Pretty Good Read about "The Wave"

[lyonsden]

You may have read this before but I thought I would post in case some haven't seen it.

The Wave (http://www.ekho.com/elton/PC800/The%20Wave.htm)

[Chupaca]

couple of considerations on those that don't wave. New ryders fearful of letting go and encounters requiring full grip but these are occasions for a head nod in place of the wave. There are those totaly distracted as well. I wave to them all...:2thumbs:

[MouthPiece]

couple of considerations on those that don't wave. New ryders fearful of letting go and encounters requiring full grip but these are occasions for a head nod in place of the wave. There are those totaly distracted as well. I wave to them all...:2thumbs:

I wave on rare occasions, but I do nod almost all the time.

Chris

[oldguyinTX]

The missus & I wave to all other riders we see. Fully 98% wave back, yes even Harley riders. Most will wave if you initiate it, and a lot of other riders wave first. To me it is about community, and not just the :spyder2: community. A couple of weeks ago we were parked on the shoulder with flashers on looking at a map. Yeah, old school. A Harley pulled over and asked if we were OK and/or if we needed any help. Told him we were fine and thanked him for stopping. That, to me, is community. IMHO

[Myron Ah]

Thanks for posting that. It was a good read. That says it very well as to why most of us ride. I don't always wave because I like both hands on the bars but I always nod my head and hope they see it.:thumbup:

[ARtraveler]

A great essay and a different take, discussing the nuances of the wave.

Thanks for sharing this with us. :thumbup::thumbup:

We wave most of the time if we are not otherwise occupied. Also receive about 98% returns.

[2Paw]

When my brother and I were at Spyderfest this year, we rode most of the time with me in the lead and him a ways behind. I was on my RT and he was on his Suzuki VStrom. One day he remarked that all the other Spyder ryders always waved at me but very few waved at him. Even though I am the older brother he has been riding as long as I have which is more than 50 years. He remarked that he thought that Spyder ryders as a group seemed to be more stuck up than any other group of riders he had encountered on the road, but went on to say that off the Spyders and on foot everyone seemed to be very friendly. Do we have less control over our rides than others so that we need both hands on the bars, I don't think so. I don't know what all this means, but I have been trying harder to wave at everybody ever since than.

[vided]

You may have read this before but I thought I would post in case some haven't seen it.

The Wave (http://www.ekho.com/elton/PC800/The%20Wave.htm)


Good of read, thanks for posting. ;)

[otter28169]

If my clutch hand is busy, I nod. Other than that I wave at every helmet wearing person I see, even the scooters. I do believe that there are many people out to buy an image with a motorcycle, that is why you see so many one year old bikes for sale. As for the concept of "needing others": There are very few real "needs" a person actually has, and none of them can be met by buying a motorcycle.

Just sayin'............

[easysuper]

On one of our first long rides to the Oregon Coast , we had just fueled up and I killed the Spyder and was having trouble getting it started (put your foot on the break dummy) I pushed the bike over to the side to let other cars fuel up , when this bad ass looking dude on a hellish looking rat Harley pulls up and says " are you having trouble ? my buddy down the street has a shop and I can get him to open up " I explained that we just figured out how to get her going again and thanked him for stopping , " no problem man , we're fellow riders " That was my wife's fist experience with the brotherhood of riders and the common bond .

[Dan_Ashley]

Today on the I-10 freeway I was riding along at 72 MPH. A kid on a crotch rocket is speeding up behind me. I change lanes to let him zoom past. He was much speedier than I. As he zoomed by, I gave him the 3 down wave (we ride on 3 wheels and want to keep them down on the pavement). He responded as he zoomed past with his left hand stretched across his body with the 2 down wave.

I fortunately met met him at the gas station about 3 miles later. I bought him a coke. He was maybe 23 or 24 years old and is in college to be a high school teacher.

[robmorg]

Great read! I had not seen that before. Thanks.

Here in Pennsylvania, we have an interesting twist to "the wave" story. I mostly wave at everyone. 95% of helmeted riders either wave back, or they initiate it. With unhelmeted riders, it is exactly the opposite... 5% return the wave, 95% do not, regardless of what kind of bike they ride. (I wave anyway, just to "tick 'em off". ;) )

In our state, helmets became optional in 2003. Wearing helmets had been mandatory, according to state law, for 35 years prior to that. And for all those 35 years there were vicious fights over repealing the "helmet law". Towards the end of that period motorcyclists were truly two different breeds in our state - those who hated the law and fought vehemently to repeal it, and those who, either didn't care, or sided with the majority of the legislators who believed that helmets saved lives. In 2003, after the repeal finally came, there were many riders (although a minority) who took off their helmets, threw them in the trash and have never worn one since. (Most ride Hogs.)

