Photos Captures the Raw Intensity of American Motorcycling Culture

Dec 12, 2025

Matt Growcoot

A motorcycle racer in full gear and helmet sits on his bike, surrounded by team members in caps and casual clothes, during a race event on a sunny day with spectators in the background. — Dave Roper with tuner Rob Iannucci, Daytona International Speedway, FL. © Jack Lueders Booth

Some obsessions never let you go. For Jack Lueders-Booth, it began when he was nine years old and saw his first motorcycle and fell in love.

Now 90 years old, riding, racing, repairing, and rebuilding bikes has been his life’s devotion. His new book, American Motorcycling Culture, delves into his archive from 1980 to 2000.

It stands as a record of machines and the people who rode them: bikers in heavy leathers on American-made Indians, fresh-faced kids on their first ride, pro racers pushing themselves and their bikes as far as they would go.

A woman sits on a colorful racing motorcycle labeled "4," smoking a cigarette, while a man sits on another motorcycle labeled "190." Several people and vehicles are in the background in a parking lot. — Daytona International Speedway, FL © Jack Lueders Booth

A motocross rider in red Honda gear poses on a dirt bike near an ambulance. A man in a T-shirt and cap stands beside him, and a woman with a child stands in the ambulance doorway. Several people are gathered in the background. — Bryar Motorsports Park, Short Track, Loudon, NH. © Jack Lueders Booth

A motocross rider in red gear leans on a red bike numbered 685, looking at the camera. Other riders and people stand nearby with dirt bikes, set in an outdoor dirt track area at dusk. — Bryar Motorsports Park, Short Track, Loudon, NH. Junior Racers © Jack Lueders Booth

Three people with biker attire sit and lean on motorcycles at a busy outdoor gathering, surrounded by cars and a crowd of people in the background. One man has his feet up on a bike, while another sits upright beside a woman. — DAYTONA BEACH, FL.. © Jack Lueders Booth

A man wearing sunglasses and a pink "Daytona Motorcycle Classic 1986" shirt sits on a small motorcycle. Behind him, several people stand near vans and motorbikes in an outdoor setting. — Daytona Beach, FL. © Jack Lueders Booth

A motorcycle racer in a red, white, and blue suit stands holding a helmet, looking back, while a woman in sunglasses stands nearby. Several people, photographers, and a racetrack are in the background. — Freddie Spencer and friend, Daytona International Speedway, FL. © Jack Lueders Booth

Harleys and Beemers, Beezers and Trumpets, Ducs, Hondas, Kawas, Suzukis, Yamahas. Lueders-Booth is a singular photographer, intent on showing communities as they are, honest, imperfect, unadorned. When he wasn’t on a bike, he was behind a camera or in a classroom, teaching photography in a women’s prison, then later at Harvard, always drawn to the edges of things, to lives rarely shown in full light.

These photographs carry that restless hum, the thrill and the risk, the romance and the trouble, the small freedom of choosing the open road over the humdrum.

A motorcycle racer in a white and blue suit labeled "NIXON 9" sits on a racing bike, preparing to start on a racetrack, with spectators and crew members in the background under a blue sky. — GARY NIXON, BRYAR MOTORSPORTS PARK, LOUDON, NH. © Jack Lueders Booth

Three men wearing black leather jackets and helmets ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles on a street lined with palm trees, with a fence and trees in the background. The scene appears to be at dusk or dawn. — Image 14 © Jack Lueders Booth

A man with a mustache and sunglasses rides a motorcycle with a woman as a passenger; both wear helmets and casual clothing. Other motorcycles and people are visible in a parking lot with brick buildings in the background. — INDIAN DAY, SPRINGFIELD, MA. © Jack Lueders Booth

Two people sit on the ground outside a white brick building near a red garage door, with a blue motorcycle parked in front of them. The pair appears relaxed, wearing casual summer clothes. — INDIAN DAY, SPRINGFIELD, MA..© Jack Lueders Booth

A man in sunglasses and a racing shirt enthusiastically talks to a Harley-Davidson motorcycle racer in full gear and helmet, surrounded by other racers and motorbikes on a dirt track under a clear sky. — JAY SPRINGSTEEN WITH TUNER BILL WERNER, SYRACUSE MILE, SYRACUSE, NY. © Jack Lueders Booth

A motorcycle racer in yellow gear crouches pensively behind a number 45 bike, surrounded by people in casual clothing and other motorcycles at an outdoor event under a partly cloudy sky. — JOHN WILLIAMS, BRYAR MOTORSPORTS PARK, LOUDON, NH. © Jack Lueders Booth

A young motorcycle racer wearing a red, yellow, and black racing suit stands under a shaded area with hands on hips. He has black eye paint and looks serious. Several people and a packed stadium are visible in the background. — LANCE JONES, DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, FL. © Jack Lueders Booth

These photographs show something of what American motorcycling culture had been at the end of the 20th century: road racers, women racers, child racers, vintage racers, enduros, motocrossers, motorcycle blessings, swap meets, street cruisers, good guys, and bad guys.

Jack Leuders-Booth: American Motorcyling Culture is published by Stanley Barker.

Image credits: Photographs by Jack Leuders-Booth