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[Sun Devil]

Motorcycling  Etiquette - When & How to Wave.

I was riding SR 159 near the Red Rock loop, when an approaching Goldwinger gave me a Queen’s Wave (twisting his left wrist slightly left and right, with his hand slightly cupped). I nearly fell off my bike, laughing. A Queens Wave! I found this experience so unnerving I failed to return the wave, I just laughed. Then I began to think about biker wave etiquette and wondered why the road captains do not include wave instructions with the other hand signals. For that matter, I don’t remember any mention of the wave in the basic or advanced rider courses. How could something that happens every time you ride go uninstructed? When is a wave appropriate and what is the proper way to give one?

When I got home, I googled and surfed the web, looking for answers, but all I found were more questions. Should I even be a waver, and if so, should I wave first or only return waves? Does it matter what brand or type of bike is approaching and what about those scary hard corps bikers with ape hangers?
What is the wave protocol for a group of approaching bikes, will one long wave take care of the whole group or are individual waves required? What about on a poker run or bike rally, do you just wave yourself crazy?

If your going to be a waver you’ll have to choose a wave style. The basic wave styles are: the left-handed, low wave, straight out and the high wave. There is also the right-handed wave, which says, “Hi, I have cruise control”. The basic waves have variations which include the extension of any number of fingers, palm direction and motion. The advanced wave options are endless: Two Finger Flip, Four Finger Wiggle, Mini-Wave and on and on. When you are unable to safely wave, it is acceptable to substitute a Head Nod in lieu of a bona fide wave.

Here is what I’m going to do, until I receive proper instruction: When I give the wave first, I’ll use the peace sign, low for Harley’s and higher for those others. When I’m returning an other biker’s wave, I’ll mimic their wave, unless it’s a Queen’s Wave, in which case, I’ll  just laugh. ;-)

[Buy early]

Hilarious! Do you wave at scooters?

[Fired00d]

This has been posted before, but here is a solution...

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[Georgehjr]

 

[RidinRuby]

And then of course there is the single finger wave, probably the most effective

[Sun Devil]

The single finger wave, to which I believe you are referring, is classified as a highway salute. The highway salute is considered impolite, especially by old school bikers.

Reference: Wikipedia

[Hawg]

What do you think when you don't get the wave back?

[WestCoastRuss]

No big deal.......it was only a Vespa....

[Sun Devil]

If my wave is not returned, I feel somewhat offended and for the next few miles I become a return waver only. I never become a non-waver as this would make someone else feel like a dork.
This is the wave conundrum; If everyone says, I'm only going to return waves, then that's the end of bikers waving. So, you have to take a chance and be a first waver some of the time and risk being snubbed.

[StrikerDown]

Honestly I never gave it much thought! To wave or not to wave, that is the question.

Usually 1 or 2 fingers pointed towards the center line seems adequate. Unless it's a scooter, he gets a 1 finger wave of another kind!   (just kidding)

A nod is fine when you have the clutch pulled, we've all been there.

Seriously, keep your mind on what you are doing, don't sweat the little crap!

[WestCoastRuss]

If my wave is not returned, I feel somewhat offended and for the next few miles I become a return waver only. I never become a non-waver as this would make someone else feel like a dork.
This is the wave conundrum; If everyone says, I'm only going to return waves, then that's the end of bikers waving. So, you have to take a chance and be a first waver some of the time and risk being snubbed.

Does that mean I was snubbed by a.............Vespa?

[Sun Devil]

Proper motorcycling etiquette is never, "sweating the small stuff".

Etiquette tells one when and how to properly give and return a biker wave. Manners tells one what to do and how to respond when a fellow biker doesn't follow the bikers rules of etiquette.

If you ever have any questions on proper biker etiquette, please feel free to consult me.

[Twolanerider]

Does anyone remember when "the wave" started being so damned normal anyway?  If anyone has been riding long enough they'll remember when those that were or at least looked the part of old road dogs passed each other with a casually tossed closed hand.  That usually lazy clenched fist was tossed unless the other guy had on the wrong colors.

The silly wave is now so ubiquitous though.  I just don't remember when it actually started being the normal thing to do?

[Sun Devil]

Wave folklore has it that the wave began one day in 1904 when Arthur Davidson passed by William Harley  and since they knew each other, they waved, thus a tradition was born.

[Hawg]

Have you ever waved and realized you waved to a non-Harley rider?