Wherever the adventure may lead, sooner or later the characters may find themselves in a seedier part of town and subject to members belonging to one of the Frontier's numerous yet infamous hovercycle clubs. Such characters tend to be rather shady and not very forward in conversation (especially concerning group business of which they will never speak of), and most citizens know better than to start any trouble with them. Still the occassional being may find themselves on the wrong end of a bad situation, and things can get downright nasty when it happens.
Nok-A-Lug, a.k.a. "Lug-Nut", clan brother to Ook-A-Lug of the SS Omicron fame, has taken the time to compile a short list of the various well known organizations. Ranked alphabetically by name, each listing is followed by group affiliation (as to which races can be found amongst them), number of chapters and members within the organization (when applicable, most are loose estimates), the recognized symbol and colors that the members will be seen adorned with, and any known rival groups.
Just be warned that when encountering such individuals, the possibility exists that many more are close by. Taunts and jests can erupt quickly into something violent so it is wise to steer clear of such actions.
Amazon Princesses
affiliation: predominantly female humans and yazirians
Home Turf: Rupert's Hole (Cassidine)
# of chapters: at least one per planet in Cassidine, Araks, Athor, Gruna Garu, Scree Fron, Dixon's Star, Truane's Star, Zebulon, Prenglar, Madderly's Star, Timeon, Theseus, and White Light
# of members: unknown
symbol: crossed swords over a shield
colors: pink & black
Known Rivals: Worn Out Skanks
Black Mandrills
affiliation: Zigara Clan officers, mostly yazirian members. Hair dyed black when applicable
Home Turf: Yast (Athor)
# of chapters: semi-Frontier wide, at least one per planet in Araks, Athor, Gruna Garu, Scree Fron, Madderly's Star, Timeon, Dramune, Cassidine, and Prenglar
# of members: unknown
symbol: Flaming Mandrill head
colors: orange & black
Known Rivals: most other clubs
Blubberhood
affiliation: mostly dralasites
Home Turf: Inner Reach (Dramune)
# of chapters: At least one per planet in Dramune, Cassidine, Prenglar, Madderly's Star, White Light, and Timeon
# of members: 700-800
symbol: Dralasitic Jolly Roger
colors: grey and green
Known Rivals: Jailhouse Ixheads, Killing Joke, Outcasts
Centaurs
affiliation: mostly vrusk
Home Turf: Zik-kit (Kizk'-Kar)
# of chapters: At least one per planet in Kizk'-Kar, K'aken-Kar, K'tsa-Kar, Fromeltar, Cassidine, and Prenglar
# of members: 500-600
symbol: demonic vruskan skull on horse body
colors: blue and green
Known Rivals: Goblins, Motor Bugs, Yellow Bellies
Dust Devils
Affiliation: mostly human
Home Turf: Laco (Dixon's Star)
# of chapters: three
# of members: several hundred
symbol: flaming hoverfan and crossed daggers
colors: tan and olive drab
Known Rivals: Exiled Spirits, Paladins, Rat Fanners, Xenophiles, Zealous Zeroes
Exiled Spirits
Affiliation: all
Home Turf: Anker (Zebulon)
# of chapters: at least one in each planet of Zebulon, Truane's Star, Dixon's Star, Prenglar, Cassidine, Timeon, Madderly's Star, and Dramune
# of members: 1200-1500
symbol: grim reaper
colors: red and silver
Known Rivals: Dust Devils, Shadow Hunters
Frontier Riders
Affiliation: all
Home Turf: Rupert's Hole (Cassidine)
# of chapters: at least one in each system
# of members: 1500-2000
symbol: skeleton on hovercycle
colors: red and blue
Known Rivals: Jailhouse Ixheads, Triad Sathar
Goblins
Affiliation: mostly yazirians and vrusk
Home Turf: Hargut (Gruna Garu) & Kawdl-Kit (K'tsa-Kar)
# of chapters: at least one on each planet of Araks, Athor, Gruna Garu, Scree Fron, Kizk'-Kar, K'aken-Kar, K'tsa-Kar, Fromeltar, and Prenglar
# of members: 1500-2000
symbol: half yaz/half vruskan demonoid
colors: yellow and green
Known Rivals: Black Mandrills, Centaurs, Motor Bugs, Yellow Bellies
Horsemen of Apocalypse
Affiliation: mostly human
Home Turf: Minotaur (Theseus)
# of chapters: at least one on each planet of Theseus, White Light, Madderly's Star, Timeon, Prenglar, and Cassidine
# of members: 1000+/-
symbol: fire-breathing horse head
colors: black and gold
Known Rivals: Shadow Hunters
Iron Minors
Affiliation: young adult/delinquents
Home Turf: Lossend (Timeon)
# of chapters: at least one on each planet of Timeon, Theseus, White Light, Madderly's Star, Prenglar, Cassidine, Truane's Star, and Zebulon
# of members: several thousand
symbol: steel hammer gripped by skeletal hand
colors: black and blue
Known Rivals: none, known to participate in skirmishes. Other clubs typically recruit from IM as the members come of age.
