I am constantly being amused by the "wavers" in "the club". I wave to everyone. Sometimes I initiate the wave, sometimes I respond. Of course there are some Harley people that don't wave. The rest of 'em probably do wave because I have a half helmet with a design and wear a denim vest with patches and they are just confused. I have found that scooter people (real scooters) won't wave. They just look at me like I'm from another planet. Some trikes won't wave. I guess because they have too many wheels or something. The backasswards trikes that look like a snowmobile haven't had the opportunity yet. I only see them when I am parked. Perhaps they have heard of the way I drive and stay off the road when I am on it? The 2 things that floor me the most are quite a few black guys on crotch rockets won't wave and kids love to wave! I don't get the black guy/sportbike thing at all. If I am waving I am not showing hatred. By them not waving, I think they are though. And the kids...they always stop to watch and wave! Tonight I had a couple of kids yelling "hey motorcycle man!" and waving because I didn't see them playing! I wonder if they purchase a HD when they get older if they will still wave to us lowly metrics?

I had to laugh last night.  I was going through a town and a kid on a scooter, white Ipod headphones in his ears, no helmet......and I waved and got nothin' in return.  He's just too cool to wave to me!

People on scooters don't have any idea what motorbike etiquette is. They just bought them because they're cheap, small and economical, not because bikes are fun and thrilling. Expecting a scooter rider to know to wave is like expecting a Prius owner to know what race gas smells like.

As far as HD riders - most definitely just confused. They see a big round headlight coming at them and they instinctively wave. Most of them waved at me when I was on my Ducati Monster...

Serowbot wrote on 06/17/12 at 18:20:50:


That is not quite correct.

Beemer People are like Harley People.

Some are People on a bike, and wave at People on a bike.

Others are people on a Bike, and only wave at people on a Bike.



Look at the caps, see where I'm getting at...

When touring, I wave at anything from gnats to mosquitoes to fellow tourers  

When commuting, I'm too busy shaking my fist at scooters and crotch rockets and school moms and grandpas on errands...

 

You'd think with route 66 going right through the middle of town there would be a LOT of waving on the weekend.
MAYBE 1 in 10 of them wave on the weekend.
Most waves come from the same harleys, sport bikes n naked metrics i see during the week.
The shiny high dollar rolling couches i usually just get a dirty look. That is IF they even look my way...lol

I do have one local on a naked Harley, large fellow(fat) that wears a lil Nazi helmet that's unfriendly. Kinda get that 'who the F*** are you dirty look' when i wave at him...lol

I wave, they can take it or leave it.

Serowbot wrote on 06/17/12 at 18:20:50:


Now hold on there big fella!    

I am an old school waver because that was the way I was brought up.   In the 50's from about age 5, riding poker runs on the back of my Dad's Harley or Indian, I was taught to wave to other bikers.   There were no Jap bikes then, and even the Brits were considered somewhat exotic, but you waved at ALL bikers regardless.  Back then, it was part of the mystique of biker world, almost like a secret hand signal acknowledging that you both understood the "magic".

I've owned 2 Harleys; an Ultraglide, and a 1200 Sporty, and of course the Harley guys waved at me when riding one of those.  However, when I was riding another make, many no longer waved, which made me consider how pretentious and snooty the whole custom had become.   I've even had Harley guys start to wave then withdraw their hand when they realized I was not on a Harley - funny!

One thing that kinda irks me is my Beemer isn't usually offered the respect of a wave, even tho it has a heritage in Europe much like HD.  BMW started out making aircraft engines, but due to the Treaty of Versailles after WWI, Germany could no longer make "military hardware".  The result is, they started making motorcycles, producing their first boxer motorcycle in 1921.

I guess some Beemer guys are a little clicky, but the ones I've met are wavers and not hostile in the way some Harley riders seem to be.  Having owned both Harleys and Beemers, one distinction I noticed is a Harley is expected to be shined and polished when you ride into a rally like Sturgis, whereas Beemer guys are completely opposite, almost taking pride in the mud splatters, dirty windshields, and camping equipment bungied on.

One last thing is, I don't wave in town.   I'm usually too busy shifting and avoiding cages to be bothered.

I try to wave to everybody, regardless of what they're running. The only times I don't are when I can't, ie, I didn't notice them in time, or I'm going around a corner...

I do know my waving skill still sucks, but it's getting better with every biker I pass...

I have always waved at anything on two or three wheels. About 90% wave back.

This riding season in Michigan (our stupid Republican governor) repealed the mandatory helmet law....now  4 out of 5 riders still wear helmets, the ones who don't, do not get a wave. (It's a matter of principle.)