Da 'Wave' | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Da 'Wave'

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Merkid said:
There is an interesting discussion going on the GTAM FB site criticizing folks that don't acknowledge the infamous wave back.

Here was my response:

"Don't take it so hard. The origins delve back to the '60s when bikers gave the equivalent to the 'thumbs-up' that the road ahead was clear of cops. That helps explain why Harley riders today seldom wave back cuz that was the predominate bike in that day. Btw, I am an old fart from those days if your couldn't tell....
👍
"

Comments?
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The origins of the "wave" is unknown, here are some other theories

1.William Harley and Arthur Davidson invented the biker wave
2.The wave was used as recognition of military service between bikers
3.Knights in medieval Europe invented the traveler’s wave
4.The wave is nothing more than a common practice among all motorcyclists because of the unique bond and camaraderie we share as riders

I wave to everyone including trikes, dirt bikes, CanAms and mopeds<<< some of those look like actual 250-300s from a distance.
 
I try to wave when I can but if I don't get a wave back, I don't pull a U turn and chase the guy down.

But silently in my helmet I do call him an A$$h0le.
 
Lightcycle said:
That's because they drive on the left side of the road and the right hand is on the throttle.

I've ridden in a lot of LHD countries: UK, Japan, SE Asia and most of Africa, and the accepted form of acknowledgement is the head nod/body twist. Like a half-bow.

Also in some places in Europe (like Italy), they'll stick their leg out when they're passing you to say hello.

As for the topic at hand, I think Men Without Helmets said it best:

"You can wave if you want to, you can (twist the throttle and) leave your friends behind..."
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Trying to picture this AUS twist, but a video with instructions would be helpful.
 
I always thought inside was weird.
 
There should be an electronic button that flips up a speech bubble that says "Hello..." on your bars. Or a thumbs up or thumbs down. Or maybe even a rating system (1-10) of what you think of the approaching bike. It's 2022, the "wave" must progress!

Sent from my ZTE A2020U Pro using Tapatalk
 
-Maverick- said:
There should be an electronic button that flips up a speech bubble that says "Hello..." on your bars. Or a thumbs up or thumbs down. Or maybe even a rating system (1-10) of what you think of the approaching bike. It's 2022, the "wave" must progress!

Sent from my ZTE A2020U Pro using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

nah, I just need a sign that says; 'MOVE THE HELL OVER --->' on all my vehicles.
 
Trying to picture this AUS twist, but a video with instructions would be helpful.
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It's hard to describe and I've not fully mastered it. It's more than a straight nod ...it's sort of a "Ain't it just fine mate"

When you tip your hat to someone you dip your head with a bit of a twist/tilt as you touch the brim. Easy to recognise but a bit tricky to do. It is much easier than a wave on the twisty roads here tho a very few do wave .....likely tourists. :rolleyes:

The head-sideways nod: a nod I’ve seen many times done by old-school Aussies, and by far my favourite. The head is quickly tilted on an angle and the nod says it all. The coolest, no doubt.
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ozrider.com

Should We Wave The Nod Goodbye? - OzRider

Photo: Ronen Topelberg About a year after getting my motorcycle license I went travelling in Europe with close friends. This was in the 80’s and at the time there were not that many motorcycles on our roads where we grew up. There was definitely no motorcycle culture that we knew of. Our long...
ozrider.com ozrider.com
 
I have been waving at other bikers since 1961, and I will keep doing it until I cannot raise my arm.
If I get no response, I reckon the other biker has a good reason, and I ride on with no rancour (or rancor here in the USA).

Sometimes I do not wave to law enforcement, because I am paying them to do more important stuff than greet me;
moreover, I know they wish me well, whether they wave or not. A few days ago a Sheriff's Deputy in Sarasota Florida did
wave back to me, actually with his head, because his hands were busy.

I have noticed ONE environment in which one does NOT wave: Bike Week in Daytona Florida.
If you were to try to wave to every bike, your left hand would never touch a control.

Several years ago, I was carrying a passenger, in fact the classmate who gave me my FIRST RIDE, back in July 1960.
Riding with us was his son, a capable and cheerful fellow who was frequently, VERY frequently, gesturing with a
V-sign (index & middle fingers of left hand) to every motorist who seemed to notice him. I do not do that,
and I made no comment about his practice.

By and by, a jerk in a BMW did something stupid in my vicinity, and I had to dodge adroitly,
but not very urgently. THEN I had a use for a V-sign, and I thrust it toward the jerk with vigour!

When next we stopped, my passenger asked what was the V-signs meant. I explained,
"I have no idea what John means by his, but I meant the very damn thing Winston Churchill meant:
GET OFF THE EARTH, YOU HORRIBLE NAZI!!!"

