Do you find that most ( not all ) Harley riders ---

[Paulcet]

Guess my location is similar to ecpreston's.  Harleys and other cruisers far outnumber all other types, but just about everybody will wave.  And if there is a passenger and the rider is busy with the clutch, the passenger will usually wave.

[NEWGS500F]

In my experience;

1)  HD riders wave/nod the LEAST and ALMOST all, give everyone (not just the Jap bikes, everyone) a blank...
2)  Those riding rockets i.e. Gixxers, R1's etc - they all like a nod and often a smile, as they rip past the nearest sports car 

...err, that's it.

I no longer give a sheeet aboot this folks...just ride on, and revel in the joy that my bike will happily, even with a modest power output, when handled correctly, wave ta ta to said morons with a slight throttle twist.....very few posers know how to operate the motorcycle properly....

[DoD#i]

--- will not even acknowledge riders on Japanese bikes?----They almost never wave to oncoming riders on other makes, and seldom look over and nod while waiting at a light or in traffic.

Nope. I find that there is a (very) small minority that behave this way. Of course, if you don't wave because your finely tuned cruiser radar detected a real harley .vs. a jap cruiser, then you're perpetuating their parallel myth that "Most of those jerks on rice don't wave, or nod, or nothing." And I've seen about as many of the 'tudinous on things that my not very finely tuned oncoming bike assessment radar classes as "not even a cruiser, regardless of who makes it, or where."

Don't get too wound up in what other folks do, or don't. Go have fun, and wave if you feel like it.

[denman]

I have lived and riden in a lot of places and most riders will wave.   

[joshr08]

I have actually had more gold wing riders not wave then harley riders.  I really think harley guys get a bad rap.  The wife and I went for a 80 mile ride the other day and the only person that didnt wave was an old guy on a big ol' ugly goldwing.  I used to own a Harley and guess what when i used to go out on it i would wave at everyone and guess what group of bikers didnt wave at me??? anyone anyone thats right rockets.  just something to think about.

[TonyKZ1]

Around here, SE Missouri, most of the bikers wave whether on a sport bike, a cruiser, or some big touring bike. As for the Harley types some don't, but most of them will return a wave. One local Harley rider that I meet on the road, just about every day rain/shine/cold/whatever the weather, has no problem waving and usually we'll be the only bikes on the road.
Tony

[Paulcet]

I have actually had more gold wing riders not wave then harley riders.  I really think harley guys get a bad rap.  The wife and I went for a 80 mile ride the other day and the only person that didnt wave was an old guy on a big ol' ugly goldwing.  I used to own a Harley and guess what when i used to go out on it i would wave at everyone and guess what group of bikers didnt wave at me??? anyone anyone thats right rockets.  just something to think about.

Ahh, the wing riders can't get a wave off in time.  They have to put the coffee cup in the holder, put down the stereo remote, and fold up the newspaper so they can wave!

[bassman]

I find here in the UK that nearly every biker I come across gives a nod or a subtle wave irrespective of the type of bike they're riding.  The Derbyshire Dales in the East Midlands of England has beautiful countryside and some great twisty country roads and attracts all soughts of bike rider.  Basically, almost everybody out on the road in that area on a Saturday/Sunday is just out to have a good ride and a good time and meet friends.  If anything, everyone is so friendly that it becomes almost a chore to nod and waive!  I constantly go through this anxiety of 'shall I nod to this guy or this convoy of 6 guys or shall I wait 'till they nod to me'.  Then I decide I won't nod and then someone in the pack nods to me and then I feel obliged to nod to all of them! I actually quite like it when I don't come across another biker for a while!

I'll tel yer what, though...I wouldn't flick a finger at anyone else - biker or car driver!  If it's a biker, you don't know what chapter they may be a member of (it may not be the local biker's sowing circle ), and a car driver can just swot you like a fly with even the puniest vehicle !

At the end of the day it's just about the riding...

bassman (hhhmnn...now where did I put my knitting?...)

[bill14224]

Some Harley owners are salt of the Earth.  Others are hostile morons, but that's not the clear indicator of why some will wave and others won't.

Some will wave or not because they're friendly people or not.  Others won't wave because they can't without losing control of their horrible-handling bike.

[McD]

Some Sportbike riders are the variety of life. Others are aggressive idiots. But that doesn't show how cool they are or not.

Some will wave or not because they're just cool people or not. Others won't wave because they can't without losing control of their ridiculously-over-powered-for-90-percent-of-the-population-style-bike.

Wait, wat?

[bassman]

OK...This is where I reveal I'm a hypocrite!

