When To / When Not To

PianoMan

Nitrous
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Messages
1,244
Location
Overland Park, Kansas USA
Fall has come gently to the mid west. I've ridden the past two days and it's been right around 70 both days. Several other bikers are on the road taking advantage of the nice weather but an epiphany occurred that I must come to the mountain top (our forum) for proper advice on the etiquette of it all.

What's with the hand gesture to acknowledge other riders?


Most drop the left arm at a 45 degree angle, others lift the left wrist at the handle bar and still others just nod. I'm guessing it's a form of saying, " Hey, I know why you're out here riding and I feel the same way" or "Are you as pissed off at most of the dorks driving 4 wheeled battering rams as I am?" or "I'm waving because you waved and neither one of us know why".

I'm not sure when this tradition got it's foot hold but there seems to be no consistency about it.

Does a nod of the helmet equal a lift of the wrist?

Is lifting the head up as equal in value as nodding the head down?

At what point to you wave?

Do you wait (like a fast draw at the OK corral) to see who'll wave first?

Is there a greater show of dominance on your part if the other guy makes the move first?


If you're riding in a group, does everyone do the salute or just the leader of the pack?

I've spent up to 2 minutes keeping my left hand down while an oncoming ride passes by with several hundred riders. Whew!

What do you do when you move and they don't?
I usually say a little comment that has to do with their heritage until one day the other guy moved first and I was busily down shifting and breaking to accommodate the guy who slammed his brakes on in front of me. By the time my left hand was able to respond......the other rider is long gone.

How many of these folks will you ever pass again and what if you don't make the gesture to any of them?

Will your left arm fall off at the next RAT ride?


Has anyone ever turned around and came after you when you didn't acknowledge them?

So many questions that all seem to boil back down to...... "Why do we do this thing we do?"

Comments and/or criticisms are welcome as the floor is now officially open for discussion.
 
Not sure.......

Personally, I usually nod my head when I pass unless I see a sidecar outfit then I chase them down so I can look at it. I never pass a Rocket so I'm not sure what I'll do in that instance. In Nashville this summer I vigorously waved at all other Captains although some participants there seem to have the opinion that I might have been more attuned to the dark side of life which I can assure everyone, Rusty included, that I'm not.:D

I'm sure George will have a good reply. I'm waiting with baited breath................
 
Flipper,

Dark Side? Maybe that's why you had cow **** under your bike, pay back from above. When I cleaned under the Old Fat Bottom Girl, all I found were healthy butterflies, organic sunflowers, and rays from peaceful summer sunsets. Just shows which one of us is living right, but I'll still give you a wave when we pass old friend. :D
 
Flipper,

Dark Side? Maybe that's why you had cow **** under your bike, pay back from above. When I cleaned under the Old Fat Bottom Girl, all I found were healthy butterflies, organic sunflowers, and rays from peaceful summer sunsets. Just shows which one of us is living right, but I'll still give you a wave when we pass old friend. :D

I promise that you'll have your own chance to collect some cow **** this summer when you come here. We'll do a couple of loops around the go-around paying special attention to the area in front of the barn. I'll make sure I drop a few pies the day before for your approval.

I'm presuming that it's gonna be Cheyenne or somewhere out that way and I'm ready to rock (no pun intended). I already told the boss at College I was gonna be gone for a week or two and when I came back, I'd be burned to a crisp. This year I looked like a Maine Lobster.....
 
I was riding through a summertime Harley gathering at Harrah's South Lake Tahoe, lots of skin showing. I was at the tail end of a 350 mile ride and was decked out with a full face helmet, mesh jacket and pants. One of the Harleyphile's waved at me........he raised his left hand high then bent it sharply at the wrist.

Ahem........so much for a friendly wave.
 
I was riding through a summertime Harley gathering at Harrah's South Lake Tahoe, lots of skin showing. I was at the tail end of a 350 mile ride and was decked out with a full face helmet, mesh jacket and pants. One of the Harleyphile's waved at me........he raised his left hand high then bent it sharply at the wrist.

Ahem........so much for a friendly wave.

Ugarte:

Was that on the Rocket or the KLR?
 
Ugarte:

Was that on the Rocket or the KLR?

That was the Rocket. But I doubt he was able to identify the bike, head on like we were, he just saw someone who didn't quite fit into the unfolding scene there and made his statement...LOL! I didn't mind, I gave his very scantily clad girlfriend a good once over as I rode by. She was quite hot.......

Regarding my KLR, as I posted earlier my first week was scary what with the blowout, and grease slide, but I still have it and have added many accessories. I am quite fond of it now. That makes three bikes, a single, a twin, and a triple, now looking for a four banger to complete the stable.
 
Paper or Plastic?
:roll: yep, more or less.

You got yer rag heads, the ones with the ass of their pants half way to the back of their knees, tipping upwards to see out from under their dew-rags. They can't wave cause they're holdin their pants up at the ****** most often.

You got yer low brows, dipping downward to peer over their high dollar shades. They can't wave cause their too busy resetting their glasses on the bridge of the noses.

You got yer bar end waggers that are too busy with themselves, they'd be more comfortable on a moped, to give a Hi-Lo.

Then there's those insisting there's a pot hole or trench somewhere betwixt you-n-them.

And then there the last type who have no regard for anyone unless they're wearing the same colors. They wouldn't give a Hi-lo if your life depended on it. These are the same who dismantle their Hardleys every winter on the living room carpet.

I perfer the sign for W versus the V, for V-twin, which is most often. I get a kick out of those trying to sign for a Gold Wing or Interstate. :D
 
That was the Rocket. But I doubt he was able to identify the bike, head on like we were, he just saw someone who didn't quite fit into the unfolding scene there and made his statement...LOL! I didn't mind, I gave his very scantily clad girlfriend a good once over as I rode by. She was quite hot.......

Regarding my KLR, as I posted earlier my first week was scary what with the blowout, and grease slide, but I still have it and have added many accessories. I am quite fond of it now. That makes three bikes, a single, a twin, and a triple, now looking for a four banger to complete the stable.

I suspect that before spring there will be a KLR in my garage also. I'll have one, two and three cylinders too. I'm considering turning the KLR into a Dual Sport with a tubular sidecar attached. Vernon Wade out in Odell, Oregon builds some fierce outfits. It won't be green. Vern told me that the KLR's suffer over 75 for sustained periods. They burn oil but every thumper will burn oil when you whip that piston up and down and displace that much volume that fast. Personally, I think it's a neat bike. It's at least as much of a cult bike as the R3. if I had some way to scan Vern's action pictures I would. You'd appreciate what a KLR with a sidecar can do on a fire road.
http://adventuresidecar.com

Vern and I converse all the time. Very knowledgable about KLR's and sidecars.
 
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