Most Harleys don't wave anymore

[Bob Denman]

Top Ten Reasons Why Gold Wing Riders Don't Wave Back
10. Wasn't sure whether other rider was waving or making an obscene gesture.
9. Afraid might get frostbite if hand is removed from heated grip.
8. Has arthritis and the past 400 miles have made it difficult to raise arm.
7. Reflection from etched windshield momentarily blinded him.
6. The espresso machine just finished.
5. Was actually asleep when other rider waved.
4. Was in a three-way conference call with stockbroker and accessories dealer.
3. Was distracted by odd shaped blip on radar screen.
2. Was simultaneously adjusting the air suspension, seat height, programmable CD player,
seat temperature and satellite navigation system.
1. Couldn't find the "auto wave back" button on dashboard.


Top 10 Reasons Sport bikers Don't Wave:
10. They have not been riding long enough to know they're supposed to.
9. They're going too fast to have time enough to register the movement and respond.
8. You weren't wearing bright enough gear.
7. If they stick their arm out going that fast they'll rip it out of the socket.
6. They're too occupied with trying to get rid of their chicken strips.
5. They look way too cool with both hands on the bars or they don't want to unbalance
themselves while standing on the tank.
4. Their skin tight-Kevlar-ballistic-nylon-kangaroo-leather suits prevent any position other than fetal.
3. Raising an arm allows bugs into the armholes of their tank tops.
2. It's too hard to do one-handed stoppies.
1. They were too busy slipping their flip-flop back on.

Top Ten Reasons Why BMW Riders Don't Wave Back
10. New Aerostich suit too stiff to raise arm.
9. Removing a hand from the bars is considered "bad form."
8. Your bike isn't weird enough looking to justify acknowledgment.
7. Too sore from an 800-mile day on a stock "comfort" seat.
6. Too busy programming the GPS, monitoring radar, listening to ipod, XM, or talking on the cell phone.
5. He's an Iron Butt rider and you're not!.
4. Wires from Gerbings is too short.
3. You're not riding the "right kind" of BMW.
2. You haven't been properly introduced.
1. Afraid it will be misinterpreted as a friendly gesture.

Top Ten Reasons Why Dual Sport Riders Don't Wave Back
10. Vibration of knobby tires prevented the rider from taking his hand off the bars.
9. MX style safety gear was too bright to see you wave.
8. His front fender prevents you seeing him wave back.
7. Was too busy configuring his GPS/Enduro Roll/FishFinder.
6. His rain/wind/thorn/bug/bird proof thousand-dollar jacket won't allow it.
5. Was too busy re-arranging his 500 pounds of soft-sided luggage.
4. Doesn't recognize a wave in any language other than German.
3. Too busy splitting lanes/filtering through traffic.
2. One handed wheelies are not easy.
1. On single-track trails you stop, not wave.

Top Ten Reasons Why Spyder Ryders Don't Wave Back
10. They'll NEVER be able to find the horn or turnsignal again, if they move their hand on the grip.
9. They keep a "Death Grip" on the bars in case of the dreaded DPS failure.
8. They were too busy trying to figure out how to change playlists on their I-Pod.
7. They were "Bluetoothing" with their dealer regarding the latest farkle delivery.
6. They couldn't find the "Auto-Wave" Button. (Hey; It's a Limited!)
5. Their passenger was distracting them with some nonsense about "Having to stop for a break"...
4. They were mentally rehearsing the "explanation", that they'll need to give their Spouse for the
last Farkling episode.
3. They were trying to remember the best way to cross Nebraska. (Answer: while asleep, in the back of a van!)
2. They were too terrified to take their eyes off of the display; lest the dreaded "Orange Screen of Death"
make an appearance.
1. You crossed paths while they were setting the cruise control, changing the voice on their GPS, raising
the windshield, and changing the volume on the radio.



(I'm working on the list for why conventional Trikes don't wave...)

[SPYD3R]

way too much emphasis is placed on the 'wave'....
enjoy they RIDE, not the WAVE...
dp

[900Dave]

We dont find this a problem here. We find that Harly riders wave about 75% of the time. A couple times I even had some riders coming at us, ape hangers, bandana's, cut off shirts/jackets and im just thinking don't waste my time and all of a sudden they all drop there hands and give wave. Suprised the heck out of me.

You also have to remember that some riders dont wave to anyone. No mattter waht they ride.

