top ten reasons why HD and GW riders dont wave back.

[Narcissus]

Yeah... What's with that?  It makes me want to chase them down and kick 'em over when they don't wave back...  Plus, I know there's no way in hell they'll ever catch me...

I'd just jump on the freeway.   :lol:

Unless its that 750 Vespa haha... I saw a scooter today on my way to the hardware store, a casually dressed guy with a huge bloddy scarf on a Yamaha BW me thinks. I stuck out my arm a good distance before we passed eachother but the whole while he just looked at me, never waved. He must have been thinking "Is that guy waving at me? Couldn't be. I'm on a scooter. Could he be waving at me? Maybe its the guy behind me...". I was walking through the city a few weeks ago while I was setting up for the "Run for the Cure" site with my father and we saw a little convoy of 3 vintage vespas passing what looked to be some misc. japanese built scooter that was waiting at a light. They all got soo excited, beeping there little horns at eachother and waving vigourously over their heads, I was sure one of them was goign to wave too hard and veer into oncoming traffic...

[Badger]

Considering the wide variety of encounters and the combination of motorcycles involved, I think this deserves a matrix.  Based on the commentary here, some personal experience, and a tongue caught firmly in cheek, here's a matrix of "Wave Interactions" identifying the probability that two riders will exchange waves.

Percentage chance of waving
Results in the form of:  % chance Rider will initiate a wave/% chance that this wave will be returned.  See notes, below.

Code Select Expand


                           E N C O U N T E R S
                           -------------------
                 Standard    Sport     Harley    Goldwing     BMW
R !             +----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+
 ! Standard[1] ! 95 / 95  ! 95 / 60  ! 95 / 10 ! 95 / 95  ! 95 / 80  !
I !             +----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+
 ! Sport[2]    ! 50 / 95  ! 75/75 [5]! 30 / 2  ! 50/75 [6]! 60 / 80  !
D !             +----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+
 ! Harley[3]   !   N/A    !   N/A    ! 80 / 80 !   N/A    ! 5/50 [7] !
E !             +----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+
 ! Goldwing    ! 95/95 [8]! 60/50 [9]! 80 / 5  ! 95/95[10]! 95 / 80  !
R !             +----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+
   BMW[4]      ! 10 / 95  ! 10 / 85  ! 10 / 2  ! 10 / 95  ! 10 / 95  +
               +----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+

Notes:
[1]: Standard riders will always wave, unless you catch them holding the clutch.  Even then, they might release the clutch suddenly in a furious attempt to share their enthusiasm with riding.

[2]: The lower % of waving from sport bike riders is due to the large percentage of people riding much more bike than they can handle, leaving them reluctant to release their terror hold on the grip, even for a moment.

[3]: Harley riders only recognize other Harley riders.  In the event that they are waved at, there is a slight chance that the operator will provide minimal acknowledgement.  This might include one or two upraised fingers.  Which finger is used for this maneuver varies, and is a matter of personal taste.

[4]: BMW riders rarely initiate waves.  They are commuting somewhere, and have more important things to do than wave at every two-wheeled vehicle out for a casual ride.  They consider every other rider ill-equipped and under-protected, but will generally return waves because to not do so would be rude.

[5]: Assuming both riders have made the same choice to wear or not wear a helmet and/or protective gear.

[6]: It is possible that the low percentage of sport-to-goldwing wave initiations is caused by the sport rider mistaking the Goldwing for a bus.

[7]: The one exception the "Harley Exclusion Principle" is the BMW.  This is because many Harley riders are mid-life crisis casualties, have a BMW automobile in the garage next to their Mercedes-Benz SUV, and feel some misguided sense of camaraderie with other BMW owners.

[8]: This is due to the Goldwing rider's desire to consider their motorcycle related to other motorcycles, and not the parlor chair on wheels that it actually is.

[9]: In absense of initiating a wave, one can assume the rider mumbled, "Durn kids!"

[10]: For the purposes of this discussion, establishing radio/satellite/bluetooth/cellular connectivity with the passing rider is considered a "wave".

Other notes:
These results are in no way based on any scientific experiment, measurement, analysis, or unbiased opinion, and should not be taken seriously.

And okay, I know...I've got way too much time on my hands right now.

[pandy]

ARRRRGGGHHHH!!! The maths are at it again!  :x


:lol:

[RVertigo]

You forgot motorcycle cops as the one Harley exception...  They always seem to salute though...

I'm not sure which is weirder...  Waving at cops or having them acknowledge your presence...

[Narcissus]

lmfao!!! Thats awesome Ya don't mind if I post your matrix and notes up on a couple local sites do ya?

[Badger]

lmfao!!! Thats awesome Ya don't mind if I post your matrix and notes up on a couple local sites do ya?

If I wanted to keep it to myself I probably shouldn't have posted it.  

Anyway...it's on the Internet now...it must be true.

[Jace009gs]

if I'm the position where I have my clutch hand free than ya I wave...no matter the bike....Stuck at an intersection and I'm in 1 [like you should be ] I do the nod thing...

Funny story time:
I was stoped at a light when a HD dude pulled up behind me...Bad Ass started reving it up making alot of noise...Naturaly having just installed my welico...I blared him out....COMPLETLY....At the next light he pulls up beside me and i flip open my visor and he says "nice bike".....I'm all  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol: inside but ya.......

Another funny story
My old boss [who isn't age wise old mid 30's] drives a HD something or other...all decked out open pipes, the works....When I drove my GS to work one morning we got to talking about this an that.....2years later I now regulary ride with him and his wife and a few other locals all the time here and there. Long story short some HD riders arn't bad asses but just prefer american products :dunno:  to each his own

Ya that whole GW thing is so true. A MSF instructor drove his GW one time to our class and there were alot of oooo-aaaaahhhhsss...I asked him where the electric heated cup holder was and he just chuckled and replied "it used to much juice, my GPS system started to fade out and the CD player started to skip, and the CB radio picked up weird noises, so I had to trade in the cup holder for "this"   :nana:

[Narcissus]

3/4 of my MSF course instructors had GWs, one of them actually laid his down on the last day to show us how to pick up a GW haha, of course they only fall over to about a 45* angle  :lol:

[RVertigo]

I had to trade in for "this"   :nana:

My GS came stock with one of those...  I've been thinking about upgrading to a double system, but I'm worried that it would interfere with my steering.