Hellsteeth Dakota, I was thinking of getting a cruiser, but you have put me right off them now - tested a Honda V Twin 1800 a few years ago and that sure has some torque!!
Just kidding, but not about the torque.

I guess I have cut back on the waving bit, since I have been riding a "sit up and beg" style bike during the past few years; so called sports bikes are still the thing to own in the UK and I was usually waving when riding a "firesomething", but those guys do not acknowledge my presence on the road nowadays - most of them anyway.

Now I generally stick with a nod of the head - kind of ambiguous.
You can still get their attention with a thumbs down however!!

I sometimes use the right leg (as used by French riders for a thankyou) to let faster bikes know that I have seen them in my mirror & I am expecting them to pass me and which side I expect them to pass - the right obviously, but it ain't neccessarily so in this day and age on our roads!! (this is used on race tracks for this purpose) - but from the usual hesitation that this induces, I am not sure that this is understood.

Cheers,
Dave

__________________
Dave

Know what you mean about the torque - the Cali had a fair bit of it's own.

Don't be put off getting a cruiser - just don't become one of the ignorant morons who rides one. I don't like to tar everybody with the same brush and I apologise to those of you who do wave (thought I myself haven't come across one on the road since I rode the Cali). And before anybody asks, yes, the hubby had a Harley in his early biking days and we had the Cali 8 years ago, so we've had cruisers, and no, I still don't get it.

It wasn't like this 20 years ago - we were one big happy family of bikers, but sadly no more. The bikers in the car park may have looked as us because we're English, who knows. But how can 25 fellow countryman ignore a fellow biker??

So while I'm having my rant, I'll have a few more. I also dislike intensely the 'my bike is better than your bike' syndrome AND the elitism of what constitutes an adventure - driving in Spain, it's an adventure for me to ride to the next village to get my weekly shopping. Adventure is a state of mind, not how many miles you ride, how many wheels you travel on or where you go.

It's all beyond me. Nuff said. I'll get off my soapbox now.

I just wave or nod at all bikers, (even the little scooters ) most acknowledge me, some don't, oh hum . I have noticed a attitude amongst some factions, but that is their problem, not mine I give these types a extra special wave/nod, it seems to wind them up
Keep waving/nodding, you know it makes sense


Trophymick

Mick, like you I nod to almost everyone; if I didn't nod check who is walking along the pavement on my side of the road - I can get distracted !

I do remember worrying about having nodded once - a very young lad (didn't look as if his chin had ever met a razor) on an obviously new moped who had just been ignored by a group of riders who had just passed me. Being a friendly type I gave him a wave, and the shock on his face was scary, I was worried I might have given him such a shock as to cause an accident!

In April Mrs MarkE & I spent a weekend in East Anglia, visiting Ely cathedral and some other interesting histrical buildings. As it was the first (and last) good weather this year the roads were full of bikes, to the extent Mrs MarkE thought I had developed Tourettes! About half nodded or waved back.

Morning all.
<waves>
Sun is out.
<waves again>

When I started riding motorbikes in the UK of the seventies ,I suppose we were hairy bikers .Certainly if you walked into a pub or restaurant wearing a leather or a Barbour jacket you were very likely to get thrown out before you could utter a word .
We were seen, I guess ,as a subculture ,the evil children of society .A tag that was hung on us because of the antics of the Rockers during the sixties .

We weren't acknowledged by society ,so it was normal to acknowledge one another on the road by a nod or a wave .Bikes were owned by cash strapped enthusiastic kids [like me] , "Ride to work Ronnies" on commuter bikes who didn't really count as bikers and -those guys we all envied - ,the experienced tradesman who rode bikes out of choice and had the latest and best machines .

Time passes and bikes are now usually the second or third vehicle in the household .Bike owners are less enthusiastic and ride in the summer instead of all year round .The social barriers are less visible these days and many bike riders do not really know much about the bikes they ride.
There used to be only "standard " bikes available , if you wanted a cafe racer or a chopper you had to make it yourself .Now you can buy just about any kind of bike you can imagine with zero input from the owner other than providing the cash .So the individual involvement is less .
Cafe racers used to be my cup of tea but I'd always wave or flash my lights to chopper riders ,not only to acknowledge them as fellow riders but aslo the input and effort they put into their machines .
Cameraderie I guess .

Motorcycling is fragmented because of the specialised bikes and the riders they attract .The commitment to bikes is less because the only input is cash ,when cash is short the bike will go before the car .
That's why they don't wave ,they don't see themselves as motorcyclists .

Wave to the buggers ! [and shake your head when they don't wave back ]

__________________
Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

I was always looked upon as being a bit different aswell due to my long hair, tatoes, clothes and all in all, hippie appearance.
The kind of guy that the rockers of the 60·s loved to go for, just because I was·nt like them. What makes me sad is that people (some) still like quick trials and for not understanding, liking , accepting that we don·t all look or express ourselves like---You/them --- totally flip, loose control/tolerance and misbehave by ejaculating insults and other stupidities in public, on public, even in a supposedly easy going and good vibes forums like the Hubb.
Hope and expect an appology from someone who, if not totally daft (and the rest of your interceptions don·t make me believe so) wishes Love and Peace for his fellow man, as any other sane person in this sometimes insane world.
Love and peace once again and sincerely hope to meet You one day (tried at the uk meet but did·nt find You) Because of this kind of experience, I always say hello to all bikers I pass by on the road, and if they don·t return the salute.... like everything else in life.... their problem. They loose out on a could be interesting friendship?
Dan