Now, eleven years later most of those who fought hard for the repeal still can't stand stand the rest of us who wear helmets (when by law we do not have to). There's a group of younger riders today who don't even understand what's behind the divide. It's a generational thing that eventually will fade, but for now, there are still those in PA who remain "a breed apart".

[oldguyinTX]

I'm not so sure that it is a "generational" thing, I believe that it is a "Choice" thing. I think that EVERYONE should wear a helmet and appropriate riding gear, but if not, that is their "choice" if the law allows. My own personal term for them is "Organ Doners" . Sorry if that offends anyone, but the one accident I have been involved in (on a two wheeler) the helmet saved my bacon. Someone else's fault, not mine. But it does not matter whose "fault" it is, your chances are better with a helmet than without. IMHO

[billrob71]

That was a long read but a really good read , thanks for posting it.

[robmorg]

I'm not so sure that it is a "generational" thing, I believe that it is a "Choice" thing. I think that EVERYONE should wear a helmet and appropriate riding gear, but if not, that is their "choice" if the law allows. I agree with you. When I said it was a "generational thing", I was referring to folks' recollection of the ill-content that took place in PA leading up to the repeal of the law some 11 years ago now. That will fade over time.

[Commander]

The missus & I wave to all other riders we see. Fully 98% wave back, yes even Harley riders. Most will wave if you initiate it, and a lot of other riders wave first. To me it is about community, and not just the :spyder2: community. A couple of weeks ago we were parked on the shoulder with flashers on looking at a map. Yeah, old school. A Harley pulled over and asked if we were OK and/or if we needed any help. Told him we were fine and thanked him for stopping. That, to me, is community. IMHO


"Since there are not a lot of Spyders on the road my wife and I get waves from almost every one and we return them....(they are just probably saying "look at the old farts on the road"...LOL

[HedonismBot]

couple of considerations on those that don't wave. New ryders fearful of letting go and encounters requiring full grip but these are occasions for a head nod in place of the wave. There are those totaly distracted as well. I wave to them all...:2thumbs:

This is true for me when I'm handling corners with no shoulder. I'm too focused not wanting to kill myself or my right. However, I'll nod if that's the case and my wife usually waves as my passenger.

[MidTNDawg]

and waving has always signified the brotherhood. With the emergence of Honda in the 60's many Harley riders stopped waving at anything else. However with the passing of time, the Harley guys once again started waving. In the 70's, I started riding BMW's and by the 80's everyone pretty much waved at everyone. Grace Butcher was a writer for Road Rider magazine and I enjoyed reading her work. UNTIL she wrote a column which said waving was passe'. At the BMW MOA that year, many did not wave and only her column could have caused that. I stopped buying the mag. The brotherhood of riders should always be just that, a brotherhood. And the day one's choice of motorcycle, or one's ability to pay for a newer or more expensive brand, causes one to wave or not wave, will be the day the brotherhood begins to disintegrate. Do I wave at a GL but not a F6? Or not at my friend's '79? Do I not wave at the 2nd rider because the 1st did not return my wave? No, I wave, and will wave at all.

[Pirate looks at --]

Great read! I had not seen that before. Thanks.

Here in Pennsylvania, we have an interesting twist to "the wave" story. I mostly wave at everyone. 95% of helmeted riders either wave back, or they initiate it. With unhelmeted riders, it is exactly the opposite... 5% return the wave, 95% do not, regardless of what kind of bike they ride. (I wave anyway, just to "tick 'em off". ;) )

In our state, helmets became optional in 2003. Wearing helmets had been mandatory, according to state law, for 35 years prior to that. And for all those 35 years there were vicious fights over repealing the "helmet law". Towards the end of that period motorcyclists were truly two different breeds in our state - those who hated the law and fought vehemently to repeal it, and those who, either didn't care, or sided with the majority of the legislators who believed that helmets saved lives. In 2003, after the repeal finally came, there were many riders (although a minority) who took off their helmets, threw them in the trash and have never worn one since. (Most ride Hogs.)

Now, eleven years later most of those who fought hard for the repeal still can't stand stand the rest of us who wear helmets (when by law we do not have to). There's a group of younger riders today who don't even understand what's behind the divide. It's a generational thing that eventually will fade, but for now, there are still those in PA who remain "a breed apart".

of course the riders with no helmets don't wave.........they're not very brite you know! Cut em some slack!:roflblack: