The scooter and the biker's wave

An email got me thinking. So I did what all Uber - geeks do. I blogged about it.

http://2smallerwheels.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-brotherhood-of-two-wheels-scooters.html

Comment, send love or hate mail whatever.

Read the blog. Loved it and put my comment on there.

I enjoyed the blog post and made a couple comments, as well. As I have written here, I just wave at the pretty girls.

Interesting blog but......................

If Americans are so into power and speed, how do you explain the fascination with Harleys???

Speaking of Harleys, I usually wave at them and they almost always wave back. Today two Harley riders waved at me first

Yes, some motorcyclists still have a bias against scooters but many don't.

+1!

Nice blog! Thanks for posting the link.

On my daily commute, I pass a variety of 2 wheelers. I generally get a wave from the touring and cruising bikes, and many times they wave first. Sometimes my wave is snubbed, and sometimes my wave is late so they probably think I snubbed them. But most of the time on the road, it's friendly waves between fellow cyclists.

Not in Milwaukee Wisconsin they don't. There is clearly animosity towards scooter riders in these parts. In fact if I am just minding my own business and come up next to one on a 2 lane boulevard, 9 times out of 10 they will go out of their way to get away from me! I have seen it time and time again. It is just a plain weird situation here in "Harley-ville"

My favorites are the ones who start to wave, see it's a scooter, then pull their wave back!! I can see how the PCX could be mistaken for a motorcycle as you approach it.

My wife and I pulled up next to a Harley trike at a stoplight on the scoots, the guy looked us up and down, then gave us a thumbs up... "Those look like a lot of fun," he said.

"Yep!"

The reaction is definitely different when we are riding both scoots than when I'm by myself: people are friendlier, or find us more approachable.

Wave or don't wave, I'm still having fun.

At one time, my wife and I both rode Goldwings. I remember how hard we laughed when we pulled up behind a car at a stop sign one time... and the woman driving looked in the rearview mirror... then locked her doors.

Perception.

I have found that most of the time, if I am on a scooter, Japanese cruiser, Goldwing, or dual sport bike, Harley riders wave back. They will not wave to anyone on a crotch rocket, neither will I, and neither do most experienced riders around here.

Harley riders tend to ride in groups, have loud pipes, and dress in weird looking clothes, though it is what they have been wearing forever. They get called outlaws and pirates. But they rarely cause any problems.

Crotch rocket riders also tend to ride in groups, have loud pipes, and dress in weird looking clothes. But they are thought of as good honest, law abiding citizens, just out to have a little fun. NOT! They have become the new outlaws, the new thugs on bikes. While Harley riders mostly ride legally and safely, most crotch rocket riders are out to break every rule in the book. From riding at ridiculous speeds over 100 mph, swerving from lane to lane, cutting through traffic where there is barely enough room at highly illegal speeds, riding on shoulders and sidewalks, doing wheelies and stoppies, all of this on public roads, causing lots of accidents. Usually however it is them that gets seriously injured or killed. By behaving like that on the road, crotch rocket riders have distanced themselves from other riders. Other riders won't associate with them, and don't want anything to do with the bad image they give ALL riders.

I'm almost ashamed to admit that I have ridden sport bikes in the past. But things were a bit different then. You didn't see all the crazy riding like you do today, at least not on the street. At least the cops seem to know the difference between crotch rockets and other types of bikes.

I wave whenever possible. The vast majority of riders will wave back! I find that of those that don't it is usually the Harley riders that envision them selves as bada*s. You know them, old jeans, vest and dew-rag and of course no helmet. Normal Harley riders, with leathers, helmets and touring gear usually return the wave or even offer one first.

Of course on my Silver Wing it is not too noticeable that it is a scooter when approaching one.

When riding one of my trail 90's; even hard-core Harley riders will stop and talk to me! "My uncle used to have one of those" or "I learned to ride on one of those" that sort of thing.

pretty simple why scooters get hate: a) automatic (save older vespas and lambrettas, and the genuine stella) takes no "skill"; b) upright and geeky riding posture -- no aggressive racer tankhump pose or chillin' out feet-forward cruiser slouch; and c) slower speeds on average mean "less risk".

all of these reasons are bs upon any examination, but it's enough. cultures and subcultures operate on stereotypes.

me, i ride my bv 350 like a hellion and i wave at everyone on motorized two-wheelers.

Yeah, they are...BS.

First, the variator/"automatic." What, pray tell, is so blingin' HARD about SHIFTING? I've got a CDL. I've driven a nine-speed tractor/trailer. And I do NOT want to be messing with gear selection when I'm out to enjoy a ride!

Somehow the same bikers that look at an automatic askance, never hold the same disrespect for a trike. Now a three-wheel setup tells me that the owner has a problem; that he can't keep his machine upright.

Now, many trike owners, especially Harley trike-owners, are older guys. They're due respect; so I can cut them some slack. But IMHO, they miss a lot by not being able to lean through sweeping turns...or any turns. A trike handles like a snowmobile; and I cannot imagine how someone stays on one in a hairpin turn.

No skill? The same skill-set. Lean into turns; steer with body English; aggressive enough to amuse but not enough to get killed.

Geeky riding posture? Maybe. I'm on a Burgman 650; and it's upright but not unlike the highway cruiser posture. Of course, I didn't go in for the ape-hanger bars; but then I didn't put straight pipes on it, either. So I guess I'm a wuss.

