I am reading with great interest the story about the arrest of six Lake Isabella-area men on various charges including being members of the Vagos motorcycle gang.

At least a few of them live in the Happy Haven Trailer Park where one resident describes them as good neighbors.

I don't pretend to know the facts of this case. We'll let the courts sort that out.

But it brings up fond memories of my dealings with two motorcycle clubs — the notorious Hells Angels, including its leader, Ralph "Sonny" Barger, and the Knights Motorcycle Club of Oildale.

The Knights have a 35-year-history in Bakersfield, mostly at its current location near Wright and Norris avenues, but they also had a club for about 10 years around 1990 near Rosedale Highway and Verdugo Lane.

Rumors about the Knights abounded. They were supposed to be a tough, crime-infested gang. But the facts never much supported that.

Oh, it is true. A few of their members got busted for drugs over the years. One of their former presidents, Floyd "Pig" Keys, was in a third trial in 1993 convicted of killing his girlfriend, Debra Ward. He swore his innocence until the end.

But officers of the club once invited me to their Rosedale facility to describe their real purpose — riding American-made motorcycles and partying. They had a nice set up for that.

And today I called another officer, a man who would identify himself only as Brutus, but said he's been a member for 27 years. He said the club's purpose remains the same and in addition the club is one of the sponsors of the Oildale Toy Run, and the club quietly provides turkeys and other presents for needy families at Christmas.

He said any member caught over the years doing anything illegal did so outside the club and on their own.

I have no evidence to counter what Brutus is saying.

But the Hells Angels — that's a different story. One of my most memorable stories I ever covered was the 1973 Oakland murder trial of Sonny Barger and four others for the shooting death, and subsequent house fire that burned the body, of a Cuban drug dealer.

The drug dealer violated the 11th Commandment — thou shalt not give the Hell's Angels bad dope. He tried to make up for it but as he was laying on a couch passed out, Sonny walked up to him, pulled out a strange-looking gun and shot him to death, a former Hells Angel testified.

In one of my stories for the Contra Costa Times a typo appeared that say Sonny "pulled out a strange-looking gut."

Sonny didn't threaten to harm me over the typo. There was something else.

All of the defendants were acquitted. Sonny testified he was making love to his girlfriend, Sharon — who was a beauty queen from Livermore — at the time the drug dealer was killed. To solidify his truthfulness, Sonny testified he sold drugs for a living. (He was, oddly enough, convicted of selling drugs in his very next trial).

During that trial I went to Sonny's house to visit Sharon. I believe I am the only reporter ever to have been inside his house. I wrote a story about it. Sonny, from the jail center,  called my roommate at out Pleasanton apartment and threatened to harm me and ordered me never to talk to Sharon or go to his house again.

I loved covering that murder trial. The defendants all wore $500 suits. To this day, I've never worn a $500 suit. Their girlfriends were flawlessly beautiful. Their friends would make snide remarks about reporters in the elevators. What fun.

Sonny is now in Phoenix. He had throat cancer in 1983 (another thing we have in common) and lost his vocal cords. He operated a motorcycle shop in Phoenix, but it closed when I went to try to visit him a few years ago.

I have never passed a chance to chat with Hells Angels when I see them in a courthouse or out on the road. Generally, they are not very friendly.

Not like the Knights members, including Floyd "Pig" Keys," who have always been friendly and chatty.