Waves

[klennop]

Hey everyone. I am not sure where I should put this but I figured here would do.

So what is up with all the different waves?

I wave at everyone except for mopeds and scooters. I don't care what you ride(harley, sportbike, tour, enduro, etc) as long as you are out riding. I may not agree with the gear you have on while you are riding, but hey that is your choice also.

So I have recieved the full hand, the 2 fingers (peace style), the one finger down, and the rare circle almost like an OK. I have never recieved the ultra rare shocker wave but I know what that is, not from experience.

What do all those styles mean? Especially the circle , OK style symbol? See I have got it from both a sportbike and also a harley rider.

I also understand that when trail riding if you are in a group, you wave to show how many people are with you but that shouldn't matter when you are on a road with less blind corners and painted lines.

So what is the deal??

[repoe3]

Originally Posted by klennop

Hey everyone. I am not sure where I should put this but I figured here would do.

So what is up with all the different waves?

I wave at everyone except for mopeds and scooters. I don't care what you ride(harley, sportbike, tour, enduro, etc) as long as you are out riding. I may not agree with the gear you have on while you are riding, but hey that is your choice also.

So I have recieved the full hand, the 2 fingers (peace style), the one finger down, and the rare circle almost like an OK. I have never recieved the ultra rare shocker wave but I know what that is, not from experience.

What do all those styles mean? Especially the circle , OK style symbol? See I have got it from both a sportbike and also a harley rider.

I also understand that when trail riding if you are in a group, you wave to show how many people are with you but that shouldn't matter when you are on a road with less blind corners and painted lines.

So what is the deal??

maybe its because appleton is such a friendly place yet not everyone is so friendly on the roads. lived there for 3 years, wheatfield drive (blah neighborhood)...went to part of junior high and then east high school and then moved back to VA...wow, the memories of that place. can't say i loved the winters, but they sure were majestic in all their still coldness.

repoe3

[klennop]

I think most of the riders in WI that I have ran into are very friendly. I have ran into multiple Harley guys that absolutely love my bike and ask me a ton of questions about it. I was really suprised since Harley is such a majority here.

I just don't know what the circle with the hand symbol means?? If I was getting it from just one crowd, then maybe I could figure it out. However it has been from both sportbikes and Harleys.

[repoe3]

Originally Posted by klennop

I just don't know what the circle with the hand symbol means?? If I was getting it from just one crowd, then maybe I could figure it out. However it has been from both sportbikes and Harleys.

that can mean police ahead...symbolizing a police light. though some tap their helmets to alert to a speed trap or something.

repoe3

[klennop]

Originally Posted by repoe3

that can mean police ahead...symbolizing a police light. though some tap their helmets to alert to a speed trap or something.

repoe3

I could see that meaning 5-0 or the flashing light also but none of the times did I see any police??

Crap, now I would think tapping of the helmet would be like saying nice helmet, or glad to see your wearing a helmet, etc. Now look what I started!!!!

[Rootboy]

Circle with the hand...police ahead. I see alot of that in Wisconsin.... they certainly have enough cops out whenrver I go north... They also like to ticket FIPs (F***ing Illinois People). I feel like we are lucky in this crowd: Sport bikers are facinated by the S, True Harley Dudes dig any twin and tourers love anything BMW. Everybody loves us and they all wave at me all the time!

[bradzdotcom]

in parts of SoCal it's a little different.
not much waving going on in the towns, except HD to HD and sportbike to sportbike, tourer to tourer, etc...

out of town, seems like most everybody waves...standard wave, peace sign, hang loose, index finger point, etc...

it's in the canyons where the sport bike guys communicate. others don't seem to.
typical back and forth sportbike rider conversation:

palm up: any cops where you just came from? how's the road ahead?

ok sign or thumbs up: road is good. no cops. haul asss.
hand tapping top of helmet: heads up, cops ahead.
hand in "slow down motion movement: cops REALLY close ahead...or a crash...either way slow down.

there's a bunch more, but those will get you up and down a road around here.
when asking about the road ahead it's customary to also pass along info about the section you just came from.
all of this goes by in about 2 seconds, so it's often hard to catch.


the reader's digest version (when you don't ask a question with the palm up gesture): any standard peace sign, hang loose, etc......and you can usually assume that the road ahead is good to go....otherwise you'd be warned.

disclaimer: i have had HD guys give me the thumbs up, only to find a radar cop a couple of turns ahead. maybe they think it's funny, or more likely, since it's almost impossible considering what they're riding, maybe exceeding the speed limit never enters their mind, ergo, the cop's radar is benign.