[gabbman]

When I first started riding I didn't wave not because I wouldn't but because I had no idea why everyone kept sticking their left hand out at me I had to ask a friend because I thought something was wrong with my bike

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

My observation is that often, especially in areas of tourist destinations, that many bikes, especially BMW and Harleys, are being ridden by foreigners who rent the bikes. I'm guessing that maybe waving is not done in other countries like it is here. Those folks don't know we expect them to wave, so they don't.

[jaherbst]

I have had 5 Harleys and just switched to my 2015 ST Limited and love it. Most Harleys don't wave anymore, hurt my feelings

Gee it must be you. They wave at me all the time. I wish they would stop that, it interferes with my texting!

Jack

[Pineywoods36]

I see it hit or miss when we ride, I don't let it bother me. When I was on 2 wheels I always used the piece sign or two finger wave, since I have been on the Spyder I started waving with three fingers. As long as no one waves back with one its all good.

[MidTNDawg]

I have had 5 Harleys and just switched to my 2015 ST Limited and love it. Most Harleys don't wave anymore, hurt my feelings

H-D riders wave far more often than not!

[Bob Denman]

I wave to everyone; I don't look for a return wave...

[Motorcycledave]

If they don't wave to you it is because 1- didn't see you 2- didn't care about you 3- their bike is a garage queen that only gets riden
on the weekends and they are hanging on to it because of the vibration and are afraid to wave 4- they are just snobs.
Pick one... If you are upright riding a 2 or 3 wheeled vehicle and pass me, I wave because I am enjoying the ride as much as you are...
Ride safe
Dave

I have had 5 Harleys and just switched to my 2015 ST Limited and love it. Most Harleys don't wave anymore, hurt my feelings

[finless]

If they don't wave to you it is because 1- didn't see you 2- didn't care about you 3- their bike is a garage queen that only gets riden
on the weekends and they are hanging on to it because of the vibration and are afraid to wave 4- they are just snobs.
Pick one... If you are upright riding a 2 or 3 wheeled vehicle and pass me, I wave because I am enjoying the ride as much as you are...
Ride safe
Dave

Dave, you left one out....
4 - they were shifting and needed the left had to pull the clutch lever!
That has caused me to not be able to wave a few times.

Bob

[DrewNJ]

The only group of people that consistently don't wave are the fully decked out goldwing riders, and the weekend pirates.
Other than that its usually all good.
Makes me chuckle....haha

[Roadster Renovations]

It is always a catch 22 for me. I may pass 2 or 3 in a row, give them the wave and they will not give it back. Then, as I resolve to stop doing it the next 5 riders will wave and I feel bad that I don't acknowledge them. What I do now s just wave at all bikes and not let the stuck-up ones bother me.

[gman214]

Had few HD riders passed me over the weekend without waving. But several did wave or gave me the nod. I try to wave at all ryders

[PistonBlown]

...He pointed out that you don't see pick-up truck owners waving at every Pick-up they pass...

Except in New Zealand...I have an old Datsun Ute (pickup) and everyone waves to me around here.

[garb55]

I wave to everyone even slingshots
They are registered as a motorcycle just as we are
If we don't wave to slingshots but we wave to everyone else aren't we being just like the 2 wheel riders that don't wave to Spyders
Yes I do believe the Slingshot is more of a car but it is cool.
I was in Reno this weekend for the Spring Street Vibrations
I wish I had a fake arm sticking out waving at all the riders

[finless]

The only group of people that consistently don't wave are the fully decked out goldwing riders, and the weekend pirates.
Other than that its usually all good.
Makes me chuckle....haha

That's a +100 from me....

Everyone seems to want to point at hard core Harley club riders not waving..... But that is not the case for me!

It's the stuffy GW riders!

Bob

[GunDoctor]

I ryde my Harley and my F3, I wave on both because we all ride. Yes the Harley guys have a case of Client Eastwood syndrome for the most part, but I understand the dynamics of all that. Just happy to be able to ryde what I want.


