Waving Riders....

[Snorebaby]

It is interesting given Steve's post, about who waves and who doesn't. Please post with your experiences and any new observances during your riding. Guess we could run this for the summer and tally it all up to get a general idea.

I guess the catergories are:

(1) Cruiser
(2) Crotch-Rocket
(3) Young
(4) Old(er) (or should I say "Been In The Saddle Longer" LOL!)

If you can see if they are older or younger then add that into it but mainly just the style of bikes ridden.

[cTc]

Typically I wave, to all bikes, but having the hands 18" in air sometimes means there are circumstances when I cant wave, not that I dont intend to, but it just dosent work out, so I throw the head nod.

I've been riding on the street since I was 16, got my license at 18, and have put a ton of miles on the pavement. Turning the big three 0 this year, I see just how many "kid" ride now, they dont usually wave, unless they know the crossing bike. But I think it more of a age thing then a lack of respect. they just dont know thats the thing to most people do.

Later

[Snorebaby]

I do the same cTc....even though I don't have the problem of my hands up in the air LOL!!! I always wave no matter what bike it is. People who ride, and it don't matter what style or make of bike, are in a "Brother and Sisterhood" and should acknowledge each other whenever possible. I feel it is a common courtesy to do so.

I have noticed that years ago (at least 20) that you waved above the handlebar (high-five) and now it is below the handlebar (low-five). I wonder what (or why it) has changed or is it dependent on geographical area one is riding in? With me out of the saddle for so long, don't know if I missed something or not. I know with you, cTc, that it would be a little difficult to do a high-five ROTFLMAO!!!

On another note: I know it will be a site to see when myself and two of my buddies (they are brothers) start riding together.....it will be a H-D Sportster, Suzuki crotchrocket, and my Rebel. ROTFLMAO!!! You don't normally see a mix like that!

[bikeman1969]

I've only been riding now for about 3 weeks. It seems that most people that i have gotten waves from are riding crusiers. all the waves have been the down low under the handle bar type also.

It's nice that even a beginner rider like me gets so welcomed on the road from other riders even though they have been on harleys or larger metrics. I guess we all have to start some where.

[GearJammer]

Good point, "Bikeman", we all have to start somewhere & you've chosen about the BEST bike to start out on :wink:

I wave to all as well, even people on motorized scooters. If it's got 2 wheels & a motor, it's going to get a wave from me. There's some who don't (or flatly refuse to) wave, but their snobbishness speaks for itself & it only cost me a sweep of the hand, LMAO!

The waving tradition seems to have gone to the low-five for a couple of reasons. It's one way to signal "Keep The Rubber Side Down". You'll see a lot of low-V's (Peace) as well signalling good intent.

Hate to say this, but it's true. There's still Brotherhood/Sisterhood out there & the REAL test of that is when one is broken down on the side of the road. There's TONS of people who are happy to wave, but there's far fewer who are willing to stop & help when they see someone broken down. They ARE still out there tho' & that helps me to keep the faith.

Ride Safe!

[boggs74]

I agree it doesn't matter what kind of bike you ride i have friends that ride Harleys, 70's model hondas, and one bud that has one of the fastest bikes i ever seen and we all get the same amount of respect from other riders. I think it comes down to how long you been" in the saddle". I think some newer riders dont understand yet about being apart of the "brotherhood or sisterhood". So i wave when i go by and if they don't i don't even give a second thought. All though past experience has shown me that the next time you pass by they usually wave back.

[GearJammer]

Just a little detour here & then I'll surrender the hi-jack...hehehe...

When the Reb stalled on the main road this past Saturday & was refusing to start, my Bro was there with me. A few bikes rode by without stopping & that's cool, they could clearly see that there was another rider available to get to a phone or whatever if need be. But he had to run up the road a ways to pick up a part for his truck, so I told him to go on ahead & then double-back when he was done in case I hadn't gotten the bike started. We agreed that if I got her started, we'd hook-up at a place in between.

Now, while he was gone, I kept trying to get her to fire, drained the float bowls again, etc....no question that I was kneeling next to the bike with tools in hand & was broken down. I swear about 10 different riders went by, some riding solo, some in small groups & NONE of 'em stopped to offer assistance. I knew my Bro would be returning so it was no big deal, but THEY didn't know that we had it covered. It just reminded me of "some" bikers getting into the "wave" thing...."Isn't this FUN" ? LMAO!....but not being willing to stop & help........ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!