Friday evening.  Riding home from work.  Lovely and warm and sunny.  Friday evening.  End of work for another week.  Beers chilling in the fridge...Scotch in the cupboard for a chaser if I'm of a mind.  Riding home to the bosom of my wife and children.  What could spoil this perfect begining to my Friday?  That perfect ride home on that perfect part of the day of that perfect day of the week...

I'll tell you what can spoil it...an a**hole on a scooter!...that's what!   I'm guilty of over-reacting here I know...but I wanted to kill this guy.  Basically, I'm yards from my driveway, I slow down to roll over a speedhump, I accelerate away from said speedhump, and prepare to turn left into my driveway.  Fortunately, I'm an experienced rider and am careful to look around me before changing direction.  Just aswell, because a**hole young scooter rider ignores the fact that I am in the middle of the lane and undertakes me at just about the time I would normally turn into my drive.  F**king undertaking me!     A**hole!!!!  I pulled up.  Thought for a moment.  The red mist descended.  I then proceeded to chase after the guy who was now a fair distance ahead.  I was so mad I cut through some 'rat runs' to try and catch up with this a**hole before I came to my senses and thought 'what the hell am I doing?'.  I don't know what this sort of behaviour might be called in different parts of the world, but in the UK it's called 'road rage'.

Now the red mist has dissapated, I am questioning my reaction to this situation and realise I over-reacted.  But this a**hole could have wrecked my bike and injured me because he was too much of a 'dumb ass' to consider not only other road users, but other bikers aswell.  I don't what the point is I'm making other than letting-off steam, but I guess it really isn't worth making an issue out of something if no-one was hurt (sound like f**king Jerry Springer now!).

No wait, I know what the point is!  I don't care whether you waive or not...just don't f**king ride dangerously anywhere near me!

bassman

[cafeboy]

+1 

[XealotX]

I have an up to the minute bulletin on this topic...

Must have passed 200 Harleys on my ride this afternoon. Maybe more...no kidding.

Harley riders over 60 years old NEVER WAVE. Ever.

Harley riders with 300lb (or more) fat chicks wearing tank tops on the back ALWAYS wave. Enthusiastically.

[bombadillo]

Its the mid-life crisis bike and they're too busy trying to make sure all 800 pounds of the bike stays vertical.

[jdanna]

Now, that whole "loud pipes saves lives" thing...
It's Harley riders that propagate that myth.  So, what do cagers listen for?  Loud pipes. 
Cause, let's all be honest, here:  a big, chrome, piece of crap seems like it would cause a lot more damage to your car than something with fairings. 
And, cagers expect us to be able to swerve and avoid anything they might do, whereas Harley riders can't budge from the middle of the lane.  It's written in Hammurabi's code, or something. 

ive had bikes with loud pipes and bikes without - it definatly makes a difference.
since i bought the harley ive had more people try to run me over, because its a lot quieter then my last suzuki was.

eventually i'll fix the bikes wimpy stock pipes and put some proper loud ones on.

i wave to everone. and i bought the harley because it outrode and outcomfortabled every other bike i looked at.
and it didnt cost much more then the metric cruisers in the same class.

oh yea and it looks a ton better then any of the metrics do right now.

sometimes i think that people whine about harley owners becuase since there are so many more of them, you are statistically more likely to meet up with one whos a dickhead.

[jserio]

i think it's jealousy.....                     







on a slight thread jack, i've entered a contest to win a bike....





http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/2009_Motorcycles/2009_Motorcycles.jsp?locale=en_US#/model/xl883n

[jdanna]

i think it's jealousy.....                     







on a slight thread jack, i've entered a contest to win a bike....





http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/2009_Motorcycles/2009_Motorcycles.jsp?locale=en_US#/model/xl883n

oooooooh those are nice bikes
my wife has an 07 883, its an awesome bike - it handles like a GS.
and i love the HD matte paint ( http://wjoe.tv/fxdf/dsc02043.jpg   obviously)

[jserio]

   nice lookin bike... how's she ride? pros/cons?

[jdanna]

  nice lookin bike... how's she ride? pros/cons?

oh it rides great
its a bit shakey at first cause of the non-balanced motor, but once you get moving it smooths out perfectly.
power is great, but eventually im gonna get slipons/k&n/fuel processor for it and give it a bit more go and a bit more sound.

handling is much better then you would expect for a 700+ pound bike. having matching front and back tire sizes and a short rake really helps, and the drag bars and forward controls are perfectly placed.

i can ride all day without stopping, and my back never acts up. on the GS my back would start to hurt after like 1.5 hours. on the c50 it was 2 or 3 hours. on this thing, i havent had to stop because of my back yet, and ive ridden a few 6+ hour days

[jserio]

comfort is key i think. after all, it's about THE RIDE right, not what you ride?