Another Day To Be My Kid's Dad [emoji379]

[Roadster Renovations]

Found this on another site and wanted to share.
Why We Wave
By Unknown
The bike's passenger seat swept up just enough that I could see over my father's shoulders. That seat was my throne. My dad and I travelled many backroads together...searching for the ones we had never found before.
Travelling these roads just to see where they went. Never in a rush, just be home by supper.
I remember wandering down a backroad with my father, sitting on my throne watching the trees whiz by, feeling the rumble of our bike beneath us like a giant contented cat. A motorcycle came over a hill towards us and as it went by, my father threw up his clutch hand and gave a little wave. The other bike waved back with the same friendly swing of his left wrist.
I tapped my dad on the shoulder, which was our signal that I wanted to say something. He cocked his head back slightly while keeping his eyes ahead...
I yelled, "Did you know him?"
"What?"
"You waved at him...who was that?"
"I don't know. Just another guy on a bike....so I waved."
"How come?"
"You just do...it's important."
Later, when we had stopped for ice cream, I asked him why it was so important to wave to other bikers. My dad tried to explain how the wave demonstrated comradeship and a mutual understanding of what it was to enjoy riding a motorcycle. He looked for the words to describe how almost all bikers struggled with the same things like cold, rain, heat, wind, and drivers who didn't see them, but how riding remained an almost pure pleasure.
I was young then and I am not sure that I really understood what he was trying to get across, but it was a beginning of something. Afterwards, I always waved along with my dad whenever we passed other bikes.
I remember one cold October morning when the clouds were heavy and dark, giving us another clue that winter was heading in from just over the horizon. My dad and I were warm inside our car as we headed to a friends house. Rounding a corner, we saw a motorcycle parked on the shoulder of the road. Past the bike, we saw the rider walking thru the ditch, scouring along thru the tall grass, crowned with a touch of frost. Dad pulled over and backed up to where the bike stood.
I asked Dad..."Who's that?"
"Don't know" he replied..."but he seems to have lost something. Maybe we can give him a hand."
We left the car and wandered thru the tall grass ditch to the biker. He said that he had been pulling on his gloves as he rode, and that he had lost one. The three of us spent some time combing the ditch, but all we found were empty cans and bottles.
My dad then turned and headed back to the car and opened the trunk. He rummaged thru various tools, oil containers, and this and that until he found an old pair of crumpled up leather gloves. He continued looking until he found an old catalogue. I understood what he was doing with the gloves....but I had no idea what he needed with the catalogue.
"Here's some gloves for you" my dad said as he handed them to the rider..."and I brought you a catalogue as well."
"Thanks"..I really appreciate it." He reached into his hip pocket and pulled out an old chain wallet.
"Lemme give you some money for the gloves" he said.
"No thanx" dad replied as he handed them to the rider. "They're not worth anything and they're old anyway".
The biker smiled. "Thanx alot."
He pulled the old gloves on and unzipped his jacket. I watched as my dad handed him the catalogue and the biker slipped it inside his coat. He jostled it around, positioning it up high, centered, and then zipped it up. I remembered now making sense of why my dad had given him the catalogue. It would keep him a bit warmer. After wishing the biker well, my dad and I left him warming up his bike.
Two weeks later, the biker came to our home and returned my father's gloves. He had found the address on the catalogue. Neither my father nor the biker seemed to think that my dad stopping at the side of the road for a stranger and giving him a pair of gloves, and that the stranger making sure that the gloves were returned, were events out of the ordinary for people who rode motorcycles. For me, it was another subtle lesson.
It was spring of the next year when I was sitting high on my throne, watching the farm fields slip by when I saw two bikes coming towards us.
As they rumbled past, my dad and I waved, but the other bikers kept their sunglasses locked straight ahead and did not acknowledge us. I remember thinking that they must have seen us because our waves were too obvious to miss. Why didn't they wave back? I thought all bikers waved at one another.....
I tapped my dad on the shoulder and yelled..."How come they didn't wave back?"
"Don't know. Sometimes they don't."
I remember feeling very puzzled. Why wouldn't someone wave back?
The next summer, I was finally old enough to learn to ride a motorcycle with a clutch. Many an afternoon were spent on a country lane beside our home, kicking and kicking to start my dad's old 1955 BSA. When it would finally come to a sputtering start, my concentration would grow to a sharp focus, as I tried to let out the clutch slowly enough, and bring us to a smooth take off. More often than not, I would lurch forward.....and begin to attempt to kickstart the motor again.
Eventually, I got my own motorcycle license, and began wandering the backroads on my own. I found myself stopping along sideroads if I saw another biker alone, just to check and see if he needed help.......and I continued to wave at other riders.
But I remained focused as to why some riders never waved back. It left me with almost a feeling of rejection, as if I were reaching to shake someones hand, but they kept their arm hanging by their side.
I began to canvass my friends about waving. I talked with people at biker events, asking what they thought. Most of the old riders told me they waved to other bikers and often initiated the friendly air handshake as they passed one another.
I did meet some riders tho, who told me that they did not wave to other riders because they felt that they were different from other bikers.
They felt that they were a "breed apart". One guy told me in rather colorful language, that he did not "wave to no wussies". He went on to say that his kind of bikers were tough, independent, and they did not require or want the help of anyone, whether they rode a bike or not.
I suspected that there were some people who bought a bike because they wanted to purchase an image of being tougher, more independent, a not-putting-up-with-anyone's-crap kind of person, but I didn't think that this was typical of most riders.
People buy bikes for different reasons. Some will be quick to tell you what make it is, how much they paid for it, or how fast it will go.
Brand loyalty is going to be strong for some people whether they have a Harley, Ford, Sony, or whatever... Some people want to buy an image and try to purchase another person's perception of them. But it can't be done.
Still, there is a group of people who ride bikes who truly are a breed apart. They appreciate both the engineering and the artistry in the machines they ride. Their bikes become part of who they are and how they define themselves to themselves alone. They don't care what other people think. They don't care if anyone knows how much they paid for their bike or how fast it goes. The bike means something to them that nothing else does. They ride for themselves and not for anyone else. They don't care whether anyone knows they have a bike. They may not be able to find words to describe what it means to ride, but they still know. They may not be able to describe what it means to feel the smooth acceleration and the strength beneath them. But they understand.
These are the riders who park their bikes, begin to walk away and then stop. They turn and look back. They see something when they look at their bikes that you might not. Something more complex, something that is almost secret, sensed rather than known. They see their passion. They see a part of themselves.
These are the riders who understand why they wave to other motorcyclists. They savour the wave. It symbolizes connection between riders, and if they saw you and your bike on the side of the road, they would stop to help and might not ask your name. They understand what you are up against every time you take your bike on the road.....the drivers that don't see you, the ones that cut you off or tailgate you, the potholes that lie in waiting. The rain. The cold.
I have been shivering and sweating on a bike for more than 40 years.
Most of the riders that pass give me a supportive wave. I love it when I see a younger rider on a "crotch rocket" scream past me and wave. New riders carrying on the traditions.
I will continue in my attempts to get every biker just a little closer to one another with a simple wave. And if they do not wave back when I extend my hand into the breeze as I pass them, I will smile a little more. Maybe they're just mistaken about who is a "breed apart."

