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Harley riders...

Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
441
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0
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
First Name
Paul
Last Name
Slonaker
Something I have been noticing for several months now and I am wondering if anyone else has noticed. This mainly points at Harley riders...not all of you (sorry) but well over more than 50% of you. When I am out riding and I see another rider, I always try to give a nod or a wave, but with most Harley riders...they just ignore you or look at you with this "you got alot of nerve waving to me on that NON-HARLEY scooter." What is THIER problem? Its like alot of them have some sort of "touch-me-not" attitude going and one other thing I have noticed is that the bigger the person is on the Harley, the less likely they are to acknowledge your existance. Now before all Harleys riders get bent out of shape...let me repeat...not ALL Harley riders are like this. I just dont get it...try to be nice and friendly to all riders and with some harley riders, I have even been shown the finger. I dont know if they are telling me their age...their IQ...or the number of times they beat their wife. Anybody else notice this?
 
Two weeks ago, while riding to and from the Harvest Classic Rally, I didn't notice any one type of rider not waving. 80% of all of them waved. I don't think it is any different locally. I have to admit, I don't go out of my way to wave at people six lanes away and across a retainer wall while commuting. Your area may be different.
 
There are more wannabe bikers in the DFW area, and I tend to agree with Paul on this one. I've been ignored, given the "you think you're good enough to wave at me" look, and flipped off a few times too. Whats funny is that it for the most part, always comes from a rolling billboard for HD. Ah well.. I guess they have to make themselves feel important.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know for a fact that it's not all Harley riders. And I know that it's not bike, it's the rider. It just seems that "that" type of rider tends to pick a bike that lets him live out his Sons of Anarchy dreams he has at night.
 
Eh.... not trying to stir the pot but the true non-wavers (my experience only) happen to ride Goldwings.... go figure.
 
My parents wanted to start a motorcycle riders group at their church, and would talk to other bikers, and folks would get excited an very interested. That is until actual bikes come up in conversation, when they said they rode a Suzuki, literally all the Harley rides backed away and lost interst imediately.

They eventually gave into peir pressure and bought an Electra Glide and started the group :lol2: (but in fairness, a Harley is what dad was wanting, it had just been a long time since he had riden, so the Boulivard was the "starter" bike)
 
Eh.... not trying to stir the pot but the true non-wavers (my experience only) happen to ride Goldwings.... go figure.

:rofl: just hope it wasnt me. I do miss waving sometimes, but I try not to. I will go out of my way to help a rider...Harley or not, if they need it, but some riders best not ride in the rain with that nose stuck up that high in the air...they gonna drown.
 
oh and scooter guys never wave back either
 
I use synthetic oil in my bikes.
:rofl:

Just ride and wave or don't wave. It's not a requirement, it's not a law. You're out riding to enjoy riding, not to get other bikers to wave at you.
.....or are you? :ponder:
 
If somebody waves at me, I wave back, as long as it is safe to do so. That includes guys on tractors and in pick up trucks out in the country. There really is no reason not to wave back or to return a negative/obsene gesture. Those that do that are just idiots on the negative/obsene gesture part. Not waving, just assume they do not have the confidence in their riding ability to do so (or have determined that they are not in a safe situation to do so) or didn't see you wave and move on.
 
As a newer Harley rider.... I can tell you this. I used to wave at everybody, but now that I'm so much better than others, I have tried to only wave at my peers. The problem is, I can't tell one bike from another going down the road, especially when they are coming the opposite direction with 140mph closing speed.
I guess I have not been trained well enough as yet... and I will bring this up at the next HOG chapter meeting, maybe they will offer lessons. I still get hot flashes remembering the first time I waved at a Yamaha touring bike and then realized my mistake... I felt really dumb.

V-Stroms are about the only bike I can sometimes identify, and that is only because they are so ugly... :nana: --Bill
 
I couldn't say any particular type of bike, make of bike or age of rider waves more or less than the others. This is the same whether I'm riding my cruiser, dual sport or scooter.

Only slight difference I have noticed (very, very slight) is percentage of helmeted riders wave less. And I am a helmeted rider 99.9% of the time myself.

_
 
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know for a fact that it's not all Harley riders. And I know that it's not bike, it's the rider. It just seems that "that" type of rider tends to pick a bike that lets him live out his Sons of Anarchy dreams he has at night.



o0OOO(Oh no!!! Could Bill or anyone else know about my 'nerdy scooter rider' dreams I have at night????!!!)
 
Eh.... not trying to stir the pot but the true non-wavers (my experience only) happen to ride Goldwings.... go figure.

They can't see around all of the "stuff" on their bike.

But agree, the wingers seem the most preoccupied. And, sometimes I don't wave either.

And I'm really starting to question the whole wave thing too. In some places, like a weekend in the Hill Country, there are too many bikes to wave at them all.
 
I think there have been many threads on this topic here actually.
 
They can't see around all of the "stuff" on their bike.

But agree, the wingers seem the most preoccupied. And, sometimes I don't wave either.

And I'm really starting to question the whole wave thing too. In some places, like a weekend in the Hill Country, there are too many bikes to wave at them all.

To me it seems like everybody on two wheels waves no matter what flavor they are riding. I'm getting a bit tired of the waving thing. I've noticed guys waving at me from the other side of the interstate.....at night! Geez. In heavily congested bike areas I won't wave unless I'm hanging off in a corner.:trust:

I do like to wave at trains though just to hear them hit their horn a few times. :lol2:
 
As a newer Harley rider.... I can tell you this. I used to wave at everybody, but now that I'm so much better than others, I have tried to only wave at my peers. The problem is, I can't tell one bike from another going down the road, especially when they are coming the opposite direction with 140mph closing speed.
I guess I have not been trained well enough as yet... and I will bring this up at the next HOG chapter meeting, maybe they will offer lessons. I still get hot flashes remembering the first time I waved at a Yamaha touring bike and then realized my mistake... I felt really dumb.

V-Stroms are about the only bike I can sometimes identify, and that is only because they are so ugly... :nana: --Bill

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I haven't noticed any difference except that almost 100% wave out on more rural roads. Commuting, I don't count for or against, I miss some and figure others miss 'em, too, due to the traffic and trying to stay alive.
 
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