(As it turned out, got her fired up & met him at the pre-arranged meeting point, so it all worked out.........but...... :? )....hehehe.....

[Are (yes it is my name!)]

I've never been waved at. Never wave to anyone either, unless i know them. It seems like people riding bigger bikes dont want to wave to mopeds for some reason...

Might got something to do with age as ctc mentioned.

[rbryce]

Hello all! This is my first post to the forum. I just fixed up an old '86 rebel a couple weeks ago, and have been running it ever since!

It's my understanding that waving is actually called the "left handed salute". Many years ago when knights would pass each other on horses, they would raise the sheild on their helmet, and drop their left hand as a form of respect. That tradition has carried over into today for anyone who loves the wind blowing in their face.

Take care! -- Ricky

[GearJammer]

Welcome, Ricky & thanx for that info. Very interesting stuff there.

There's always been the correlation between "horsemen" & "bikers", which makes sense. Was at a swap meet last weekend & saw a cast scuplture of a horse that had a motorcycle engine "grafted" into it's body, LOL! Pretty cool lookin' item & I almost sprung for it, but have to keep the spending down for a bit.

[ddouble]

I wave to everything on two wheels. Kids on bicycles get a big kick out of the "biker" wave. One poor kid on a scooter was so surprised that I waved to him he almost dumped his bike. :D

I've noticed the high and low wave thing too. Most of the high waves are from the Dresser style bikes with the full fairings.

Non wavers around here are mostly the Big Dog chopper style guys. I figure they are just to danged scared to let go of the bars :P .

When I take the Tomos out even guys that wave to me on the Rebel won't return the wave to a moped :x . Oh, well.

Gearjammer,

First time out on the KZ I ran her out of gas. Wife and I were stuck on the highway. We had at least twenty people stop or slow down to make sure we were covered, We were only there twenty minutes. A friend gave Dot a ride to the house for the "honey-do" gas and we got to the station.
When I blew the main fuse on a country road a guy in a Mustang pulled right over to make sure I was good. I had a spare in the kit. This is why I like living in the country.

Cool story about the wave.

Dan

[karenlee56]

Even here in NJ, home of the aggressive and rude driver, :roll: there has only been one or two instances when someone on 2 wheels didn't wave in some fashion. I believe that those times were from riders on sport bikes.

I've also noticed that the majority of times, the other person initiates the wave (I'm still not always comfortable taking my hands away from the controls, even for a few seconds). At times, I initiate, but my "wave" is often a nod of the head (for above-mentioned reason). I have also gotten many head nods instead of waves. The only time that I did not reciprocate was last weekend, which was my first time on mountainous roads with twisties and a few STEEP hills. My eyes were glued to the road, and my whitened knuckles were basically frozen on the grips... :shock: I was so nervous at times during that ride, that I couldn't even nod my head to anyone! :lol: Fortunately, those times of fear didn't stop me from doing the right thing when an SUV came heading straight at me at an intersection, from around a blind curve!

Karen

[GearJammer]

Dan wrote: "First time out on the KZ I ran her out of gas. Wife and I were stuck on the highway. We had at least twenty people stop or slow down to make sure we were covered, We were only there twenty minutes. A friend gave Dot a ride to the house for the "honey-do" gas and we got to the station.
When I blew the main fuse on a country road a guy in a Mustang pulled right over to make sure I was good. I had a spare in the kit. This is why I like living in the country."

Now, that's the way it's supposed to be! :wink: Sure is tough for me getting old & seeing various changes, some good, some less impressive, LMAO!

Karen, No worries on the waving part. Please continue to proceed at YOUR comfort level. Those who ride should definitey be able to realize that there's times when waving simply isn't the safest thing to do at one particular moment or another......having to shift, negotiate traffic, etc....as well as simply getting used to riding in general.

[balisada]

I have noticed in Oregon that I get waves from cruisers mostly.

I get a few from the sport bikes, but they mostly seem to be zipping along to where ever they are going.

As to the age, I can't determine.

Balisada