[Don in E Texas]

Can remember back many years that as a VW driver/owner we all would wave at each other. Our kids would laugh and wave as well. That was a while ago - we had a VW Micro Bus -- a real hippy ride! Wife and I are going to visit one of our kids today as it is her 59th birthday. Daughter, Laura, has a 2011 RT-Limited - Pearl White. (She is also ready to register for 2016 Spyderfest; her 3rd).

Vast majority of all bikers wave at each other here in E Texas - but don't expect a wave on a tight corner - heavy traffic, etc. Safety is important.

...and do ride safe, gang.

Don

[Bob Denman]

...Why THEY don't wave back!


Top Ten Reasons Why Conventional Trike Riders Don't Wave Back
10. Their arms were too tired to raise... no power steering!
9. Your "Unusual" configuration has them confused. They thought you were going the other way!
8. They just had hit a pothole, and felt their first bad "Head-Shake". They're not letting go of anything!
7. They are lost in thought: How much is their Trike worth on trade, for a new Spyder?
6. They're still laughing at thgemselves for trying to put their feet down at the last stoplight.
5. The last time they waved at a "foreign" bike; their riding buddies made them buy the beer!
4. Didn't know WHAT you were, as you went by.
3. They only wave at conventionals...
2. They thought that their passenger waved... (She was asleep!)
1. The glare from all of the chrome had them momentarily blinded.

[Commander]

For me, I wave to everyone on two or three wheels. If they don't wave back it's their loss....
I do find though that the closer you are to the BIG cities the less they wave, the further away from the cities the more relaxed and the more they wave.......

[Bob Denman]

Tight traffic will do that to you...

[hobbykim]

Some new ride don't know what are you wabing about , if you look all ride don't wave seem new ride and I found some wave some don't and just enjoy your ride .

[joebryanjr]

In my area most wave back. Maybe we are friendlier here in the midwest.