of the biker funeral was not inaccurate; bikers will hold parties and celebrations to honor their departed friend.

All of these rituals align with the biker saying that “four wheels move the body; two wheels move the soul.”