Born in Brooklyn, Built American: The BklynMotors Story
In 1903, the same year Harley-Davidson produced its first motorcycle, the Kings County Wheelmen of Brooklyn convened with motorcyclists from across the country to establish the Federation of American Motorcyclists. That organization became the American Motorcyclist Association, which remains the primary body of organized American motorcycling today.
Brooklyn was there at the beginning. Not adjacent to it. At the origin.
Kings County Wheelmen
The Kings County Wheelmen were a Brooklyn-based cycling and motorcycling organization active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The September 7, 1903 meeting that produced the Federation of American Motorcyclists was held in Brooklyn because Brooklyn had the organizational infrastructure to host it. That founding moment is the origin point of BklynMotors as a brand.
What Est. 2010 Means
BklynMotors launched its first t-shirt line in Spring 2010 with a simple premise: make graphic tees that actually mean something. Designs rooted in Brooklyn neighborhoods, moto club heritage, the visual language of American motorcycle culture. Not licensed imagery, not mass-market nostalgia. Real designs with real referents.
The Kings County Riders tee. The Red Hook Motorclub. The Canarsie Cruisers. Each one connects to a specific place in Brooklyn's history. None of them are generic.
Born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn was a city before it was a borough. It gave up its independence by 277 votes in 1898 and never fully accepted the merger. That stubbornness, that refusal to be absorbed without a fight, is part of what the name carries on a tee shirt.
Built American: the moto heritage, the Kings County Wheelmen, the founding of organized motorcycling in this borough. That is what the brand stands on.
Shop the Kings County Riders V2 tee and the full BklynMotors catalog at BklynMotors.com.