Jailhouse Ixheads
Affiliation: all
Home Turf: Clarion (White Light)
# of chapters: at least one on each planet of White Light, Madderly's Star, Cassidine, and Dramune
# of members: 500-600
symbol: Chukkah Skull
colors: black and tan
Known Rivals: Blubberhood, Frontier Riders, Shadow Hunters
Killing Joke
Affiliation: dralasites
Home Turf: Groth (Fromeltar)
# of chapters: at least one on each planet of Fromeltar, Dramune, Cassidine, Prenglar, Truane's Star, and Zebulon
# of members: 600-700
symbol: Joker playing card stabbed with a dagger
colors: red and green
Known Rivals: Black Mandrills, Blubberhood
Leather-Heads
Affiliation: Yazirian
Home Turf: Hentz (Araks)
# of chapters: 12
# of members: 400-500
symbol: studded leather hood
colors: brown and gold
Known Rivals: Nomadic Maulers, Venusian Skidmarks
Motor Bugs
Affiliation: vrusk
Home Turf: Ken'zah-Kit (K'aken-Kar)
# of chapters: 7
# of members: 200-300
symbol: spider with crossed swords underneath
colors: blue and yellow
Known Rivals: Goblins, Centaurs
Nomadic Maulers
Affiliation: Yazirian
Home Turf: Hakosoar (Scree Fron)
# of chapters: 8, including one each at Histran, Hentz, and Yast
# of members: 300-400
symbol: yazirian claw
colors: red and yellow
Known Rivals: Black Mandrills, Leatherheads, Venusian Skidmarks
Outcasts
Affiliation: all
Home Turf: Outer Reach (Dramune)
# of chapters: at least one in each planet of Dramune, Fromeltar, & Madderly's Star
# of members: 800-1000
symbol: red circle with diagonal line over stylized UPF symbol
colors: red and grey
Known Rivals: Blubberhood, Paladins, Shadow Hunters
Paladins
Affiliation: all, veterans of UPF spacefleet, Landfleet, Planetary Militia, Star Law, etc
Home Turf: New Pale (Truane's Star)
# of chapters: at least one in each planet of Truane's Star, Zebulon, Dixon's Star, Prenglar, Cassidine, Madderly's Star, and White Light
# of members: 2000-2500
symbol: flaming UPF symbol
colors: red and white
Known Rivals: Outcasts, Dust Devils, Zealous Zeroes
Quitters
Affiliation: all, former mega-corp execs and workers
Home Turf: Morgaine's World (Prenglar)
# of chapters: at least one per planet in Prenglar, Cassidine, Truane's Star, Madderly's Star, Fromeltar, Dramune, Theseus, Timeon, Whie Light, Gruna Garu, Araks, and Scree Fron
# of members: 2000+
symbol: all megacorp logos in a disposal bucket
colors: green and brown
Known Rivals: mega corporations, Shadow Hunters
Rat Fanners
Affiliation: all
Home Turf: Volturnus (Zebulon)
# of chapters: at least one per planet in Zebulon, Truane's Star, Dixon's Star, Prenglar, Cassidine, Dramune, Madderly's Star, and Timeon
# of members: 1200-1500
symbol: rat riding single hoverfan
colors: black and grey
Known Rivals: Exiled Spirits, Dust Devils, Sahdow Hunters
Shadow Hunters
Affiliation: mostly human
Home Turf: Kdikit (Madderly's Star)
# of chapters: several in each major city of Kdikit
# of members: 100-200
symbol: demonic skeleton with laser rifle
colors: black and yellow
Known Rivals: Black Mandrills, Exiled Spirits, Frotnier Riders, Horsemen of Apocalypse, Jailhouse Ixheads, Outcasts, Quitters, Rat Fanners, Stellar Demons, Xenophiles
Stellar Demons
Affiliation: all
Home Turf: Gran Quivera (Prenglar)
# of chapters: Frontier wide, at least one per planet
# of members: unknown
symbol: steel demon head
colors: red & black
Known Rivals: most other clubs. SD is "it" when it comes to Frontier wide recognition.
