[Woohoo748]

I know this has been addressed before, but I want to get this off my chest. Went out for a short ride on some back roads near Oakalla TX Sunday morning - first ride on my Ducati since breaking some ribs riding MX a couple of weeks ago. Was just cruising, having a great time. Here's the problem - why is it that Harley riders feel that they have to flip you off instead of waving like the rest of us? I know that most Harley riders don't do that, but it seems (in my experience at least) that ONLY Harley riders do this. I know this is trivial, but it sure can ruin your frame of mind...

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[ct900rider]

I use to get aggiated at this myself. But I just blow it off now. I wave at anyone on a bike. I even give a wave to kids on scooters (hey there showing a passion for the same thing I am). Anyway when approaching a Harley I usually give a wave or nod when they are a good distance in front of me. If they don't wave back. I give a VERY high one finger salute. It's funny you posted this though. This weekend I tried a different aproach. I waved and was flipped off. So I turned around (knowing I can catch the rattle machine) I came up next to the guy at a light. I said "excuse me sire, I just wanted to wish you a nice safe ride, and a wonderful day, and although I will pull over and assist ANY biker that is pulled over. I'll be sure to pay you extra attention to pass YOU while waving. I then smoked up my tire blowing some rubber on his bike, him screaming some obscenties. ( I know just a bit immature). Here's the funny part. This guy was going to attempt to chase me. But something happened to his bike. I turned around passed him giving a nice waving one finger salute. GOD I LOVE MY HONDA

Anyway for all the newbies this is not very good motorcycle pratices. It is not something I normally do. However I just reached a limit. the night before I almost got my ass kicked by 20-30 guys because of the kind of bike I ride. And that was my why I felt revenge was needed. PLEASE DO NOT FOLLOW MY EXAMPLE.



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-Erik
'98 900RR
Stage 1 Jets
D&D exhaust
Braided Brake lines
misc, cosmetics

 

[VTRPilot]

I also make it a point to wave when I see another rider regardless of the type of bike. 99.9% of non-Harley riders will wave back. Maybe half of the Harley riders will wave. One time, I was the only sportbike in a pack of HD's (My Friends) and I was the only one who didn't get a return on the wave. I have discovered that the ones who do return it are true "enthusiasts" like us,riding for the pure enjoyment of the sport. The dickheads who bought Harleys as status symbols are the ones who A) Ride just for the image, B) Can't ride well anyway, C) Bought the bike to compensate for something else (small penis, lack of personality, used to get picked last in gym class, they resemble sheep dressed as humans, etc.) I ride simply to ride. Sportbikes allow me to ride the way I prefer, fast and precise. If you like cruising, then buy a Harley, to each his own. I have had plenty of "hard core" biker-types walk up to my bike and say "wow, that's pretty." Those are the guys that wave and those are the guys that have my respect. Live to ride, ride to live, but above all, just ride...

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C'mon guys! It's all ball bearings these days!...STC

 

[SpeedPhreak]

i try to wave to everyone too.. but the thing is.. i get more waves from harley riders than i do anyone else other than sportbikes.. maybe a few goldwing/tourers have waved & never a dual sport that i can remember. go figure. maybe its the jacket i wear (black leather, airbrushed mural)

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[Twistiesman]

I wave at everyone and almost always get a wave back even from the Harley riders. It just seems that most of the Harley riders in the areas that I ride (GA,TN,NC) are really nice and a lot of them even hang out in some of the places that sport bikes hang out in. It would make me mad if I ran into what a lot of you run into all of the time.

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Dave
Too many curves...so little time

 

[photobug]

I live in Harley Central and have never seen this attitude from Harley riders. They often wave at me before I wave at them. I even had some Harley riders check out my Sprint RS and declare it a cool bike. 'Course, the Trumpet ain't Japanese, so it has a higher acceptance factor among Harley riders. Maybe I'll ride it to Johnny's Bar & Grill tonight and see what kind of reaction I get.

It's those Gold Wing riders who seem stuffed up. They never wave, but at least they don't flip me off.

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"I was born yesterday, but I was up late last night."
Gary P. Nunn

 

[Rossco929]

I, also, wave at everybody on two wheels, even scooters (they love getting waved at by a guy on a 929). With Harleys, I have a similar technique as ct900rider. I start with a wave well before I pass them, and if they don't wave back, I transform my wave into a one finger salute in one smooth motion. One of my riding buddies saw me do this once, and almost fell off his bike laughing.

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Rossco.

 

[Spitfire]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Aril, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Woohoo748:
why is it that Harley riders feel that they have to flip you off instead of waving like the rest of us?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If you were on a Harley and some guy on a better Jap sportbike road up next to ya, wouldn't you wanna flip him off?

Not all Harley riders are like that. I usually prefer to ride solo, but I do tend to consistently ride with two other guys - one owns a Gixxer, the other, a Harley. The dude who rides the Harley is pretty much a 'sportbiker on a Harley'. He really likes sportbikes, but for some reason, the styling of cruisers seems to interest him more. I don't really have a problem riding with him........although, we do get funny looks from other guys we ride past, and it can be a pain in the ass waiting for him to catch up after I burned him through the twisties.

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[rponiarski]

Some Harley guys are like that, others are pretty nice guys. I was out yesterday and came to a light with a guy on a 1200 Sportster. We say hi and then he compliments me on my ZR. Says he used to own Kawasaki's and is looking for a used LTD, either 750 or 1100 (I think).

Anyway, I'll always wave and if I get a return greeting, great. If not, that's cool too...



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Richard M. Poniarski
'00 Kawasaki ZR-7
AMA #674623
NY S666C
ZR7OA #3