i was reading all these posts and wondering what you guys are doing wrong, because i went on a 4-hour ride today, and EVERY bike we passed, alongside or opposite, waved. even high-5's on the other side of the retaining wall, and long distance waves to the people on the opposite access road or sitting at the intersection. and then i remembered - i was riding behind my dad, who rides a big yamaha road star silverado with all the saddle bags and sissy bars and lots of lights and the leather vest with the vietnam vet NRA instructor Patriot Guard patches all over it. maybe the other riders were waving at him. but then again, when i ride by myself, i get big waves from sport bikes, cruisers, cars, cops ...maybe i just don't look threatening. when i was sitting in the left turn lane at an intersection in north dallas, a guy on a little harley pulled up next to me thru the traffic and was like "thats a nice RR man!!" and i felt stupid, because i wanted to compliment his bike, and didn't know jack about it. but i'll learn - a lot of the regulars at my work (with whom i talk bikes on a regular basis) ride harleys and other cruisers. i'm not sure where i'm going with this, but maybe dallas is just different from wherever yall are. but keep waving anyway - maybe itll catch on. and smile through your helmet - couldn't hurt!

 

around where i live i can be sitting in a left hand turn lane waiting on the light and most of the time when a cruiser passes you can give em a wave and they will just look at you like whaterver and keep going, but i guess that is just how it is in northern va

 

People in Montana wave like 98% of the time. The only ones that don't are a few cruisers and then the f$%!kheads on sport bikes that ride around with no helmet and shorts and a t-shirt... They're too COOL to wave.

 

Are there really people dumb enough to ride like that? I live in Louisiana (with a helmet law) but I can't imagine ever riding without my lid......

 

Ya that's one of my pet peeves too. A bikes a bike I really like them all and respect everyone whos riding for at least taking it out and having a good time. Howsomeonedoesn't have the common courtesy to acknowledge that you both have something in common and are out doingone of the most enjoyable things possible is beyond me. One thing I noticed is that probably a little less thanhalf of the riders on cruisers here wave when they're alone...but I have yet to get a wave from anyone on a cruiser riding in a group of them. It's like theyll be too embarrased to wave at a pathetic sportbike in front of their friends.

My uncle (harley rider) actually had the nerve to ask me when I was gonna get a real bike, and I replied 'what do you want me to sell my bike AND my car in order to put just a down payment on an overpriced oil leaking piece of ****?' and he never said another word about it. (From what I understand all the older harleys had a problem with oil leaks dont know if the newer ones do or not)

btw I really don't have any problems with harleys or any other bike for that matter I just didn't like the disrespectful comment he made about my baby.

 

I wave to about 90% of the riders I pass by. Most of them wave back. If they dont, i assume they are paying attention or concentrated on other things like i am the other 10% of the time. Its great when on the highway and some bike/cruiser way on the other side going the other direction waves. It makes me proud to be part of the "bike" family.

 

on the highway coming home from riding the twisties today, i saw 2 great big harleys, one with a guy and one with a guy and girl, all of them probably in their late 40's. tapped the horn to get their attention, waved, they waved back, and we sorta fell into formation (staggered position in the same lane) and i rode with them a good 10 miles before i got off, and they waved again. and it's weird, too, because i've never gotten that "your bike is less than mine" vibe, unless they were saying it in jest, just as i do for their slow-*** cruisers. normally, i get the bit about "youre gonna kill yourself - those were made for the track, and some idiot had the bright idea of putting them on the street". i just smile, and tell them that if i crash and die, they can smile and know they were right all along, but until then, i can always sell the sport bike and buy a cruiser if i want to. or a liter bike.

 

I give 'em a San Francisco wave...

 

uh oh ...what's a san francisco wave?