Triad Sathar
Affiliation: all
Home Turf: New Hope, Triad (Cassidine)
# of chapters: one
# of members: 30-40
symbol: sathar head
colors: purple & white
Known Rivals: Frontier Riders, Xenophiles, occassional tangle with Black Mandrills
Uneasy Riders
Affiliation: all
Home Turf: Gran Quivera (Prenglar)
# of chapters: several each in Gran Quivera, Morgaine's WOrld, Triad, and Rupert's Hole
# of members: 400-500
symbol: ghost on hovercycle frame
colors: red & purple
Known Rivals: Stellar Demons
Venusian Skidmarks
Affiliation: Human and Yazirian
Home Turf: Histran (Scree Fron)
# of chapters: 2-3 each in Histran, Hakosoar, Hentz, Yast, and Gran Quivera
# of members: 100-200
symbol: Winged Yazirian "Angel of Death"
colors: brown and grey
Known Rivals: Nomadic Maulers
Worn Out Skanks
Affiliation: female humans
Home Turf: Kdikit (Madderly's Star)
# of chapters: 1
# of members: 40-50
symbol: skeleton in lingerie
colors: purple and yellow
Known Rivals: Amazon Princesses
Xenophiles
Affiliation: all
Home Turf: Triad (Cassidine)
# of chapters: at least one in each planet of Cassidine, Prenglar, Madderly's Star, Dramune, Dixon's Star, Truane's Star, Gruna Garu, and Fromeltar
# of members: 900-1000
symbol: Sathar and Zuraqqor heads on a lance
colors: purple and green
Known Rivals: Triad Sathar, Dust Devils, Shadow Hunters
Yellow Bellies
Affiliation: vrusk and dralasites
Home Turf: Terledrom (Fromeltar)
# of chapters: one
# of members: 75-100
symbol: rabid chicken
colors: yellow and green
Known Rivals: Centaurs
Zealous Zeroes
Affiliation: all
Home Turf: Pale (Truane's Star)
# of chapters: one in each planet of Truane's Star, Zebulon, Dixon's Star, Prenglar, and Cassidine
# of members: 400-500
symbol: executioner's hood
colors: black and green
Known Rivals: Paladins, Dust Devils
If you read up on Frontier history, Pan Galactixon is the earliest of the current manufacturers of ground and hover cycles, dating back to before the first Sathar War. Pan Galactic acquired the Galactixon Motor Company (GMC) when they were going through some financial woes resulting from troublesome quality control and reliability issues stemming from their Duracell-head motor (noted by the copper top on the electric motor cover), a motor that derived from prior generations such as the Eveready-head and Rayovac-head motors. PGC, in essence, saved the Galtixon Motor Company from bankruptcy and they continued to offer Duracell-head powered bikes during the transition.
The inherrent beauty of the old Galatixon engines was their simplicity, they were very easy to work on and a proficient technician could perform a full rebuild in a short time, resorting to a healthy variety of both manufacturer and aftermarket parts availability (not to mention the wide array of "canibalized parts", such as the infamous motor coil from the Gord flathead six motor or the brush housings from a Galactic Motors ventral-eight).
As such, PGC footed the R&D funding for the design of their next engine: the GENeration (aka the stockhead), and just before production the 13 company heads of Galactixon purchased the company back from PGC, and thus renamed their products under the new badge of "Pan Galactixon". The PGC era bikes had a mixed review, the older riders resent the newer product blaming PGC for ruining the designs while the newer riders talk smack about the older designs, but the truth is that the Galactixon Motor Company products were faulty before PGC acquired them.
Anyways, the GENeration motor proved to be a gamble that the 13 investor/owners didn't mind rolling the dice for. The motor ended up being everything it had been promised to be: a reliable engine based on the original timeless design. Their latest engine is the TG-880B (aka the Twin Generator aka the "twinjee") and has replaced the GENeration across the entire line-up.
Meanwhile, during the PGC transition there were some serious competitors from four distinct Streel-sibling companies that challenged Galactic Motor Company during all three phases of their business tenure. Marks like Hyondow, Kyawaskai, Sushuzi, and Yamihai were belting out some high perfomance low cost machines that proved themselves both on the track and on the roads. They sported newer technology and bulletproof reliability, and when Streel sensed that the Galactic Motor Company was in trouble they pulled a fast one and began dumping their products into the market at below-wholesale pricing. This illegal trade practice was quickly noticed by both the local economist leaders and the legal team of Galactic Motor Company, hence it was brought before the Council of Worlds and it was decided that a tarriff would be placed on all ground and hover cycles produced under the various Streel marks.
Several subsidiaries of Cassidine Development Corporation entered and left the market during the GMC/Streel competition era. Manufacturers like CSA, Dorton, and Triamf began to lose ground to Streel's screamers, and only Triamf survived (and barely at that). And other marks like Buckerton Motor Works (of Kdikit) and Danati (named after Pale's moon) silently soldiered on while providing their niche market products.
The modern ground and hover cycle market is thriving and competition is fierce. Pan Galatixon continues to duke it out with Hyondow for top market share each year, while Kyawaskai, Sushuzi, & Yamihai consistently slug it out for third place. Triamf is belting out some incredible products for all the niche markets, and Buckerton Motor Works continues to offer luxury comfort and decent performance. Danati is still the leader in handling despite the breakthroughs from Streel's subordinates, but they are fully aware of this and continue to pour funding into superior suspension and braking technology, with their most recent (and most expensive) 999 model leading the way. And finally, Herik Fuell (former design engineer and current subsidiary of Pan Galatixon) has challenged Danati by offering some street sensible alternatives.