Slower speeds? The B-650 can top a hundred. That's enough to get arrested and spend the night in jail. How fast do they want to go? Fast enough to run a legal-speed cage down before they can see it? Fast enough to separate the cranium from the torso if there's an "incident" - even with road-gear (which Harley riders almost never wear)?

No...I think they look down at scooter pilots...because...

...because...

...they're....

...Harley owners. Which is the same thing as the other word I almost used.

And as for the Wave? Not at all common where I'm at. Other parts of the nation, I got some, not that many. I think it's falling out of fashion; I wasn't getting that many waves when I rode a BMW, either.

To me it's silly. What does an overaged hippie with a bald spot and a ponytail and a fair amount of neurological compromise from too much bad liquor for too many breakfasts, have with some female college freshman on her Vespa? Not much.

If I'm ostracized for my ride (and occasionally was, even with my BMW) what they're telling me is not about me, but about them and they're tiny minds. And tiny parts on the other end.

It's all good. Wave and I'll wave back. Ride a scooter and I'll wave first. Don't wave and I won't wave. Doesn't change my day an iota one way or the other.

BUT if someone riding a two-wheel conveyance is stopped by the side of the road, I always stop and make sure they're OK. That's the brotherhood part.

Hey gramps, there's some kids on your lawn. RIGHT NOW!

I haven't really noticed much difference in waving based on what I'm riding or they're riding. The first time a guy on a Harley waved at me on the scooter I seriously looked around to try and figure out who he was waving at. I had expected that no one would wave at a scooter, but had only owned said scooter for about 20 minutes at that point. Since I've figured out the likelyhood of someone waving at me is more connected to the person than the ride.

It seems the old guys quite regularly wave at me first, middle aged guys a little less regularly. Women by themselves and guys under 30 rarely wave. I'm guessing the women think I'm flirting and the younger guys think they're too cool to wave.

If a rider is in a tank top, shorts and flip flops I don't bother waving (but I'm not opposed to following to enjoy the view.)

Howdy,

Bikers-especially Sport bikers-almost always wave at me when I'm out and about on my Honda Sh150i. I'd say the percentage of waves/ return waves is roughly as follows:

1. Cruisers (wave/return wave) At least 75%. The largest group, by far.
2. Sport Bikers (Wave/return wave) 90%, maybe higher.
3. All others (Including scooters) Cannot recall; Such a small percentage of total bikes I see, anyway. I'm in the Shreveport, La. area and these are down-to-earth friendly people here; I don't see snobbery from the Cruiser crowd; then again, I ride alone on my scooter-urban commuting and errands, so keep that in mind.

Oh dear,yet another ghey 'do you,don`t you,do they,don`t they wave/nod/flash the headlight' thread.

I don`t wave to any fecker.
Don`t know who they are.
Don`t want to know.

Do you wave at other car drivers if you drive a car?
Do you wave or nod to other blokes pushing supermarket trollies when you`re shopping?

Didn`t think so.


I will,however,stop and offer assistance to anyone apparently broken down at the roadside.
And that applies to any form of vehicle.

Just to be clear, are you supporting sport bike riders irresponsible, dangerous, and criminal behavior? (much of their riding is actually criminal, not just breaking civil traffic laws. For example, exceeding the speed limit by more than 20 miles per hour, and reckless endangerment are class 1 misdemeanors in my state)

MANY people complain about Harley riders. When is the last time you saw a Harley rider riding irresponsibly, and putting others in danger? Most people who complain about Harley riders do so because of their supposed badass IMAGE, which is largely gone now, other than a few small hardcore groups. Yes, many of them try to carry on the look, but that's all it is, just a look. They are just out to enjoy themselves (it's kind of like role playing I guess) but they do it safely.



Crotch rocket riders are the real troublemakers. I see it almost every day. The cops are out in force on certain roads in weekends, and they have developed a system to catch them. And they do catch them, sometimes seven or eight at the time. But the idiots don't seem to learn. At the rates the cops are busting them, there are enough of the out there to last forever. Riders of other types of bikes go by mostly unnoticed. I got 2 no point speeding tickets on a Ninja 500. I'm sure I got stopped because of the look of my bike. If I was speeding it was just barely, not enough to be noticed on any other type of bike.


BTW, I'm 54, and do not have any grandkids yet. I keep waiting.


Back to scooters please?

That's a valid point with the Harley crowd. I'd never fit in with them, because I cannot worship a brand name as if it were a Golden Calf. But the true outlaw behavior is long gone, with a few rare exceptions; the violent antisocial gang members of the 1960s are geriatric patients today.

Today's Harley-heads are poseurs; and that's their business - except when it carries on into annoying behaviors that border on the obnoxious. Traffic habits and manners I can mostly overlook by giving them a wide berth. But, open pipes? When I was a kid, I thought an un-muffled engine sounded cool. Today it just sounds LOUD...irritating. I don't want to hear it; not on my machine and ABSOLUTELY not on someone else's as I'm trying to sleep in or make an early bedtime for an earlier start the next morning.

It's not unlike loud music off someone else's car. If I wanted to hear it, I easily could; by cranking up the audio and playing the mp3 - or by sawing off my muffler. But I DON'T want to hear it; and I don't think it's clever that someone else is forcing their noise onto my world.

I think it's annoying as hell - and ought to be justification for public horse-whipping. At the very least, egregious violators should have their bikes seized as "criminal tools."