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Do motorcyclists still wave at you?


maximNikenGT

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Saw this pop up in Facebook Niken forum from a French Niken owner who was making the comment that motorcyclists no longer wave at him on the Niken. 

So far that hasn't been my experience here in the USA. Most motorcyclist still wave at me when I wave. Am I the exception or the norm?

2019 Niken GT
"Motorcycles - the brand is not important, the fact that you ride is."

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4 hours ago, maximNikenGT said:

Saw this pop up in Facebook Niken forum from a French Niken owner who was making the comment that motorcyclists no longer wave at him on the Niken. 

So far that hasn't been my experience here in the USA. Most motorcyclist still wave at me when I wave. Am I the exception or the norm?

Not as many as when riding my two wheeler .  But here in NZ most Harley riders only wave to Harleys and even BMW riders seem to be a bit above a wave . Everyone has a double take look at the Niken but for me thats part of its magic :)

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When it's all said and done I think that the whole 'wave' thing comes down to tribal origins.  I say this because if I'm on my motorcycle I am suddenly in the motorcycle fraternity and all my new motorcycle 'friends' wave to me.  If I'm on my pushbike, all my new pushbike 'friends' suddenly decide that I must be in the secret 'club' so automatically wave and acknowledge me.

I think it's all BS personally and basically people these days (not all) are just shallow.  Sorry if I've offended anyone.

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2 hours ago, dazzler24 said:

When it's all said and done I think that the whole 'wave' thing comes down to tribal origins.  I say this because if I'm on my motorcycle I am suddenly in the motorcycle fraternity and all my new motorcycle 'friends' wave to me.  If I'm on my pushbike, all my new pushbike 'friends' suddenly decide that I must be in the secret 'club' so automatically wave and acknowledge me.

I think it's all BS personally and basically people these days (not all) are just shallow.  Sorry if I've offended anyone.

+1

I only acknowledge a wave from a rider who looks and rides something akin to only what I'm wearing and riding with maybe a head nod but very rarely will I initiate a wave sequence and again only to riders of similar ilk.  After all, one should keep both hands on the controls!

I sometimes chuckle under my helmet when helmetless, T-shirt and maybe jeans if not shorts clad cruiser and squid sportbike riders wave at me given I run a headlight modulator, driving lights and full ATGATT including often a neon yellow jacket and always a neon yellow SeeMe vest / air bag.  I of course ignore them. 😤

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I wave at squids, atgatt grandpas, Harleys, Spyders, mopeds, moto-cops; anybody not in a cage. If I ever see a Niken in the wild, I’ll wave to you too 😂

 

I don’t get the tribal thing. There’s enough of that in every other aspect of life. The point is we’re not in cages, that should make us friends 🙂

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6 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

The naivety of youth...

First the Nazi's then the Trumpites proved to us that commonality does not breed friendship...

OK, too political, delete this if you must but I get tired of PCness

Today I learned that being friendly is the path to Nazism. WTF is wrong with you? Also, what did you have in common with Nazis? 😂

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I wave/nod my head to all bikers. The majority do the same back.  There are the odd one or two to**ers who ignore you. That's life.🙂

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2019 900 GT, 1969 Honda S90

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What @Kenny A. said. I pretty much wave or at least nod at all bikers. I almost always get a wave or nod back....👋

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"It doesn't matter who walks in, you know the joke is still the same"  Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. USA

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16 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

If you believe everyone who rides is your brother...and waving makes us one, part of a community...you are sadly mistaken.

You've never been snubbed by HD and BMW riders?

German Jewish WW1 veterans who proudly served the Kaiser were still exterminated along with their families.  The Trumpites who stormed the Capital were waiving the Stars n' Stripes, and they were the ones who politicized wearing masks and getting a vax.  Your fellow citizens will turn on you for even the seemingly most insignificant reason.

When push comes to shove...

99% of motorcyclists do nothing to protect our rights and many, many do things to hurt our image (loud pipes, squid antics, etc).

I'm a realist.  I've been riding almost 50 years and long ago learned there is no motorcyclist brotherhood.  You'll just as likely or maybe more so to have a cager stop to see if you need help if you're broke down on the side of the road.

And your profanity and reaction reflects who you truly are, and your obvious lack of tolerance to those who differ from your views.  Which just reinforces what I'm saying... 

All this because I wave at people. You’re a riot 🤣

 

I’ll still wave at you though, and even stop to help you plug your tire or remove the stick from your ass

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I'm from Spain, and 100% of riders wave. Now that I live in the USA (North East > Rhode Island, Mass, New Hampshire) I'd say 50% wave back... Interestingly, all of them happen to be Harley drivers...

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I tend to wave at anyone who is riding on the correct side of his vehicle. By that I mean the outside. Tractors, bicycles, trikes, bikes, etc. Even convertible cars. Most wave back. I don't consider it a mark of some kind of brotherhood. It's just people outside enjoying life and being friendly. 

I even wave at grumpy people who won't wave back because I'm not quite like them.  

 

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I have heard "reasons" to not wave at others. I wave at anyone on 2,3 or open cage 4 wheels. There will always be those who don't return a wave, that is who they are. That doesn't keep me from fixing a tire, or throwing in my spare fuel can to some poor riders bike when they are in need, because that is who I am. That being said, here in south west Colorado, a greeting of some kind is the norm. 

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