Thank you for reading my dumb story.
Salos Dafee
 
Salos Dafee said:
I have been waving at other bikers since 1961, and I will keep doing it until I cannot raise my arm.
If I get no response, I reckon the other biker has a good reason, and I ride on with no rancour (or rancor here in the USA).

Sometimes I do not wave to law enforcement, because I am paying them to do more important stuff than greet me;
moreover, I know they wish me well, whether they wave or not. A few days ago a Sheriff's Deputy in Sarasota Florida did
wave back to me, actually with his head, because his hands were busy.

I have noticed ONE environment in which one does NOT wave: Bike Week in Daytona Florida.
If you were to try to wave to every bike, your left hand would never touch a control.

Several years ago, I was carrying a passenger, in fact the classmate who gave me my FIRST RIDE, back in July 1960.
Riding with us was his son, a capable and cheerful fellow who was frequently, VERY frequently, gesturing with a
V-sign (index & middle fingers of left hand) to every motorist who seemed to notice him. I do not do that,
and I made no comment about his practice.

By and by, a jerk in a BMW did something stupid in my vicinity, and I had to dodge adroitly,
but not very urgently. THEN I had a use for a V-sign, and I thrust it toward the jerk with vigour!

When next we stopped, my passenger asked what was the V-signs meant. I explained,
"I have no idea what John means by his, but I meant the very damn thing Winston Churchill meant:
GET OFF THE EARTH, YOU HORRIBLE NAZI!!!"

Thank you for reading my dumb story.
Salos Dafee
Click to expand...
Do you mean a peace sign?
 

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Amazon said:
Do you mean a peace sign?
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No, it's the two-finger salute, a popular gesture in England to mean "F*ck You!". Different from the peace sign, because the back of the hand is turned out towards the person you're giving the salute to.

Steve McQueen famously gave the gesture during the movie Le Mans:

steve-two-fingers.jpg


So the story goes:

This gesture is English in origin. Hundreds of years ago when the French and English were at war, the French would cut off the fingers of the English bowmen when captured so they couldn't use their bows anymore. The English bowmen would therefore taunt the French across enemy lines by using this particular gesture."
Click to expand...

I've heard another variation that's entirely unsubstantiated, but back then, longbows were made of a wood called yew. When an English archer gave this salute to a French soldier, it was to show that he still had his two fingers and was able to "pluck yew"...
 
captain farkle said:
3.Knights in medieval Europe invented the traveler’s wave
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More useless trivia:

The Knight's wave is actually done with the right hand. It's to demonstrate that the dominant hand was empty and not carrying a sword, and thus the rider is a friend and not a foe.

This is one of the reasons why some countries are LHT (Left Hand Traffic), so you can attack oncoming enemies with your sword in your right hand. Ancient Rome was LHT, because you steered your chariot with your left hand and brandished a sword with your right.
 
Salos Dafee said:
Sometimes I do not wave to law enforcement, because I am paying them to do more important stuff than greet me;
moreover, I know they wish me well, whether they wave or not. A few days ago a Sheriff's Deputy in Sarasota Florida did
wave back to me, actually with his head, because his hands were busy.
Click to expand...

Too busy running your plate to wave. You're not their friend. You're quota.
 
I always wave when I can. However, a lot of times I'm in traffic and I'm constantly scanning my mirrors and such so I'll miss waves here and there. If I wave and someone doesn't wave back, I don't take it personally because I just assume they are preoccupied looking at something else, also they are allowed to do whatever they want anyways maybe they just don't want to 🤷‍♂️.

I find a lot of times the dudes on those like 3 wheel vehicles wave at me, I've never waved at one of them lol.
 
I wave with my right hand when I'm using cruise control.
 
On the Super Cub I get the occasional wave back. Seems like no one has a clue what it is and 9/10 riders refuse to wave.

Past weekend I was out on the VFR and I noticed maybe 3/4 waved back. Sometimes people don't see or are too busy clutching the bars to lift even a finger. It doesn't offend me.
 
If they wave back, that's fine. If they don't that is also fine. I am out on my bike enjoying myself.
 
TiburonJA said:
I always wave when I can. However, a lot of times I'm in traffic and I'm constantly scanning my mirrors and such so I'll miss waves here and there. If I wave and someone doesn't wave back, I don't take it personally because I just assume they are preoccupied looking at something else, also they are allowed to do whatever they want anyways maybe they just don't want to .

I find a lot of times the dudes on those like 3 wheel vehicles wave at me, I've never waved at one of them lol.
Click to expand...

I give the 3 wheelers (ie Can Ams) the ol’ “hang ten”

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