Modern Buddy

I live in an area where scooters have yet to catch on, however, we have a huge number of motorcycles on our roads. In fact the road I live on is teeming with bikes from all over the east coast and especially Quebec, all summer. I'm lucky enough to live in a place that others travel to in order to admire the scenery, many of them on bikes.

For a good portion of the past two days I've been out on those roads enjoying that same scenery that others have driven hours to admire, and of the hundred or so motorcycles I've encountered over that time I'd say about 80% have flashed some sort of wave. To tell you the truth I wasn't expecting it. I was expecting more "get a real bike" looks rather than the acceptance I've found. Funny thing is for the first 50 or so waves I was too nervous on my new scoot to take my left hand off the grip and return the courtesy. Hope nobody thought to themselves that I was some standoffish scooter snob; honestly guys I was just scared @#$%less. Okay that was a bit of an overstatement, I was having a blast, not scared but still getting the feel of going faster than 20mph on two wheels. At some point I became comfortable enough to toss a quick, very, very, very quick, wave. Kinda felt like I'd joined a fraternity.

I tell my friends all the time how I am now part of the 'cruiser' club. Here in VA, I get waves all the time, mainly from hogs and other cruiser bikes, not so much the sport bikes. I think it is great!
In fact, I was actually lucky enough to ride w/ some hogs the other day....................well, they didn't really invite me into the their ranks, but were in no rush to get anywhere. So, not having a mentor or anything and needing to practice riding in a group, I jumped on the end of their line and kept pace w/ them until I needed to turn. It was a wonderful feeling, especially when the grey, long-hair in front of me turned his head and nodded to me in acceptance.

It also helps that we can keep our speed up w/ traffic. I don't see the folks on the little 50cc bikes getting as much love.

SCTSCT wrote:I tell my friends all the time how I am now part of the 'cruiser' club. Here in VA, I get waves all the time, mainly from hogs and other cruiser bikes, not so much the sport bikes. I think it is great!
In fact, I was actually lucky enough to ride w/ some hogs the other day....................well, they didn't really invite me into the their ranks, but were in no rush to get anywhere. So, not having a mentor or anything and needing to practice riding in a group, I jumped on the end of their line and kept pace w/ them until I needed to turn. It was a wonderful feeling, especially when the grey, long-hair in front of me turned his head and nodded to me in acceptance.

It also helps that we can keep our speed up w/ traffic. I don't see the folks on the little 50cc bikes getting as much love.

Hog Love? For people riding scooters smaller than yours? -Well, maybe it's because they're just not worthy of it! -There's just sooo many of us that are sooo unworthy of hog rider's "love", y'know?

eh...

One of OH's cruiser buddies calls Bonheur a 'piglet.' And she's gotten much much love from bikers. OH was getting a bit jealous because the bike hasn't been getting the attention Bonheur has been getting.

Of course, my sh*t-eating grin while riding doesn't have any effect on it, either!

Had a thought regarding this topic...
Given that a lot of people are fairly new to scooting, perhaps they don't feel comfortable taking off one of their hands from the throttle or brake.
I find that when I ride, it's not a lot of waving that takes place, but a subtle yet appropriately cool head nod that is exchanged. I get that I get a LOT, from people on all varieties of two and four wheel vehicles.

Then again it could be that I am a "person of size" and get a lot of strange looks anyway. Or it could be that people are just trying to cover up the fact that there was some staring going on. In either case, I find that people are generally friendly to me.

Having said that: I try to steer clear of streets with plenty of nightlife during the weekends. ...you'd be surprised how knowledgeable and willing people are to dispense weight loss advice. 

Around here (NW Indiana) we give a upside down peace sign with our left hands. Even on a 50cc Ruckus I get them from all types fellow scooterists to Harley Davidson riders.

Motorcycling/Scootering is a brotherhood!

"Upside-down peace sign" signifies "Two Wheels Down".

--Keys

Yep, I get the wave in various forms (all friendly so far) from most bikers. Sport bikers are the most likely to ignore me, I've noted.

Head nods work too as does just lifting the left palm and fingers off the grip (still secured by the thumb) although it's not as visible. The standard low wave is what I use except on very very windy days on on a real bad stretch of road. It's all good!

One of OH's cruiser buddies calls Bonheur a 'piglet.'

Love it! Go, bunny-hoglet, go!

So yesterday I was out riding and twice I got a wave I have never seen before... A one finger wave. And no, that doesn't mean they were flipping me off . Just their index finger extended out sideways... Does that wave have any meaning to it or is it just like any other wave?

When I was on my first ride Someone gave me the wave and I so wanted to wave back, but I was not yet comfortable letting go...so I nodded. It feels just as inadequate as I type as it did when I nodded.

I had my first wave experience today (after riding around town for close to a month now). Was it a fellow scooterist? No! It was a guy on a big motorcycle. I grinned the entire ride home. He just made my day!

Jessica wrote:I had my first wave experience today (after riding around town for close to a month now). Was it a fellow scooterist? No! It was a guy on a big motorcycle. I grinned the entire ride home. He just made my day!

Congrats!

The missus and I were out on our scoots today and passed some kind of giant biker event—dozens of MCs. I waved. They stared.

I still have this fear that at some point, I'll pass a group of bikers, they'll look at each other, and one will say, "Scooter boy! Get 'im!"

Lol to this thread.

jmsmith802 wrote:So yesterday I was out riding and twice I got a wave I have never seen before... A one finger wave. And no, that doesn't mean they were flipping me off . Just their index finger extended out sideways... Does that wave have any meaning to it or is it just like any other wave?

