Quote from: Roslyn on August 28, 2008, 02:51:03 PM

Quote from: simon79 on August 28, 2008, 11:46:39 AM

BTW, another question for the left-hand-traffic (UK, AUS, NZ...) guys:
do you wave one another on the road, too?
do you use your left hand like us or let the throttle go to wave at other riders?

I'm in Sydney and we don't wave, we nod. It has to be bit of a sideways nod in their direction or else they can't see it. I don't generally nod at scooters but these days a lot of them look like regular bikes from the front so it's hard to tell. I don't nod at HD riders because they never do, and as for BMW riders not waving, my husband has a BMW and he always nods to other riders. 

aussie nod, i like it. pretty cool.

I still get a kick out of a wave. Sometimes it's even from 8 lanes over, a HD (at that!) guy with a big grin.

Girls on bikes ALWAYS wave back. And they're smiling. And stunning.

HD guys are 50/50 on waves.
BMW guys seem too nervous about dropping it or something to wave.
Jap bike guys usually do.
Rediculousely expensive Itallian/whatever riders are weird. No really. I've waved at a fella on a beautiful Duc for a month now (even last night while washing my bike) and gotten no response, not even a nod/head turn.
Cruiser guys are usually too busy talking on their cell phones.
Scooter folks are usually 50/50, because they're confused as to why i'm waving.

Cyclists (PEDAL BADASSES!) are about 75-90% wavers. Usually they just want a break from the pain. Ahhh, the pain, it is sweet.

Awesome topic, I love it!

I wave at everyone, including scooters...with the exception of had core "bikers" on HD's. Not talking the dentist crowd, I'm talking the guys in colours.

I agree, its funny to see scooter guys, thier first response is usually to look behind them. "was he waving at me!? why!?" LOL

I'd say I get a 90% wave back rate. never noticed the erou bikes waving less., i'll have to watch for that!

Quote from: ohgood on August 30, 2008, 03:53:25 AM

Rediculousely expensive Itallian/whatever riders are weird. No really. I've waved at a fella on a beautiful Duc for a month now (even last night while washing my bike) and gotten no response, not even a nod/head turn.

Oh, come on dude, he was just wondering about how much next service on his Ducati will cost him
Just kidding
*waiting for spc to join the discussion and crush me *

I wave at everyone unless I'm in a turn then I give a nod. Sometimes they return sometimes not (seems mostly like older men that i think see faired bike and think young punk) but hey at least I made the effort. 

If my wife is with me she will not wave unless there is a girl on the back of the passer by.

It amazed me when I first got my bike how MANY riders were waving at me - and I make a habit of waving at all motorcycles that are on the road when it is safe to do so. 

It's a code of the road - bikers wave at other bikers, and when you stop you chat with other bikers.  You would never do that with a car, but a bike is totally different.  Very cool attitude out there!

I wave ONLY at motorcycles. I have a friend that owns a HD and he told me that the reason they don't wave to sportsbikes is because they are another class. I also asked him why he doesn't wear gear and he said that they aren't as dangerous as sportsbikes so the probability of a crash are slim.

Quote from: Skeets on August 30, 2008, 06:15:57 PM
I wave ONLY at motorcycles. I have a friend that owns a HD and he told me that the reason they don't wave to sportsbikes is because they are another class. I also asked him why he doesn't wear gear and he said that they aren't as dangerous as sportsbikes so the probability of a crash are slim.

Seems like flawed logic to me.

Noticed today, that any bike with handle bars around their shoulders (haven't seen this on anything but a cruiser) will not wave.  Too cool?  Or their arms are stuck in that awkward position.

Id say I get abotu a 60% return rate on the wave. Sometimes its bad timing like a passing/passed car that blocked it out, or the guy looks the other way to switch lanes right as i do it.  I almost always wave back unless Im do the same thing as described previously.  I pulled up to this guy on his vrod about a month ago. We talked. And sure enough last night, He seen me at the bar and bought me a drink and asked how my GS was doing.  How'd he fuckgin remember? eh.

I'm in Australia and I have to agree with Roslyn We normally nod- I nod at everyone inlcuding scooters and H-Ds but I must admit that it is the Harleys that most often don't nod back. I've been riding now for a little over a year and I must say that I haven't experienced such collegiality and mateship on the raod since I had my VW Combi Van back in the early nineties.  Love it 

Cheers

I wave at motorcycles , and anything else if they wave me.

i do the "smilin bob" wave at everyone from the cage somedays. 

I wave at just about everything - i even sometimes accidentally wave at scooters, and yea they are totally confused when i do.

lots of times i miss a wave tho, just because i didn't notice them until it was too late cause i was busy watching the road ahead of me.
when that happens the first thing that comes to mind is that the guy probably thinks im a duck now because im riding a cruiser and not waving, but really it was cause i didnt notice him in time. thats why i never care when people dont wave back to me - i just assume they didnt see me quick enough.

wont wave at pedal-bikes though, working in DC i think they should be freaking illegal to ride on the street. at least until they make them get licenses and insurance. and even then limit them to 25mph or lower roads, and freaking fine the shaZam! out of them when they run red lights. if i cant run a red light on my big boy bike - you cant do it on your sissy pedal POS.

I wave to the ladies..

Oh yeah and other bikes..

All the ladies wave back...when I am on the SV. 

one of these days i am going to get myself killed by rubber necking at all the hotties around this college town.

I wave to all models of subaru imprezas, and all motorcycles.

Scooters don't get a wave.

Bicycles DO NOT get waves. It suddenly became the uppity popular thing to do around me. Everyone deckout in all this ghey riding gear like everytone is in the tour de france. They even made extra wide sidewalks for bikers and they have a lot of bike paths for them to ride on. They still insist on riding in the street causing traffic.
If they could get their bikes up to the posted limit, I'd be fine with them being on the street. Until then 15 in a 45 is NOT acceptable.  No wave.

i don't know how bicycles even got into this.  they have no engine they do not count.  jesus we might as well include skate boards and roller blades if we are going to include them.  you need two wheels, not 3 or more, a engine and gear.

I only wave when someone waves at me first.

i usually wave at everyone on a bike.  there seems to be a trend no matter where you are sportbikes usually wave back and crusers are 50/50

Here in Eastern Kentucky the majority of bikes on the road are HD's or Japanese cruisers wishing they had HD and sport bikes.  Almost all the sport bike riders would wave back and usually quick to wave.  The HD guys are about 50:50 whether they will wave back unless you are riding an HD also.  Which I thought was snobish.  So for a while I would only wave back if waved to first.  But I thought, no, I am going to wave to them if safe to do, and if they don't wave back then they are the a$$hole, not me.  So if it has 2 wheels, they are always going to get a wave from me!

Randy

if i were ever forced to get a cruiser i would get a Japanese one before i got a hd.  i just don't like hd, they suck, too heavy, low on power, low on torque, mechanically unreliable.  i don't like the hd crowd and the image that goes with hd.   hd sucks, hd riders suck,  hd gear sucks, hd stores suck....everything about hd sucks.  it is just American propaganda and media BS that make the so called hd legend.  hd sucks