[SergioK]

I was coming down Angeles Crest Hwy last week and rounded a turn to find a LEO going a very nice leisurely 5-10 mph below the posted speed limit. (I should have known since I saw him and actually spoke with him 30 min prior) I, of course, was ummm, practicing some lines. Anyway, it was a very long way down the hill.

I look about 2-3 miles up down the road and I can see some guys heading towards us... oh how to forewarn them. Needless to say I got to see how much front end dive causes headlights to no longer shine in your eyes.

[bradzdotcom]

sergio~

that headlight dive (or lack of it on the bmw) has saved my butt on many occasions.
cops always look for the panic brake/headlight dive as a good indicator that they've got a live one....and you can scrub off so much speed with the telelever, without the front diving, that sometimes...if you're lucky....you can slip past.

(radar ain't everythin'....most cops around here try to estimate speed, and a suddenly diving front end is sometimes good for adding about 20 MPH to what they see).

[klennop]

I always think that as long as you are out riding, you should always give a courtesy wave to a fellow rider when it is safe to do. Like I said I don't care what you ride. Hell I would even let a Harley use my tool kit because god knows I will never have to.

I also own a lifted Jeep Cherokee (Not Grand). When I see another nice jeep, I will give him a wave and vice versa. That is just they way it is. However Wrangler people seem to think they are better than everyone else so when they don't wave back, I just chaulk it up to....wranglers are for for cheerleaders!!

Maybe I am just to nice of a guy?

[bradzdotcom]

if you stop and let harley guys use your tool kit, you'll never have time to actually ride.

(sorry, couldn't resist).

no real opinion on wrangler owners, 'cept like most out there.....most are posers.

(but the other day, i walked around a slammed-to-the-ground, top-chopped, lambo-style doored (4 of 'em, plus tailgate) brand new ford excursion.......go figure).

[tim22]

I usually don't waive anymore unless the other person waives first--then I gladly waive back--I've gotten "burned" too many times. Sometimes it's a hassle to waive though when the other rider is on the other side of the expressway. Usually, I'm not watching (the other rider) close enough so see if they've waived or not.

Everybody around here seems to think they're too cool to waive normally. They usually put their hand out below the handlebars (kind of like they are signaling a turn)--heck, you can barely tell if they're waiving! It's like a "hey, I'm cool" waive. I always waive back with my hand up high. I'm so "not cool" that I am cool!

Does anybody do the fist anymore--with the back of the hand back and the closed fingers forward? That's how my dad taught me to waive way back when. If I waived like that now people would probably think I'm over zelous.

[SergioK]

Originally Posted by tim22

Does anybody do the fist anymore--with the back of the hand back and the closed fingers forward?

Some used to...

[bikerfish1100]

i always figured the up high enthusiastic wave is from a noob rider- just so damn excited to be riding that he nearly pulls himself off the bike with all the wave energy.

saw a FABulous wave style returning from the MOA national. We were running hot with a pair of Cali GSs on the interstate (across the Great Plains of Boredom). Guy would give a hand up wave to all approaching riders, then when he saw their gear- or more precisely their lack of gear- (shorts got the worst response) he would flick his hand outward, as if trying to toss off a nasty booger. Very clearly, he was "dismissing" the other rider as being a non-rider, unworthy of the wave. It took me a time or two for it to register, but i nearly guffawed out loud when i realized what he was saying/doing.

some related one-liners from the MOA National's closing ceremony-
Why don't harley riders wave? they don't want to whip themselves with the fringes on their gloves.
Why don't Gold Wing riders wave? they're looking for the Auto-Wave button.
Why don't Ventura/Voyager riders wave? they're pretending to look for their Auto-Wave button.

[Guest24]

Originally Posted by bradzdotcom

if you stop and let harley guys use your tool kit, you'll never have time to actually ride.

(sorry, couldn't resist).

no real opinion on wrangler owners, 'cept like most out there.....most are posers.

(but the other day, i walked around a slammed-to-the-ground, top-chopped, lambo-style doored (4 of 'em, plus tailgate) brand new ford excursion.......go figure).

I use a Stilson wrench to work on my Harley. Torque settings --as hard as you can pull.