You see that around here sometimes as a casual wave. The index finger pointed out sideways without taking the left hand all the way off the grip.

(unless, of course, I am being dissed as a half sized cycle)

I get a wave from most of the motorcycles out on the back roads around here. Big surprise last week when I got a wave from a CHP motorcycle officer that was riding down the Santa Suzanna Pass road from Simi while I was riding up. Usually the CHP only waves when they want you to pull over.

Tazio wrote:I get a wave from most of the motorcycles out on the back roads around here. Big surprise last week when I got a wave from a CHP motorcycle officer that was riding down the Santa Suzanna Pass road from Simi while I was riding up. Usually the CHP only waves when they want you to pull over.

I love riding through that Pass—only wish it were longer. I have to cross the ugliest parts of the Valley to get there, heh. CHP never waves at me!

I have found that I get some kind of acknowledgement from almost every rider when I ride around on a weekend, out on the usual scenic routes. However, almost never do I get a wave on a business day, when I'm going to/from work.

Howard

ericalm wrote:

Tazio wrote:I get a wave from most of the motorcycles out on the back roads around here. Big surprise last week when I got a wave from a CHP motorcycle officer that was riding down the Santa Suzanna Pass road from Simi while I was riding up. Usually the CHP only waves when they want you to pull over.

I love riding through that Pass—only wish it were longer. I have to cross the ugliest parts of the Valley to get there, heh. CHP never waves at me!

That's one alternate route on my list as well; it's nice to take even by car. I'm curious, what are the ugliest parts of the Valley are you talking about? Choose your next words carefully, Leonidas... I mean Eric.

For a while, no one around here waved. So I just waved at everyone, and didn't worry if they waved back or not. Now there are a few bikers who have initiated the wave. I don't know if it's from my waving at them in the past, or just different/more riders on the road now. But it seems like the friendliness is spreading. The scooter riders are the least likely to wave. Many of them look rather dumbstruck. I assume it's the new scooter syndrome, and that they'll catch on eventually.

But there are a breed of "sport" style 50cc scooters that seem to wave the least. They just sort of stare at you, like you're invading their privacy by waving at them. There are a few in my neighborhood that I see on a regular basis and they never wave or smile or anything, no matter how many times you see each other. I think some of these are riders who have scooters not because they specifically want a scooter, but because they can't afford anything else... Or maybe they think they're just too tough to wave. For whatever reason, they clearly don't want to be part of the club. To each their own.

I am wondering if this has anything to do with the increasing consistency in waves, but I was commenting to my husband the other day that it is my perception that the drivers are not as crappy, in general. He told me that they say it is safer for two wheelers in the fall than it is in the spring because in the spring the cagers aren't use to seeing us yet after some scooters' long winter hibernation, but by fall they are getting more in the groooooove.

runtotorun121 wrote:I am wondering if this has anything to do with the increasing consistency in waves, but I was commenting to my husband the other day that it is my perception that the drivers are not as crappy, in general. He told me that they say it is safer for two wheelers in the fall than it is in the spring because in the spring the cagers aren't use to seeing us yet after some scooters' long winter hibernation, but by fall they are getting more in the groooooove.

That's a pretty interesting theory. The converse of that is that in areas which have winter, crashes tend to go up in the spring/early summer and in the fall. Spring: lots of new riders or riders who are rusty getting back out on the road. Fall: riders who rode all summer continue when the weather starts to turn.

Here, where we have year-round riding, the drivers are equally bad regardless of season.

I get the "scooter wave" every now & then. I giggle under my helmet each time. Most of the bike riders wave. But I see this one girl on her scooter about twice a week I wave to her & I get nothing. I dont know if she is scared to lift the hand or if she being snobbish. oh well on her

It just struck me that there are so few scooter/motorcycle riders here in the US compared to other places around the world. Can you imagine everyone trying to wave at each other in China or India?

I get a lot of waves and nods as I ride around Utah. I'm not really sure how I should wave back... low wave? I usually nod (and sometimes smile) as I don't like moving my hand. Sometimes I feel nerdy if I smile too much.

I was told by my Basic Rider Class instructor that you put down two fingers if your bike is 2 cylinder and 1 finger down for a one cylinder bike. Can Anyone confirm that or does everyone just do whatever to give the wave to another rider?

So if you're riding a Gold Wing you put down four fingers? Nobody I know is doing this cylinder thing. The idea seems a little silly.

The two fingers signify "keep both wheels on the ground."

I think the MSF people were yanking your chain.

Well I got a two finger wave from a cager today... I assume he must have liked my scoot

Dooglas wrote:So if you're riding a Gold Wing you put down four fingers? Nobody I know is doing this cylinder thing. The idea seems a little silly.

That would be 6 fingers!

While riding my Trek bike last night a guy on a vintage Vespa passed me going the other way. I gave him the 2 finger down wave! He must have thought I was strange.

Scott

I get more of the waves from scooter riders and the "nod" from people on motorbikes...

If you really want waves, get a Stella with a sidecar. I was riding behind CCCous on Sunday with his Stella/sidecar rig: almost every 2 wheeler we passed gave him the MC wave.

I have an '87 Honda Spree named Sax that I ride quite a bit - lots of mc and other scoots around here. I LOVE it when I get the 2 finger down salute while riding Sax Well, I get that or I get the whole "second look" thing - you know, head turns, turns away, jerks back... lol